Residential areas turn commercial

Hyderabad: The delay in implementing the integrated master plan has not only been denting the revenue of the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation but also irking residents.

Most of the residential areas including Jubilee Hills and Banjara Hills have transformed into commercial zones.

Officials claimed that several builders were poi-nting to these areas being listed as residential areas and obtaining permission to build residential buildings. Once they are constructed, the premises are used for commercial purposes.

An official said that several builders and property owners were constructing pubs, boutiques, play schools, colleges and hostels which have been causing inconvenience to residents in the vicinity.

Apart from this, the delay in implementing the master plan is costing the GHMC 20 per cent revenue on each building’s permission that has been misused, and 20 per cent pertaining to property tax and trade licence.

For instance, the Kavuri Hills layout between Jubi-lee Hills and Madhapur on Jubilee Hills Road No. 36 leading to Hotel Jubilee Ridge was once a residential area but is now buzz-ing with pubs, hotels, showrooms and other co-mmercial establishments. Almost every builder and property owner has been applying for residential building permission to set up commercial activity in this area.

There are plenty of examples of residential flats rented out for commercial use. Garment stores, boutiques, offices of chartered accountants, photocopying shops, beauty parlours, clinics and consultancy rooms operate from residential flats and pay property tax applicable not to commercial premises but to residences, which is lower.

Highly placed sources said that the corporation had been receiving several complaints from residents regarding the inconvenience caused due to commercial activities.

Sources said that the owners of commercial establishments have not been following minimum security measures including fire safety and providing parking spaces. Apart from this, the corporation can mop up at least '500 crore if the residential zones are converted into commercial zones in the integrated master plan.

Sources also alleged a nexus between bill collectors and property owners. The revenue wing has to rely on bill collectors for identification of commercial activities in the residential areas. But the field level staff who are hand in glove with property owners, have been indulging in irregularities.

A senior GHMC official on condition of anonymity said that the issue could not be resolved until the integrated master plan was out. He said that due to the delay of the master plan, several builders have been exploiting the loopholes in it.

“There is no mechanism as such to prevent such legal loot. If these zones are corrected in the master plan, the corporation can mop up at least '500 crore through building permissions and property tax,” he said.

The official made it clear that the inconvenience caused to residents in such zones could not be prevented since there was no mechanism to identify commercial activities in a residential area.  “Though identified it would not come to the notice of higher authorities due to  the nexus between bill collectors, the assistant medical officer for health (AMoH) and property owners,”  he added.