Residents of various colonies in the city were shocked after being served notices recently by the government under the Urban Land (Ceiling and Regularisation) Act of 1976, directing them to regularise the land they possessed beyond the ceiling limit imposed for vacant lands in the urban areas.
The notices were served in the wake of the government’s decision to regularise the “extra” land in possession of the landowners post implementation of the Act.
A G.O. (No. 36) to this effect was issued on January 31, 2022.
In the notices, the landowners were asked to pay “1.5 times the current land registration value” to the Joint Collector and Competent Authority, Urban Land Ceiling, Vijayawada, in two instalments, besides submitting supporting documents such as registration documents (before 2008), building permission, water tax and electricity bills before June 30, 2022.
“Upon payment of the regularisation and registration fee, the lands will be removed from the prohibited land records,” the notices said.
According to reports, the notices were served to over 1,200 property owners across the city and its suburbs.
The residents expressed concern that they would have to pay more than the value of the property in which they had been residing for the past several decades. In most cases, the ownership of properties changed hands several times.
