Pune Metropolitan Region Development Authority (PMRDA) has announced an Amnesty Scheme aimed at easing the process of regularizing houses under the Gunthewari Act, following state government approval for a fee reduction.

The scheme offers a 50% discount on the regularization fees for proposals submitted by May 31, 2025, providing significant relief to residents in the PMRDA's jurisdiction, including 23 villages.

Previously, the state government extended the deadline for regularizing houses built before 2001 to include those constructed up to December 31, 2020, under the Gunthewari Act.

However, the fee structure, determined by combining the Unified Development Control (UDC) Rules and the Ready Reckoner rates, led to high costs, discouraging residents from pursuing regularization.

Civic rights organizations and activists, including Sudhir Kulkarni, had been advocating for a reduction in these fees. In response, the state’s Urban Development Department allowed PMRDA to set its rates within the limits specified by the state on October 18, 2021. Following this, PMRDA proposed reducing the current rates for regularizing Gunthewari houses.

The reduction proposal was approved during a meeting chaired by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde. Despite this, it was noted that the initial reduction still did not provide sufficient relief to residents. Therefore, PMRDA introduced the Amnesty Scheme to offer an additional 50% fee reduction.

How the Scheme Works:

Under this scheme, if a plot owner constructed a 3,000-square-foot building on a 1,000-square-foot plot without prior approval and seeks to regularize it, the development fee would be based on the Ready Reckoner rate of INR 1,000 per square foot.

However, the reduced fee would apply to the authorized portion of the construction as well as penalties for the excess area, lowering costs significantly.

Scheme Details:

The scheme remains in effect until May 31, 2025. PMRDA has issued a circular confirming that proposals submitted within this period will benefit from a 50% fee discount.

The Public Relations Officer, Dr. Dnyaneshwar Bhale, emphasized the importance of this initiative to assist residents within the PMRDA area.