THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Local Self-Government Department (LSGD) is planning to amend the Kerala Municipal Building Rules to do away with the provision allowing local self-Government institutions to issue unauthorised door numbers to buildings.

Unauthorised door numbers are issued to small residential buildings constructed on revenue lands mostly by impoverished families. When the occupants of such buildings approach the civic chiefs for ration card to get power and drinking connection, they issue unauthorised numbers on condition that, if needed, they will be demolished without notice.

Rampant misuse

A majority of the beneficiaries are below the poverty line. On detecting rampant misuse of the provision by encroachers and builders who construct commercial and residential apartments, the department is planning to scrap the provision enabling the issue of such door numbers. On getting an unauthorised number, the building owners become eligible for power and drinking water connections and they also pay the building tax to the civic body. The unauthorised numbers are mostly issued in panchayats on the premise that there are no specific building rules.

The panchayats adjoining the corporations and municipalities, especially those in Thiruvananthapuram and Kochi, have taken it as a pretext to issue unauthorised door numbers. Such cases have been found even in municipal and corporation limits and the beneficiaries are wealthy builders and individuals. Quite often, the owners rent out the buildings after entering into a legal pact with the tenants. Eviction of tenants and demolition of such buildings become much more complex since most of them have been running business from such premises for years, sources said.

Stringent action

As a preliminary measure to end the system, the department has taken steps to enforce building rules in all the panchayats. Earlier it was enforced only in 220 panchayats, but now it has been enforced in the remaining 779 panchayats too. This is seen as a move to impede the civic chiefs from issuing unauthorised numbers. The department has given directions to the civic chiefs to identify such buildings within their limits.

Since a majority of the occupants are the poor, demolition would not be feasible. In the case of such structures, the department is planning to levy a fine from the violators. The fine amount will be finalised after assessing the gravity of the violations.

Stringent action will be initiated against those who have misused the provision for pecuniary gains.

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail