GUWAHATI, May 26 � With the State Government�s decision to accede to the pleas made by thousands of applicants to grant them building permission for various sizes as per the provisions of the Guwahati Building Bye-Laws 2006, a large number of city residents are likely to get much relief, said Assam Real Estate and Infrastructure Developers� Association (AREIDA).
AREIDA president P K Sarma said in a statement here that these applicants were running from pillar to post for years to secure permission to build their houses but to no avail. The Government had imposed a ban on all building permissions on June 10, 2012 stating that no new applications for building permission would be accepted till the new bye-laws were notified, but had by a public notice committed that applications already received would be processed as per the existing bye- laws of 2006.
Subsequently, the authorities accepted new applications for G+2 residential buildings only. After almost two years, the new bye-laws in the form of Guwahati Building Construction Regulation Bye-Laws, 2014, was notified on February 20, 2014.
But, unfortunately, thousands of applicants whose applications were kept pending for years, were asked to re-apply under the new regulations. The AREIDA relentlessly pursued their cause, without considering whether they were builders or individuals. And based on the oral and written submissions made by the AREIDA, the Government referred the matter to the Advocate General of the State for a legal opinion.
The observations made by Advocate General included, among others, � �In any case the applications seeking building permissions which were submitted before June 10, 2012, including applications for G+2 residential buildings � and which have not been rejected, have already attained the status of deemed approval in view of the legal fiction created by Section 17 (3) of the Act of 2010 read with clause 6 of the building bye-laws 2006.�
Following this, the State Government through an order (Order No- GDD 109/2009/Pt/901/dated 17/5/2014) directed the Guwahati Metropolitan Development Authority (GMDA) and the Guwahati Municipal Corporation (GMC) to �do the needful strictly as per the views expressed by the Ld AG, Govt of Assam, in conformity with the law,� Sarma said.
