The Telangana Town Planning Act, 1920

THE TELANGANA TOWN-PLANNING ACT, 1920. (ACT NO. VII OF 1920.)

(1) This Act may be called the Telangana Town Planning Act, 1920. (2) It extends to the whole of the State of Telangana.

(1) Every Municipal council shall not later than four years from the date of the constitution of such council prepare, publish and submit for the sanction of the State Government a general town-planning scheme in respect of all land within the municipality and in its vicinity unless the State Government order otherwise. (2) Notwithstanding anything contained in sub-section (1), the State Government may, after making such enquiry as they may deem necessary by notification in the Official Gazette, direct any municipal council to prepare, publish and submit for their sanction before an appointed date a general town-planning scheme under this section for an area specified in such notification. (3) A general town-planning scheme shall determine the lines on which the improvement and development of the area within the municipality and in its vicinity shall proceed and shall provide for such of the matters referred to in section 4 and to such extent as may be prescribed.

Notwithstanding anything contained in sections 9 to 11, the State Government may, in respect of any municipality, after making such inquiry as they may deem necessary, by notification in the Official Gazette, require the council, before a fixed date, to prepare, publish and submit for their sanction a draft scheme as respects any land in regard to which a town-planning scheme may be made.

(1) Every draft scheme shall contain the following particulars:- (a) a plan showing the lines of existing and proposed streets; (b) the ownership of all lands and buildings in the area to which the scheme relates; (c) the area of all such lands whether public or private; (d) a full description of all details of the scheme under such clauses of section 4 as may be applicable; (e) XXX; (f) an estimate of the cost of the scheme; (g) regulations for enforcing or carrying out the provisions of the scheme; and defining the responsible authority and the period for which such responsible authority shall function; and (h) any other particulars or plans that may be prescribed or specially required by the State Government. (2) Every draft scheme which includes a housing scheme shall also contain the following particulars, namely:- (i) the approximate number and the nature of the houses to be provided by the responsible authority; (ii) the approximate quantity of land to be acquired and the localities in which land is acquired; (iii) the average number of houses per acre; and (iv) all matters incidental to the housing scheme. (3) A draft scheme may provide that any person who commits or knowingly permits a breach of any specified provision of the scheme, or who neglects or fails to comply with any such provision, shall, on conviction, be punishable under section 44-B.

(1) If within sixty days from the date of the publication of a draft scheme any person affected by such scheme communicates in writing any objection or suggestion relating thereto, the council shall consider such objection or suggestion and may modify the scheme as it thinks fit. (2) The scheme as passed or adopted by the council together with all written objections and suggestions shall thereupon be submitted to the State Government for sanction and the fact of such submission shall be published in the prescribed manner. (3) The State Government may, after considering the objections and suggestions, if any, and making such inquiry as they think fit, sanction scheme with or without modifications, or may refuse to sanction the scheme or may return the scheme to the council for reconsideration: Provided that unless a modification is, in the opinion of the State Government, verbal or inconsequential, the State Government shall not sanction the scheme with such modification without the consent of the council: Provided further that when a scheme is returned to the council for reconsideration, the council shall resubmit it to the State Government within three months from the date of its receipt and the State Government may then deal with the scheme in the manner mentioned in this sub-section: Provided further that if the council fails to re-submit the scheme within the time specified in the foregoing proviso, the State Government may, in relation to the scheme, pass such orders as they may deem fit. (4) When a scheme returned for reconsideration is modified by the council, the scheme as so modified shall before resubmission to the State Government for sanction, be published and passed by the council in the same manner as a draft scheme

(1) A town-planning scheme sanctioned under section 14 may at any time be varied or revoked by a subsequent scheme, published and sanctioned in accordance with this Act: Provided that the municipal council shall be competent to modify a scheme after it has been sanctioned by the State Government under section 14 by an agreement entered into with the persons interested in the scheme and with the concurrence of the State Government. (2) (a) The State Government may, at any time, by notification in the Official Gazette, vary or revoke a scheme sanctioned under section 14. (b) Before issuing such notification the State Government shall publish in the prescribed manner a draft of such notification together with a notice specifying a date on or after which such draft will be taken into consideration and shall consider any objection or suggestion which may be received in respect of such draft from the council or any person affected by the scheme before the date so specified.

If at any time after the day on which a scheme has come into force such scheme is varied or revoked, any person who has incurred expenditure for the purpose of complying with such scheme shall be entitled to receive compensation from the municipal council in so far as, by reason of the variation or revocation of such scheme, such expenditure has ceased to be in any way beneficial to him.

After the publication of a notification under section 10 or section 12, no person shall erect, or proceed with, any building or work on, or enter into or carry out a contract in respect of, land within the area included in the scheme, unless he has applied for, and obtained permission, in cases where a scheme has not been sanctioned, from the municipal council, and in other cases, from a responsible authority: Provided that, if the council or the responsible authority omits for three months from the date of receipt of such application, to communicate to the applicant any orders thereon, it shall be deemed to have granted the permission.

From the date of the notification of the State Government sanctioning a scheme under section 14, all owners of lands and buildings in the area affected by the scheme who propose to construct or reconstruct or in any way alter or add to buildings shall conform in every particular with the requirements of such scheme ; and no building shall be constructed or reconstructed in any area in which building is expressly forbidden in the scheme, or which is reserved in the scheme for any purpose incompatible with building. (1) The municipal council may, within three months of the date of an award of compensation under this Chapter, apply to the State Government to cancel or modify the award on the ground that the value of the property has been substantially diminished or that the property has been rendered injuriously affected by the scheme in a manner which gave rise to the claim for compensation and give notice of such application to the owner of such property. (2) If the State Government accord such sanction, the award of compensation shall stand cancelled, and the municipal council shall pay the costs if any, awarded by the arbitrator in connexion with the claim for compensation. (3) Nothing contained in this section shall affect the right of the owner to make a fresh claim for compensation in respect of the modified scheme sanctioned by the State Government under sub-section (2). (4) No award of compensation in respect of property injuriously affected shall be enforceable within three months from the date thereof, or, if notice has been given under sub-section (1), pending the orders of the State Government on the application made under the same sub-section.

Any person whose property is injuriously affected by any refusal to grant the permission applied for under section 17 or by the making of a town-planning scheme shall, if he makes a claim for the purpose within the time (if any) limited by the scheme, not being less than three months after the date of publication of a notification by the State Government sanctioning the scheme under section 14, be entitled to obtain compensation in respect thereof from the municipal council.

A person shall not be entitled to obtain compensation under section 20 on account of any building erected on, or contract made, or other thing done with respect to, land included in scheme, after the date of the publication of the notification under section 10 or section 12: Provided that this provision shall not apply to any building erected, contract made or other thing done in accordance with a permission granted under section 17.

(1) Where property is alleged to be injuriously affected by reason of any provisions contained in a town-planning scheme, no compensation shall be paid in respect thereof, if or in so far as the provisions are such as would have been enforceable without compensation under any law, rule or bye-law at the time in force. (2) Property shall not be deemed to be injuriously affected by reason of any provisions inserted in a scheme, which impose any conditions or restrictions in regard to any of the matters specified in section 4, clause (m) or clause (n). (3) Where a person is entitled to compensation under this Act in respect of any matter or thing, and he would be entitled to compensation in respect of the same matter or thing under any other Act, he shall not be entitled to compensation in respect of that matter or thing under both the Acts, nor shall he be entitled to any larger compensation under this Act than he would be entitled to under the other Act.

Where by the making of any town-planning scheme the value of any property has increased or is likely to increase, the municipal council, if it makes a claim for the purpose within the time (if any) limited by the scheme not being less than three months after the date of publication of a notification of the State Government sanctioning a scheme under section 14, shall be entitled to recover from the owner of such property an annual betterment contribution for such term of years and at such uniform percentage of the increase in value not exceeding ten per centum as may be fixed in the scheme: Provided that the aggregate amount of the contributions so recovered shall not exceed one-half of the maximum increase in value during the aforesaid term of years as ascertained under the next following section.

(1) The betterment contribution shall be a first charge on the property on which it is due, subject to the prior payment of land revenue, if any, due to the Government thereon, and shall be paid in half-yearly instalments of one-half of the amount fixed for the year. (2) (a) The State Government may make rules for the assessment and collection of the betterment contribution, and subject to such rules, (i) the chairman shall have the same powers and shall adopt the same procedure for the assessment and collection of the betterment contribution as he has for the assessment and collection of the property tax, (ii) persons affected shall have the same right to receive notice of assessment and to object to the assessment and to appeal in respect thereof as they have in respect of the property tax, and (iii) decisions on appeal shall to the same extent be final and conclusive; and (b) lands and buildings exempt from the property tax shall also be exempt from any betterment contribution.

(1) If the owner of any property, separately registered in the municipal assessment books and assessed to a betterment contribution in any particular year, objects to the amount of such contribution on the ground that the market value estimated under clause (b) of section 24 is excessive, he shall state the market value which, he contends, is correct, and may, within thirty days of the date on which the determination of his objection or appeal becomes final, by written notice, require the municipal council to acquire the property together with any buildings or other works that may exist thereon. (2) The council shall thereupon either acquire the property or accept the market value as stated by the owner and revise its assessment of the betterment contribution in accordance therewith. (3) In case the council elects to acquire the property the compensation payable therefor shall be determined according to the provisions of the Land Acquisition Act, 1894, or according to those provisions as modified by sections 34 and 35, as the case may require: Provided that the compensation payable for the property, apart from the buildings or other works thereon, shall not exceed the market value stated by the owner under sub-section (1).

(1) After a scheme has been sanctioned the State Government may and if so required by the council or any person interested in the scheme shall appoint an arbitrator with sufficient establishment to discharge all or any of the following duties:- (a) to pass such orders as may be required under clauses (a) to (d) of sub-section (2) of section 5; (b) to define, and, where necessary, to demarcate or cause the demarcation of, the reconstituted plots or the areas allotted to, or reserved for, the purposes mentioned in clause (k) of section 4; (c) to decide, in reference to the claims made, whether any property is injuriously affected within the meaning of section 20, and award the compensation, if any, to be paid to the owner concerned in accordance with the provisions contained in Chapter IV; and (d) to determine, in reference to the claims made, the properties which are liable to the betterment contribution under section 23 and estimate and record their market value as the date of the notification under section 10 or section 12, as the case may be, in accordance with the provisions of clause (a) of section 24. (2) The decisions of the arbitrator under clauses (a) and (b) of sub-section (1) shall be read as part of the scheme sanctioned under section 14 and shall be final and binding on all persons: Provided that where any such decision is in conflict with any provision in the scheme it shall require the approval of the State Government and, on such approval being given, shall be deemed, to the extent mentioned in such decision, to have varied the sanctioned scheme.

(1) The arbitrator shall give notice of his proceedings and conduct them in the prescribed manner and communicate his decision to the parties concerned. (2) An arbitrator shall have all the powers of a Civil Court under the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908, for the purpose of taking evidence on oath and of enforcing the attendance of witnesses and compelling the production of documents and material objects. (3) The costs of and incident to all proceedings before the arbitrator shall be in his discretion and the arbitrator shall have full power to determine by whom or out of what property and to what extent such costs are to be paid and to give all necessary directions for the purpose aforesaid.

(1) Any party aggrieved by any decision of the arbitrator under clause (c) or clause (d) of sub-section (1) of section 27 may within three months from the date of the communication of such decision appeal to the District Judge concerned. (2) The decision of the arbitrator under clause (c) or clause (d) of sub-section (1) of section 27 and, when an appeal has been preferred under sub-section (1), the decision on such appear shall be read as part of the scheme sanctioned under section 14 and shall be final and binding on all persons.

(1) The receipts of a municipal council under this Act or any town-planning scheme made thereunder shall form a separate town-planning fund and all expenditure under this Act or any town-planning scheme thereunder shall be defrayed out of such fund. No portion of the fund shall, except with the sanction of the State Government, be expended for purposes not provided for by this Act. (2) The moneys required, in the first instance, to establish such fund, and any deficiency from time to time occurring in such fund by reason of the excess of expenditure over receipts shall, subject to such rules as the State Government may frame in this behalf be supplied out of the general municipal fund or out of moneys borrowed in pursuance of this Act. (3) Separate accounts shall be maintained by each municipal council for its town-planning fund.

A municipal council, taking action under this Act, shall be deemed to be a local authority as defined in the Local Authorities Loans Act, 1914, for the purpose of borrowing money under the provisions of that Act, and the making and execution of a town-planning scheme shall be deemed to be a work which such local authority is legally authorized to carry out.

Immovable property required for the purposes of a town-planning scheme shall be deemed to be land needed for a public purpose, within the meaning of the Land Acquisition Act, 1894, and may be acquired,-(a) under the said Act, or (b) under the said Act as modified in the manner hereinafter provided in this chapter.

In cases falling under clause (b) of section 33 a notification under section 14 shall, notwithstanding anything contained in the Land Acquisition Act, 1894, operate in respect of any land for the purposes of the scheme as a declaration under section 6 of the said Act and no further declaration shall be necessary, but it shall not be incumbent on the State Government, or officer authorized in that behalf, to take immediate steps for the acquisition of such land. Provided that if the land is not acquired within three years from the date of the notification, it shall cease to have effect as a declaration under section 6 of the Land Acquisition Act, 1894.

Any dispute between any two local authorities in regard to any matters arising under any of the provisions of this Act shall, in case of their failure to settle it amicably between themselves, be referred for adjudication to the State Government whose decision shall be final.

For the purpose of the making or execution of any town-planning scheme, the municipal authorities or the responsible authority or persons appointed by the State Government under section 42, sub-section (3), their subordinates and contractors shall have the same power to enter upon, survey and set up marks on property and to do all acts necessary for such purposes, subject to the same conditions and restrictions, as they have for other municipal purposes under Part VII of the Telangana Municipalities Act, 1965, and persons interfering with the exercise of such powers by the municipal authorities or the responsible authority or persons appointed by the State Government, their officers, servants, or contractors, shall be liable to the same penalties.

superseded.

(1) On and after the day on which the scheme comes into force, the responsible authority may make a provisional order requiring an owner,- (a) to remove, pull down, or alter any building or other work in the area included in the scheme which is such as to contravene the scheme, or in the erection or carrying out of which any provision of the scheme has not been complied with; or (b) to execute within a specified period any work which it is the owner’s duty to execute under the scheme, where the responsible authority is of opinion that delay in the execution of the work would prejudice the efficient operation of the scheme. (2) The responsible authority shall serve a copy of the provisional order made under sub-section (1) on the owner, together with a notice requiring him to show cause, within a reasonable time to be specified in such notice, why the order should not be confirmed. (3) If the owner fails to show cause to the satisfaction of the responsible authority, the responsible authority may confirm the order granting such further period as it may deem fit, to execute the work and such order shall be communicated to and be binding on the owner and may be enforced. The expenses of enforcement may be recovered in the prescribed manner. An appeal shall lie to the State Government against the order of the responsible authority and their decision shall be final.