Regularisation of unapproved plots hit due to staff dearth in DTCP office
VELLORE: Realtors and land owners are facing trouble due to the delay at the Directorate of Town and Country Planning (DTCP) Vellore regional office in clearing their applications seeking regularisation of their unapproved plots for more than two years.
The reason for the delay is attributed to dearth of staff at the DTCP office.
A leading realtor in Vellore, who does not want to be named, said, “I have more than 2 lakh sqft ready for sale, but I am unable to move forward due to permission not coming through from the DTCP.”
Official sources said that while the current staff members were employed based on the amount of work generated 18 years ago, the workload has increased exponentially. “Though there are seven vacancies in the Vellore office, we doubt whether we will be able to clear the backlog, even if they are filled up,” an official averred.
However, there are problems at the top level positions too. Though the regional office is to be headed by a Deputy Director(DD), it is presently headed by an Assistant Director (AD). Also, the Local Planning Authority (LPA) in the same office has also the post of DD vacant for some time. As a result, the DTCP AD has to take additional charge of that office too. This has resulted in only 10 per cent of the 1,200 approval applications being cleared, sources said.
Because of this, the local office remains crowded always and, on many occasions,
While the current staff members were employed based on the amount of work generated 18 years ago, the workload has increased exponentially
applicants create ruckus hindering the work of the staff who are repeatedly questioned about the unnecessary delay in clearing their applications.
Adding to the woes, the real estate agents, who have influence over the LPA staff, process their applications quick.
When asked for a solution to the problem, sources suggested the example of Madurai, where approval melas were conducted and 150 of the 200 applications received would be disposed of in a single sitting.
Sources also said that Chennai officials had been informed about the issues in the Vellore office and were waiting for vacancies to be filled up at the earliest.