The much-awaited Town Planning and Building Tribunal is back in the circulation of Government corridors. The Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) Commissioner, B. Janardhan Reddy, in a recent meeting with the town planning wing announced that government was likely to announce constitution of the body soon.
The corporation has been waiting for the tribunal for several years, saddled as it is, with as many as 3,263 cases in the High Court pertaining to buildings violation and even illegal constructions. And that’s not all. There are 142 contempt cases against the GHMC and about 102 cases are with the Lok Ayukta. Meanwhile, much to the civic body’s embarrassment, town planning staff regularly fall into Anti-Corruption Bureau net.
The proposal for a Tribunal with a judicial member and a planning official was first mooted when the common building rules came into force eight years ago to arbitrate real estate issues between builders and the sanctioning municipal authority. Disputes between the developer and the customer too are to come under its ambit for expeditious disposal of cases. But first the government has to amend the Urban Areas Development Act of 1975 to constitute such a body and it is not yet known about any forward movement on it.
Similarly, there is also no indication if a ‘Building Ombudsman’ to check for violations, safety standards and quality construction as proposed is on cards. Senior officials insist that bringing registration department too under the permissions ambit will help effectively tackle illegal constructions.
Meanwhile, with the corporation recently introducing the building clearance system online, ensuring better regulation and the tribunal have become even more crucial. About 231 applications have already been filed through this route. Mr. Reddy did put out a stern warning to the town planning wing about the need to be vigilant about deviations from sanctioned plans and outright constructions sans permission.
