Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar:
For any housing project, it is mandatory to obtain layout approval from the town planning (TP) section of the municipal corporation. Over the past 20 years, the civic body has approved hundreds of such housing layouts. As per regulations, every approved layout must include designated open spaces, and these open areas are required to be marked under the name of the municipal corporation.
However, due to negligence in several cases, the corporation’s name was never affixed to these open spaces. As a result, original landowners have begun claiming ownership of such plots. To address this issue and verify whether the municipal nameboards have been properly installed on all open spaces, the administration has appointed retired deputy engineer Vasant Nikam for inspection.
Every year, the municipal corporation grants permission for at least 1,500 constructions, including several housing projects. While approving these projects, certain portions must legally be reserved as open areas, for parks, playgrounds, or other development purposes of the civic body. These open spaces are required to be officially transferred to the municipal corporation before final layout approval is granted.
However, in many instances, developers secure project approval without completing the land transfer. Later, when property prices soar, the original landowners claim ownership of the open spaces. To prevent such disputes, administrator G Sreekanth has directed a thorough review of whether the municipal corporation’s name has been officially affixed to open spaces in all approved layouts.
Approved layouts to be scrutinised
All layouts approved by the municipal corporation in the past five years will now be examined. The files will be reviewed to identify cases where, due to procedural lapses, the open space has not been marked under the civic body’s name. In such cases, the process will now be completed to ensure compliance with regulations and safeguard public property.