Redevelopment of plots would’ve cost AMC crores if it hadn’t avoided a major slip-up

Ahmedabad: If the error in the land records had not been detected in time, it could have cost AMC 50-100 crores in future. Nava Vadaj’s Town Planning scheme no. 28 received preliminary approval by the Urban Development department in December 2019 when the error was made.
In TP 28, 10 plots were given construction permission after 50% deduction as per norms. However, the entry was made with the remark “seek 40% deduction in future redevelopment” in the records.
It would have not cost the AMC immediately. However, if the same 10 plots went for redevelopment in future, then the wrong entry would have forced AMC to let go of 10% land which today itself costs crores.
In the town planning committee meeting on Friday, a proposal to rectify the error under the section 70(1) of Gujarat Town planning and Urban Development Act, was made. In fact, the AMC and farmers fought a three-decade-long legal battle over TP no. 28. The civic body wanted to deduct 50 percent of land while the farmers’ association demanded 40 percent. Later, a compromise was reached and 40 percent deduction was finalised in the green belt land. Earlier, 50 percent deduction was compulsory if farmers or landlords wanted development permission.
The draft of TP scheme number 28 was made in 2015 but the state government gave preliminary approval in December 2019.
It came to the notice of a senior AMC official that a remark had been made that there should be a 40 percent deduction in future re-development. But in these plots, the deduction was 50 percent. AMC would have ended up losing 10% additional land.
A proposal to cancel the remarks mentioned in column 9 of F form of case number 3,31,38,43 and 51 of TP scheme number 28 has now been cleared.
The remark was, “the app. authority shall make a 40 % deduction (Aggregate) From O.P. while giving the permission for redevelopment in F.P.s allotted against the said O.P.”
A senior AMC official said the mistake was a copy-paste error. Therefore, the proposal to rectify the error was cleared in the TP committee. It is not clear that the error was made at the state government or AMC level.
Chairman of TP committee Devang Dani said, “The remark of 40 percent deduction in few plots in TP scheme number 28 was put by mistake and so the proposal to rectify it was cleared.”