Preparation of Town Development Schemes

(1) The Town and Country Development Authority may, at any time, declare its intention to prepare a Town Development Scheme. (2) Within a maximum of thirty days from the date of such declaration of intention to prepare the scheme, the Town and Country Development Authority shall publish the declaration in the Gazette and in such manner as may be prescribed. (3) Within a maximum of two years from the date of publication of the declaration under sub-section (2), the Town and Country Development Authority shall prepare a Town Development Scheme as a draft and shall publish it in such form and in such manner as may be prescribed, along with a notice inviting objections and suggestions from any person before such date as may be prescribed, which shall not be less than thirty days from the date of publication of such notice. (4) The Town and Country Development Authority shall consider all such objections and suggestions as may be received within the period specified in the notice under sub-section (3) and, after giving reasonable opportunity of being heard to such persons affected thereby who may desire to be heard, or after considering the report of the committee constituted under sub-section (5), may either publish the draft scheme or make such modifications therein as it may deem fit. Provided that the final publication of such draft scheme shall be notified within one year from the date of publication of the draft scheme, failing which it shall be deemed that the draft scheme has lapsed. (5) Where a Town Development Scheme relates to the reorganization of plots, the Town and Country Development Authority shall, notwithstanding anything contained in sub-section (4), constitute a committee for the purpose of hearing objections and suggestions received under sub-section (3), which shall consist of the Chief Executive Officer of the said Authority and two other members, one of whom shall be a representative of the Madhya Pradesh Housing Board and the other shall be an officer of the Public Works Department not below the rank of Executive Engineer nominated by the Chief Engineer, Public Works Department. (6) The committee constituted under sub-section (5) shall consider the objections and suggestions, hear those persons who desire to be heard, and submit its report to the Town and Country Development Authority within such time as it may fix, with the following propositions: (i) To identify and demarcate areas reserved or allotted for public purposes; (ii) To demarcate reorganized plots; (iii) To evaluate the value of original and reorganized plots; (iv) To determine whether the areas reserved for public purposes are wholly or partially beneficial to the residents within the area of the scheme; (v) To estimate or apportion the compensation to be paid to the beneficiaries of the scheme and fees to be collected from them for the purpose of reorganization of plots and reservation of sectors for public purposes; (vi) To evaluate the increase in the value of each reorganized plot and determine the development fee recoverable from the holder of the plot: Provided that the fee shall not exceed half of the increment accrued in the value; (vii) To evaluate the decrease in the value of any reorganized plot and determine the compensation payable for the same. (7) Immediately after the Town Development Scheme is approved with or without modifications under sub-section (4), the Town and Country Development Authority shall publish the final Town Development Scheme in the Gazette and in such other manner as may be prescribed and shall specify the date on which it (the scheme) shall come into force.