Pune: 531 receive notices of land use changes without paying a charge
The warnings were sent out in accordance with Section 20 of the 1976 Urban Land Ceiling and Regulation Act, which mandates a one-time fee for regularizing land usage on behalf of the state.
Pune: In particular in locations like Hadapsar, Bopodi, Kothrud, Sangamwadi, and Pimpri Chinchwad, the district government has issued 531 notifications to people for failing to pay the transfer fee of 15%, as per the ready reckoner rate, for changing land use from industrial to residential.
The warnings were sent out in accordance with Section 20 of the 1976 Urban Land Ceiling and Regulation Act, which mandates a one-time fee for regularizing land usage on behalf of the state.
After receiving notices, the persons have the choice to either pay the fine amount or face consequences, according to district officials. CM Eknath Shinde had instructed the Pune district collector to take legal action against those who were in arrears of the payment during the previous assembly session.
"Although there were around 1,000 such instances, the majority of people paid the transfer charge. 531 people who altered the property use without paying the transfer fee have received notices, according to a district official.
According to the official, there are a lot of these infractions in the industrial area, and the MIDC has been given the names of the defaulters. 151 of the 531 notices that were issued went to landowners in the MIDC region. 68 cases have had their hearings concluded. Following the hearing, the money was deposited with the state government in six cases, the official reported.
For changes in land use, the state government previously levied a 100% transfer fee based on ready reckoner rates. After citizen protest, 50% was enacted in 2007.
The state administration resolved to only charge 15% of ready reckoner rates in 2019 in addition to making sure that the land acquired from industrial districts was used for affordable housing. After many units closed in Pune, industrial land was changed over to residential use.
Activists asserted that it was the government's duty to monitor changes in land use. Without the necessary authorizations, citizens shouldn't be able to register any sale deeds. The fact that such infractions are recorded is unexpected, according to consumer advocate S Joshi.