CLU fee must to regularise commercial buildings now

Sukhmeet Bhasin
Tribune News Service
Bathinda, March 23

Under the one-time settlement policy, commercial buildings will not be regularised without paying the Change of Land Use (CLU) fee.

Besides, owners of the commercial buildings that have come up after without paying the CLU fee will have to pay Rs600 per sq feet to the Municipal Corporation for their regularisation under the OTS policy of the state government.

Apart from this, the owners have to provide a structure safety certificate of their commercial buildings, which will be given by a few selected technical engineering colleges and institutes in the state. Without this certificate, no commercial building would be regularised.

In the policy, the structure of the commercial building can be changed, but this can be done within two months of the application for building regularisation. Moreover, a special need is to be given to an advance fire safety system and parking area as well.

Any building built on government land won’t be regularised. The buildings built before June 30, 2018, will be regularised and the policy would be eligible till March 2020.

The MC Commissioner will have the authority of regularising the illegal buildings that come under the MC limits, while residential buildings till 500 sq yard that come in municipal council, panchayat and improvement trust jurisdiction will be approved by the Executive Officer (EO).

The buildings more than 500 sq yard will be approved by the regional deputy director of the Local Bodies Department.

The state government has selected a few institutes that will give the structure safety certificate for buildings in the state.

These institutes are the Giani Zail Singh College of Engineering and Technology, Bathinda; Punjab Engineering College, Chandigarh; Guru Nanak Dev Engineering College, Ludhiana; Thapar University, Patiala; National Institute of Technology; and Dr BR Ambedkar National Institute of Technology, Jalandhar.

Under the policy, in the area under the TP scheme, the building owners have to leave the area in the front and back of the building as per the by-laws and if they did not leave the area as per by-laws, the building will not be regularised.

Even commercial buildings come up in residential areas will also not be regularised.

The buildings that have come up on commercial roads and don’t have parking space will have to arrange the parking area of 250 m inside the building. The owners have to pay the parking fee as per the collector rate.

The one-time settlement policy has been initiated by the state government will an aim to generate funds for cash-strapped civic bodies in the state.

Structure safety certificate needed

• The owners have to provide a structure safety certificate of their commercial buildings, which will be given by a few selected technical engineering colleges and institutes in the state. Without this certificate, no commercial building would be regularised. 
• In the policy, the structure of the commercial building can be changed, but this can be done within two months of the application for building regularisation. Moreover, a special need is to be given to an advance fire safety system and parking area as well. 
• The MC Commissioner will have the authority of regularising the 
• illegal buildings that come under the MC limits, while residential buildings till 500 square yard that come in municipal council, panchayat and Improvement Trust jurisdiction, will be approved by the Executive Officer (EO).