LRS Evokes Poor Response, Likely To Extend For A Month
The LRS scheme, launched on February 21, initially offered the 25 per cent rebate on fees until March 31.
Hyderabad:The state government’s Layout Regularisation Scheme (LRS), aimed at regularising unapproved plots and layouts, has evoked poor response from applicants despite a 25 per cent rebate on fees and a one-month deadline extension. The extended deadline, which ended on April 30, failed to boost collections for the government.
The LRS scheme, launched on February 21, initially offered the 25 per cent rebate on fees until March 31. Of the 25.67 lakh applications submitted, rebate notices were issued to over 20 lakh applicants. However, only 3.64 lakh applicants made payments before the March 31 deadline.
In view of the poor response, the government extended both the deadline and rebate by another month till April 30, hoping to encourage more people to avail of the scheme. Yet, official sources said, April witnessed payments from only 1.55 lakh applicants within April 30 deadline, bringing the total to 5.19 lakh applicants who have so far availed the scheme.
The government, which had anticipated earning ₹20,000 crore through LRS, has collected just ₹1,750 crore by April 30. In light of the continued weak response, the state government is considering another deadline extension until May 31 to allow more time for applicants.
Adding to public dissatisfaction is the lack of progress in processing applications. Many applicants have complained that their applications remain stuck at the initial ‘L1’ stage on the official LRS portal, despite having paid the fees weeks, in some cases months ago. The government had promised to issue LRS proceedings within 15 days of payment.
An LRS application passes through three stages which include L1 involves verification by the revenue and irrigation departments to check if plots fall within prohibited zones or water bodies, L2 requires scrutiny by the town planning department and L3 consists of final approvals by Municipal Commissioners and senior officials. Applicants report little to no movement beyond L1, undermining trust in the scheme.
Several citizens who paid as early as February 21 say they have received no communication from the officials about the status of their applications, fuelling frustration and uncertainty about the scheme’s future.
DATE EXTENDED
The Telangana government has extended the deadline for availing a rebate on the regularisation of unapproved and illegal layouts, I.e. disposal of LRS applications, till May 3, 2025.
Following this order all applicants who pay regularization charges and pro-rata open space charges on or before May 3 will be entitled to a 25% rebate on the said charges.
