Major relief in sight for property owners

Ramkrishan Upadhyay
Tribune News Service
Chandigarh, October 4

Owners of properties in the city may heave a sigh of relief as the UT Administration has recommended to the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) to reduce penalty charges for misuse and violation of building bylaws. Sources said the Administration had recommended to the MHA to fix the penalty at 0.75 per cent of the minimum collector rate per square yard per month for misuse and violation.

The recommendation has been sent to the MHA after getting approval from Punjab Governor and UT Administrator VP Singh Badnore.

The recommendation was finalised by the Administration after examining suggestions and objections received on the draft notification published in January this year.

The Administration had sought the views of residents on the draft to amend the Capital of Punjab (Development and Regulation) Act, 1952, to reduce the penalty being charged by the Estate Office for misuse and violation of building bylaws. At present, the Administration is charging a penalty ranging from Rs 250 per sq ft to Rs 350 per sq ft  per month for various  types of properties.

The penalty will get reduced to one-sixth of the current amount once the  MHA  approves the proposal. In the draft,  the  UT had proposed  to charge a penalty  of 0.75 per cent of the collector rate per sq yard  per month applicable in case  of misuse/violation of building bylaws in the non-permitted  category and  and 0.50 per cent of the collector rate per sq yard per month applicable in case of misuse/violation of building bylaws beyond the permitted coverage.

The Estate Office had increased the penalty for misuse and violation in 2007 from  Rs 20 to  Rs 500  per sq  ft per month for the area being misused by the occupier under the Estate Office Rules, 2007.  

A large  number of people were served notices  for misuse and violation with the penalty amound running into crores. The demand for reduction in the penalty was one  of the  main issues during the Lok Sabha elections. According to residents, though the charges  were later reduced, these were still very high. Various trader associations have been urging the Administration to roll back the heavy penalty being charged for misuse and building violations.