MCC to call for fresh applications under Akrama-Sakrama scheme

This is need to dismiss the Public Interest Litigation petitions questioning the scheme

The Mysuru City Corporation (MCC) will have to call for fresh applications under Akrama-Sakrama in the light of High Court of Karnataka’s decision on Tuesday to dismiss the Public Interest Litigation (PIL) petitions questioning the scheme.

Though more than 12,000 property owners in Mysuru had obtained applications after the Mysuru City Corporation (MCC) began the process of issuing application forms in March 2015, MCC Commissioner G. Jagadeesh told The Hindu that the State government had subsequently amended the Karnataka Town and Country Planning (Regularisation of Unauthorized Development or Constructions) Rules and submitted the same to the High Court.

Directions awaited

The new set of rules, under which the process of regularisation will now have to be taken up, also contain the proforma for the applications, Dr. Jagadeesha said, before adding that the MCC will look forward to necessary directions in the regard from the government.

Though Dr. Jagadeesha was not sure whether the MCC had accepted any applications, former Mayor B.L. Bhyrappa clarified that the civic body had not accepted any application for the Akrama-Sakrama scheme in view of the confusion over the issue. If at all any application had been accepted or fees paid, the government would take a decision on whether the amount could be refunded, the MCC Commissioner said.

Regularisation

Even the amended rules provide for regularisation of setback violations, floor area ratio (FAR) violations, besides change of land use. Owners of properties with setback and FAR violations upto 50 per cent in residential and upto 25 per cent in commercial properties can regularise their construction on payment of penalty, he said.

Also, owners of properties in land parcels, which are yet to be converted from agricultural to residential land, will have an opportunity to regularise their constructions in the scheme.

Though a survey has not been carried out to ascertain the number of unauthorised constructions eligible for regularisation under the scheme in Mysuru, Mr. Bhyrappa estimated that the number was around 60,000 to 65,000. There may be atleast 20,000 to 25,000 properties with setback violations and another 30,000 to 35,000 houses built in revenue pockets without approval.

These, along with properties with other type of violations including FAR and houses built without plan approval etc., are expected to benefit from the Akrama-Sakrama scheme.

Welcoming the High Court of Karnataka’s decision to reject the PIL petitions questioning Akrama-Sakrama, Mr. Bhyrappa said the MCC can garner an additional revenue of Rs. 400 crore through the scheme.