Regularization of illegal buildings to prove expensive ,Govt To Charge Traders 70-100% Of Existing Jantri Rates

Ahmedabad: Traders in Ahmedabad may be rejoicing that the recently-sealed illegal business establishments will soon be regularized. The state assembly had cleared the bill to regularize such structures.

But the bottom line is that regularizing these illegal structure will prove to be quite a pricey affair.

The state government has decided that the fee for regularizing this will range from 70-100% of the existing jantri rates in the area. Officials said that the new jantri rates have seen an increase by over 100% in several areas of the city.

“The new rates are yet to reach the state urban department. We will know the exact nature of hike only after the government’s jantri circular reaches us,” said a senior official of the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation.

But, even if the existing rates are applied, the bid to regularize your illegal structure is going to be an expensive proposal. Jantri rates prevalent till March 31, 2011, was Rs 5,500-6,800 per sq feet on CG Road. The AMC official said that if a 100-sq-feet shop situated on the ground floor of any commercial complex on the Boulevard is to be regularized, the owner will have to shell out Rs 5.50 lakh as regularization fee. And, if it is on the first floor or the cellar, the owner of the illegal shop will have to cough up Rs 3.85 lakh.

Officials in the state urban development department said that according to the proposed draft for regularization, the department has suggested that the defaulters situated on the ground floor be charged 100% of the existing jantri rates. For cellar and floors above, barring ground floor structures, the fee will be 70% of the existing jantri rates.

In residential buildings with a builtup area of less than 328 square feet, the proposed regularization fee is 50% of the prevalent jantri rates.

Those stuck in buildings without any parking facilities will be penalized with 100% of the jantri rates. Jaxay Shah, president, The Confederation of Real Estate Developers’ Associations of India (Credai), Gujarat says, “this is a penalty to regularize illegal structures. The government’s decision to regularize such structures on jantri rates is welcome. But the rates should be rational and not exorbitant. The new rates, which have been implemented from Friday, are on the higher side.”