Telangana: Mad rush for building plan approvals in city outskirts

Hyderabad: Ever since the state government announced its decision to create eight new municipalities on city outskirts by merging 44 villages by July-end, there is a mad rush at the gram panchayats to secure building plan approvals.

Residents fear that once the areas come under municipal administration, approval of building plans will be governed by stricter ruled and become a costly affair. Panchayat raj minister Jupally Krishna Rao warned the staff at panchayat offices of severe action if they commit any irregularity. “All approvals will be scrutinised by the government and any irregularities detected will be strictly dealt with,” he said.

In panchayats, the charges are Rs 2 per square-foot for residential and Rs 4 per square-foot for commercial buildings, whereas in areas governed by municipalities the charges are Rs 20 and Rs 100 respectively.