Layout regularisation scheme extended till December 31

HYDERABAD: The government has announced extension of Layout Regularisation Scheme (LRS) till December 31 which in effect means the scheme would be in vogue for one whole year. LRS was launched along with Building Penalisation Scheme (BPS) on January 1.

Principal Secretary (Municipal Administration and Urban Development) C.V.S.K. Sarma, issued orders on Tuesday for the extension following a request made by Commissioner and Special Officer GHMC S.P. Singh.

Mr. Singh said there were many other citizens yet to avail the scheme and hence another opportunity should be given, Moreover, there was little chance of the scheme being misused as it had happened with BPS, which was closed after little more than six months.

Since the government had fixed December 15, 2007 as the cut off date for accepting applications for regularising layouts registered till then, increasing the LRS timeframe would help more people to come forward to regularise, it was felt.

Many plots in unauthorised layouts have not applied as a significant number of owners were said to be abroad. Plots in government lands and those under the Urban Land Ceiling Act too were allowed to be regularised recently and these owners too are expected to apply now. GHMC had received 42,846 applications under LRS till date of which 4,000-odd were cleared.

It is expecting to receive at least 15,000 more applications in the next three months.