MANISH GUPTA
Ranchi, Nov 5: The Federation of Jharkhand Chamber of Commerce and Industries (FJCCI) has requested Chief Minister Hemant Soren to also regularise the unauthorised commercial buildings in the state along with the illegal residential constructions.
“After our recent meeting with the Chief Minister, the government set up a committee to regularise unauthorised residential construction. However, we have asked for it to be revised to also include commercial buildings,” FJCCI President Kishor Mantri said.
The FJCCI team had the opportunity to meet the Chief Minister on October 20 after a gap of about two years. The newly constituted FJCCI team led by Mantri apprised the CM about the various difficulties faced by the business community in the state.
A day later, the state government formed a 10-member committee headed by Aditya Kumar Anand, Director Municipal Administration, Jharkhand Urban Development and Housing Department, to draft a scheme for regularization of unauthorized residential construction in urban areas.
“More than half of the residential and commercial structures in Ranchi are constructed without approved plans. Many of them are decades old when the regulations were not that strict. But now we face a lot of problems and we need to get these regularised.
“We have requested the government to regularise such construction by taking some fines. We have also suggested some nominal rates on which these buildings can be regularised,” Mantri said, adding that he expects regularisation in the next six months.
There are several instances of shops built in residential buildings in the city but as they are a key source for livelihood for many, the Chamber has requested the government to legalize such structures as these businesses also contribute through taxes.
It may be noted that some other states have already done such regularisation exercises in the interest of its citizens. The 10-member committee has been directed to study the schemes for similar exercise in other states before finalising the scheme here.
“We expect the government to come out with the revised scheme in the next few days,” Mantri said. Once finalised, the scheme will be sent for cabinet approval.
