Satara-Deolai residents demand amendment to Gunthewari Act

Lokmat News Network

Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar:

The municipal corporation administrator G Sreekanth said, “Residents of the Satara-Deolai area have opposed the Gunthewari Act. The officials and I had a dialogue with the protesting residents recently. The provisions of the law were explained to them. The authority to amend the law rests with the state government. Presently, according to the gunthewari norms, the residents will have to pay fees to regularise their properties.”

Earlier, the state government amended the Gunthewari Act to regularise illegal constructions up to December 2020. Accordingly, the Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar Municipal Corporation (CSMC) started implementing this order in July 2021. So far, more than 10,000 properties have been regularised, except residents of the Satara-Deolai due to their opposition.

About 20 to 25 years ago, Satara-Deolai residents purchased plots larger than one thousand square feet size. They paid stamp duty and got them registered. Subsequently, they obtained construction permits from the then gram panchayat, a government representative, and built houses according to the regulations. They paid taxes to the gram panchayat. Later on, the government launched a campaign for non-agricultural tax (for non-agricultural use of land), and they responded to it.

In 2016, Satara-Deolai was included in the CSMC. The residents are also paying property tax after the merger. Except for NA 44, all other works were legalised. Now, the CSMC is declaring these constructions as unauthorised. Therefore, citizens demanded an amendment to this law (Gunthewari Act). For the past few days, residents of this area have also started a protest against it. Subsequently, the municipal officials tried to convince them, but it was left unresolved. Finally, the administrator engaged in a dialogue to resolve the issue.

A Fact Report Will Be Submitted to the Government

“They are demanding an amendment to the Gunthewari Act. The matter falls under the jurisdiction of the state government, but property owners in this area will still need to get their constructions regularised. They are also demanding an extension of the deadline. Hence if an application is made, an extension can be granted. Meanwhile, a fact report regarding this matter will also be submitted to the government,” explained G Sreekanth.