Mangaluru: Property owners in Mangaluru have received a major relief, with the state govt reducing the regularisation fee for unauthorised land subdivisions registered before March 26, 2011, from 15% to 1%, Mangaluru Urban Development Authority (Muda) chairman Santhosh Kumar Shetty said on Thursday.The govt has also enabled regularisation of subdivisions registered after March 26, 2011, which previously had no provision for approval, by levying a 1% fee, Shetty said.“This is a major achievement by the govt, thanks to the efforts of district minister UT Khader,” he said, adding that three requests made by Muda had been fulfilled to simplify procedures related to single-site approvals and land conversion.Another key measure is the abolition of the requirement for separate land conversion orders for properties falling within Muda’s approved master plan. According to a govt circular, owners no longer need to obtain conversion orders from the deputy commissioner or tahsildar before seeking approval from Muda.The authority can now directly approve single sites and layouts based on the land-use zone — residential, commercial, industrial or other categories — specified in the master plan.Earlier, owners seeking to convert agricultural land had to approach the revenue department and wait for a conversion order before applying to Muda, a process that often took months, Shetty said.The govt has also addressed technical and administrative hurdles in obtaining mandatory survey sketches for site and layout approvals in urban and rural areas. While the Urban Property Registration Office (UPRO) issued sketches for urban properties, the Assistant Director of Land Records (ADLR) office handled rural areas.The temporary suspension of sketch issuance by UPRO and delays in obtaining certified sketches from rural ADLR offices had stalled applications. Under the new mechanism, the Deputy Director of Land Records (DDLR) and taluk-level ADLR offices will coordinate directly with Muda to ensure timely issuance of sketches, Shetty said.Helpdesk at Muda officeMuda will set up a public helpdesk at the entrance to its office within a month to improve transparency and facilitate access to information on file status.“Preparations are under way to ensure the public can easily check the status of their files,” Shetty said.
