Property owners can no longer take prospective buyers for a ride while selling land in and around the city by hiding information. The Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority (CMDA) is set to make disputes over survey numbers public.
GIS-enabled land-use maps that will soon replace their outdated predecessors on the CMDA portal will feature information over ownerships disputes.
CMDA sources said the new maps in the Chennai Metropolitan Area (CMA) have been upgraded on GIS.
“In addition, a user selecting a survey number will be able to view all details related to restrictions on development owing to location in the vicinity of ASI-notified sites, defence establishments, besides objections and whether the land comes under the purview of any acquisition,” a senior CMDA official said.
Currently, the multi-colour coded land-use maps have data such as residential or commercial and locations, where restricted development is permitted apart from construction banned areas such as water bodies and reserved forests. Details regarding disputes are absent.
Different agencies and departments of the government notify the CMDA regarding the areas identified for land acquisition for public projects. According to sources, objections to ownership is also brought to the notice of the planning authority by the people concerned. “These details would flash as people click on the survey number. A majority of the disputes are about ownerships,” another official added.
The CMDA portal has a decade-old land-use map, which has not been updated though the CMA has witnessed massive urbanisation over the last ten years. Even as peripheries of the corporation have been expanded adding the fringe areas, these localities continue to figure as town panchayats or municipalities despite the upgradation. OMR resident Satish rued that Perungudi and Sholinganallur on Rajiv Gandhi Salai that were merged with Chennai district continue as town panchayats.
When contacted, a CMDA official said that these issues would be addressed and necessary updates would be executed.
Yogesh Kabirdoss, Economic Times, Chennai