Regularisation fee deters Delhi’s unauthorised colony residents from legalising properties
The civic body’s SWAGAM portal, launched on April 24, allows residents who have already secured property rights under the Centre’s Pradhan Mantri Unauthorized Colonies in Delhi Awas Adhikar Yojana (PM-UDAY) to arrange their existing properties on an “as is” basis.
Currently, more than 40,000 PM-UDAY beneficiaries are eligible to apply.
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However, the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) has received only five applications so far. All are pending after the civic body sought clarification or additional documents from the applicants, officials said.
“In one application from Najafgarh, the applicant had changed his name from ‘Kishan’ to ‘Krishan’ with a pen on the document. We asked him to submit the original document but he did not return,” a senior MCD official told PTI.
However, officials said incomplete applications were not the main reason for the inadequate response. Instead, they said, residents see little value in paying high regulatory fees when there is no urgent need. “For example, the total cost of regularization for a 100 square meter plot comes to around Rs 3 lakh to Rs 4 lakh. More than 80 per cent of the people living in these colonies are working class. If their monthly income is low, how can they afford such a one-time expense? And why should they bother when it has no consequences?” said the official.
MCD has taken up the issue with the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) and the Delhi government and talks are on to explore the possibility of reducing regulatory fees, officials said.
Another reason for the poor response is that there is no deadline for legalizing the properties.
“There is no difference whether one applies after two months or four months because no deadline has been set. There is almost no incentive to apply immediately,” said an official.
He also said people could continue to occupy their properties and since they had not applied, there was no provision for demolition or any immediate action to follow.
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The cost of the fit-out is determined under the Unified Building Regulations (UBBL), 2016 and consists of multiple charges.
Among these, applicants are required to pay a building permit fee of Rs 10 per square meter when submitting the construction plan. They also have to pay fees that vary depending on the category of the colony under the SARAL scheme. For example, Rs 5,000 for plots in luxury category A and B colonies, Rs 2,500 for colonies in category C and D and Rs 1,500 for low-income category E, F, G and H colonies.
Besides these, applicants are required to pay a tax charge of Rs 450 per square meter on additional Floor Area Ratio (FAR) and also pay a pre-occupancy fee of Rs 25,000 for occupying a building without obtaining a completion-occupancy certificate.
These components significantly increase the cost of decluttering a home, making the process unaffordable for many families living in unauthorized colonies, officials said.
Another factor contributing to the muted response is the ownership pattern in these colonies.
Many residents live as tenants, while actual property owners often live in the same building or nearby and do not want to go through the regulatory process, officials said.
The nonprofit argued that despite the upfront cost, the regulation offers many long-term benefits.
Once a property is legalized, it has a legally recognized owner, reducing property disputes common in unauthorized colonies. Since banks generally do not finance unauthorized properties, it also allows property owners to obtain home loans and facilitates a legal sale or transfer through a valid deed of conveyance.
MCD said it has launched multiple awareness initiatives since the launch of the portal to increase participation.
The civic body had earlier sent six rounds of direct messages to all PM-UDAY beneficiaries, urging them to complete the issuance process, officials said.
“We personally sent many messages to the residents on their phones. We also conducted awareness campaigns through automatic dumpers collecting garbage in these colonies. Public announcements and jingles were played to spread awareness,” said an official.
MCD has assigned approximately 711 architects to help applicants prepare and upload building plans and has created facilitation mechanisms to simplify documentation and approvals.
The Delhi government has set October 31 as the last date for residents of unauthorized colonies to apply for transfer deeds and entitlement receipts required to create ownership under the PM-UDAY programme. PTI
