Vacant CCLA delays land regularisation

■ DESPITE PAYING regularisation fee in a single installment as stipulated by the government, the applicants have been waiting for several months.

The regularisation of land notified under the Urban Land Ceiling Act has been stuck in a limbo. Though applicants paid nearly `100 crore to the government towards regularisation fee, the government is yet to regularise the lands.

The government had promised to regularise land within 90 days for those who pay fee in a single installment. However, the applicants have been waiting for several months even after paying the fee.

The government has invited applications in May last year. Over 500 applications are pending in Hyderabad, Ranga Reddy and Warangal districts.

The commissioner of land administration has been given the task of regularising ULC lands. However, the state government has not appointed a fulltime chief commissioner of land administration (CCLA) for the past nine months. It has been managing the activities with incharge CCLAs.

At present, Chief Secretary S.P. Singh himself is handing the additional charge of CCLA. The in-charge CCLAs are keeping the issue pending with a view that the full-time CCLA would take a decision on regularisation.

The government also gave an option to pay the regularisation fee in three installments for those who could not afford to pay it at onego. They were asked to pay 40 per cent of the total fee within six months after receiving the notice on regularisation, another 30 per cent within four months and the balance 30 per cent in two months.

The deadline for the final installment ended in January last. But some 100 applicants failed to pay the final installment between November and January citing demonetisation.

They petitioned the government that due to abolition of old highdenomination notes and cash crunch, they could not pay the final installment and sought the extension of time.

Following this, the collectors have requested CCLA to extend the deadline by three more months till April-end. However, the in-charge CCLA has referred the issue to the government.

Officials sources in the revenue department said that the file is now pending with CMO and a decision on regularisation and extension has to be taken by the Chief Minister.