Land-use fee cut to bring in more industries: CM

Tribune News Service

Shimla, December 29

Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh said that the state government has reduced the change in land use fees for industrial use to attract more industries to invest in the state.

Presiding over a review meeting of the Town and Country Planning Department here today, the Chief Minister said he had given an assurance in the Vidhan Sabha to reduce the fees on change of land use in the state to encourage industrial houses.

He said the overall floor area ratio (FAR) has also been increased for industrial units. For small scale industries having a plot area of 250 to 500 sq m, the FAR has been increased from 0.5 to 1.75 and for services and light-scale industries having plot area of 501 to 1000 sq m, the FAR has been increased to 1.5 from 0.5, he added.

On the other hand, for large and heavy scale industries having plot area above 5,000 sq m, the FAR has been increased from 0.60 to 1.

The height of buildings had also been increased for organised housing projects across the state. It will now be 25 m in hill areas and 30 m for the plains.

This would help promoters achieve the permissible FAR and also to leave sufficient area under parking and open spaces, the Chief minister said.

Virbhadra Singh said the government was now contemplating increasing the height of buildings in organised colonies in plain areas, subject to geologically stable strata, in order to reduce the pressure on scarce land resources and to bring regulations at par with adjoining states to attract investors for bringing planned colonies.

He said that Panchayati Raj Institutions had been given powers to issue no-objection certificates for obtaining service connections in exempted rural areas wherein the public adhere to self-implied regulations.

The Chief Minister said that the planning permission fees had been reduced by half. The economically weaker sections along with BPL and Indira Awas Yojana beneficiaries had been fully exempted from paying change of land use as well as planning permission fees.

The bonafide residents of the area need not pay change of land use fee for residential activity.

He said that all bypasses notified in the state would be deemed planning areas to regulate haphazard constructions and to preserve the valley view.

The government will make appropriate amendments in the HP Town and Country Planning Act accordingly.

He directed the department to come up with a proposal bringing areas in the periphery Municipal Councils and Nagar Panchayats under planning area as most of the construction activities were coming up in such areas. It was much needed to bring them under the ambit of TCP Act to ensure their planned development, he added.