CHANDIGARH: The Punjab cabinet on Wednesday approved one-time settlement of “non-compoundable” violations related to unauthorised construction up to June 30 last year as long as this did not compromise fire and structural safety standards, an official spokesperson said.
“Non compoundable” violations related to unauthorised constructions are relatively serious contravention of the building bylaws in the municipal area, to the less serious “compoundable” violations.
The cabinet approved the promulgation of the Punjab One-Time Voluntary Disclosure and Settlement of Violations of the Buildings Ordinance, 2018, for all the buildings constructed in violation of the building bylaws in the municipal areas as per the cut-off date, the spokesperson said.
The move is aimed at ensuring the existing unauthorised buildings are aligned to the parking, fire and safety standards across the state as it is no longer feasible for the government to demolish such buildings, he said.
The ordinance provides that any person, who has made a non-compoundable building violation till June 30, 2018 may disclose such violation voluntarily to the competent authority, and apply for settlement online along with photographs of the building, within a period of three months, the spokesman said.
The applicant shall submit the requisite information, documents, plans and prescribed application fee thereafter within a period of two months, he said.
While the non-compoundable building violations in residential plotted buildings, disclosed voluntarily, may be settled by the competent authority on ‘as is where is’ basis after spot verification.
Under the ordinance this will be a one-time measure by realising the composition fee of Rs 300 per square feet of the total non-compoundable area on all floors being compounded, in the case of Municipal Corporations and Improvement Trusts of Amritsar, Jalandhar and Ludhiana, the spokesman said.
For the remaining municipal corporations, improvement trusts, municipal councils and nagar panchayats, the amount is Rs 200 per square feet.
As per the ordinance, except where fire safety and public safety, security and public convenience is compromised, the non-resident building violations will be similarly settled against composition fee of Rs 1,000 per square ft of the total non-compoundable area in Amritsar, Jalandhar and Ludhiana, and Rs 600 per square feet in the other areas, he said.
Also, if required, the applicant shall have to make structural changes in the building to fulfil the requirements of fire safety and parking, within a period of two months from the date of submission of details, the spokesman said.
During the meeting, Local Bodies Minister Navjot Singh Sidhu said his department was also working on a separate policy for a one-time settlement for change of land use violations.
Source: Press Trust of India