Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): Despite the release of 25% mortgaged plots, the colonies - developed over a decade ago - are yet to be transferred to the Bhopal Municipal Corporation (BMC) so far. The transfer of these colonies, which once had all required amenities well in place, is pending for years.
As per the Gazette notification May 1998, at the time of developing the colony, the colonizer has to mortgage 25% plots to municipal corporation and once the colony is developed, the civic body releases the plots. This is done to ensure that the colonizer develops the colony before handing it over to the housing society. As the colonies are not transferred, the BMC administration does not make any budgetary allocation for maintenance, however it continues to collect taxes from its residents. Due to lack of maintenance, basic amenities like sanitation, drinking water, electricity, roads in these colonies are being ignored leaving residents high and dry.
The residents are planning to apply for transfer of their colonies to the civic body. However, the process involves payment of development charge to BMC.
New Colonies Welfare Association president Sunil Upadhyaya explained “BMC only releases the mortgage plots to colonizers if the colony is well developed and has all basic amenities in place. So the civic body should take the colony under its fold at the time of releasing the mortgaged plots.
Had that been the case around 1500 colonies would have automatically transferred to BMC when their mortgaged land was released to the colonizer believing that the colonies are well developed. The responsibility of the main maintenance of the colonies would have been that of the civic body, however this is not happening, said Upadhyaya.
“Now, years after developing the colony, if any Rahwasi Sangh applies for transfer of colonies, the BMC team will visit the colony to assess the development status and the residents will have to pay as per the assessment. As the basic amenities are in bad shape, the civic body asks for a huge development charge which is not possible for the residents to pay.”
The transfer process should be completed at the time when the mortgaged plots are released by the civic body as the colonizer is present then and since the colony is well developed the civic body charges are also low, he added.
