VIJAYAWADA: The Andhra Pradesh government plans to reintroduce the Building Penalisation Scheme (BPS) and Layout Regularisation Scheme (LRS) aimed at regulating illegal structures and layouts across the state. These schemes were in effect during the TDP administration from 2014 to 2019. In response to the rising number of constructions lacking necessary permissions, the government aims to relaunch these initiatives to also boost state revenues.
The cabinet is anticipated to review the proposal in their upcoming meeting. The municipal administration and urban development department is preparing a strategy to address the issue of illegal structures and prevent unapproved layouts. A recent study revealed that a significant number of constructions have emerged over the past five years without the required permissions.
The absence of field staff in the town planning division and political influences have contributed to the proliferation of illegal buildings. This not only poses threats to public safety but also results in substantial losses in property taxes and approval fees for building plans. Many developers are reported to have added additional floors and sold residential and commercial units without approval. A municipal department survey uncovered approximately 35,000 buildings that are outside the tax bracket.
Authorities struggle to impose property taxes on such unauthorized constructions due to their illegal status. “To levy taxes, a building must possess all necessary approvals, including building plan consent. We cannot impose taxes immediately, even upon discovering a structure in the tax bracket, as owners often lack the required documentation,” explained a municipal commissioner.
The government also suspects over 25,000 unapproved layouts have been created in the last five years, leading to significant revenue losses for local bodies and the state treasury.
Following reports from municipal commissioners, the municipal administration department is moving forward with a proposal to reinstate the LRS and BPS.
A draft proposal is currently under development and will be presented to the state cabinet. However, the government needs to secure high court approval before issuing a formal Government Order (GO), as the court has previously paused the continuous implementation of the LRS and BPS. The high court noted that such schemes primarily facilitate blatant law violations in the expectation of regularization through these initiatives.
