Hearing on DP changes stuck; citizens wait for clarity

Lokmat News Network

Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar

The city's revised Development Plan (DP) continues to hang in the balance as the hearing process on citizen objections has been stalled for over two months. Before the DP was officially released, the state government introduced several changes under the ‘Exclusion Proposal’ (EP), sparking widespread concern among property owners and citizens.

Despite hundreds of objections submitted to the Joint Director of Town Planning, the process of issuing hearing notices, recording zone-wise objections, and holding hearings has not moved forward all due to a lack of manpower. While the Joint Director’s office handed over the EP-excluded DP maps to the municipal corporation, it also requested additional support to manage the workload. A private agency was appointed to assist with the remaining work. The agency is being paid Rs 10 crore, of which Rs 9 crore has already been released. The remaining Rs 1 crore is being held until the DP process is completed. As the delay continues, citizens are left in limbo, unsure of how the final plan will affect their properties and future development permissions.