Gujarat rolls out policy to regularise unauthorised construction in GIDC

AHMEDABAD: On Thursday, the Gujarat government announced a new policy seeking regularization of the unauthorized constructions inside industrial estates controlled by the Gujarat Industrial Development Corporation (GIDC). The development comes a month after Gujarat Assembly passed a bill which seeks to regularise unauthorised constructions in urban areas by collecting impact fees from the owners. The statement did not cover industrial estates.

Addressing a press conference in Gandhinagar, State Industries Minister Balwantsinh Rajput said, “With an aim to create more employment in the state, this new policy will cover nearly 70,000 industrial units currently functioning in 220 GIDC estates. Any unauthorized construction done by the owners of Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSME) units on their allotted plots inside GIDCs can be legalized by paying a specific fee.” 

“Due to the rapid industrial development, unauthorised constructions came up in these estates over a period of time. If we remove such constructions, it will adversely affect industrial output, employment, and investment. Thus, we have brought in this policy,” Rajput said. The relief, however, does not cover “hazardous and obnoxious” industrial units, Rajput added. “The policy does not have any provision to regularise floors built on existing structures without permission and unauthorized construction done outside the allotted plot in the estate,” he said.

The fee for regularising unauthorized residential-type construction between 50 sqmts to 300 sqmts inside the estate will be Rs 3,000 to Rs 18,000, while an additional Rs 150 will be charged for every square meter of construction above 300 square meters.