Now, pay lake rejuvenation fee if you want building plan sanctioned

Getting a building plan approved in urban areas, excluding Bengaluru, has just become costlier. The Urban Development Department has come out with the rate chart of lake rejuvenation fee to be collected by urban planning authorities while sanctioning plan approval for buildings and layouts.

The state government had amended the Karnataka Town and Country Planning Act, 1961, last year for collecting such a fee for conservation and restoration of waterbodies. However, the rates had not been fixed.

The UDD, in its December 8 circular sent to urban development and town planning authorities, has authorised them to collect lake rejuvenation fee while sanctioning building plans. The fee can also be collected while sanctioning division of plots.

Bengaluru has been excluded from the present rate chart, as the quantum of lake rejuvenation fee is yet to be finalised, official sources in the UDD said. However, the fee will be applicable to all other urban areas including 10 city corporations in the state and various city municipal councils, town municipal councils and town panchayat limits. There is no centralised data with the UDD on the number of lakes and tanks in various ULBs.

The fee fixed varies from Rs 20 to Rs 3 per sq metre of land depending on the population of the local planning authority (see chart). An applicant who seeking building plan sanction, say, with built-up area of  30x40 sq ft (111.48 sq m) with Mysuru Urban Development Authority will have to pay a lake rejuvenation fee of Rs 1,665 (111.48 sq m x Rs 15).

Interim measure
However, there is a rider. The present fees being collected is an interim measure and the final fees will be decided  on notification of the rules. The rules are being drafted, the sources added.

Hence, all applicants will have to give an undertaking to their jurisdictional planning authorities that they will pay the balance amount, if any, when the final rates of lake rejuvenation fees are notified. Till then, applicants will be given conditional approval of their building plans. The final plan approval will be provided only after the final rules are notified and balance amount, if any, is remitted, the sources added.
DH News Service


Lake rejuvenation fee fixed by government
LOCAL PLANNING AREA and population                          Fee per sq m of land/plot
*LPA with a population of 10 lakh and above                                Rs 20
LPA with a population of more than one lakh but less than 10 lakh    Rs 15
LPA with a population of 50,000 and above but less than 1 lakh        Rs 10
LPA with a population of 20,000 and above but less than 50,000       Rs 5 
LPA with a population of less than 20,000                                      Rs 3 
*LPA- Local Planning Area