Fee collected to regularise properties cannot be used elsewhere

Aurangabad, Oct 17:

The charges collected to regularise Gunthewari properties within the jurisdiction of Aurangabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) cannot be used in other wards.

It may be noted that the State Government has given permission to Municipal Corporation to regularize unauthorized plots and houses developed till December 2020 under Gunthewari Act.

Accordingly, the process of regularisation of unauthorized houses in Gunthewari is underway in the city. Citizens are paying thousands of rupees to regularise their properties.

The funds collected from the citizens as charges by AMC cannot be spent elsewhere. The fund will have to be spent on basic amenities in the same colonies from which it was collected.

Earlier, the Gunthewari Act had provisions to regularise properties developed up to December 2001. Moreover, the scheme did not get a response at that time due to strict conditions of documents. During the last 19 years, only 7,000 properties were regularised in the city.

Now, the Government has permitted the civic body to regularise the property till December 2020.

The Corporation started the regularisation process by appointing 52 architects. It is getting a good response from the citizens. About 850 proposals have been filed so far.

It has also generated revenue of around Rs 8 crore. The administration hopes that at least 25,000 to 30,000 properties in the city will be regularised. Therefore, the AMC is likely to get revenue of Rs 30 to 40 crore.

As per the rules, the revenue collected under Gunthewari is considered a development fee. So it can’t be spent elsewhere. It is mandatory to spend only on development works in the colonies from which it has been collected. As a result, money will be available in the future for works in the Gunthewari colonies.

“This is mandatory to spend fee for the development in the respective Gunthewari colony from which it has been collected. Opening a separate account is also needed. Currently, the scheme is getting a good response,". Jayant Kharwadkar, Incharge Deputy Director of Town Planning.