Technical glitches, poor response might force Telangana government to extend LRS deadline

Originally set to end on March 31, the scheme offers a 25 per cent rebate on charges for regularising plots and layouts

Hyderabad: Struggling with technical glitches and a lukewarm public response, the Telangana government is expected to extend the deadline for the Layout Regularisation Scheme (LRS) by another month.

Originally set to end on March 31, the scheme offers a 25 per cent rebate on charges for regularising plots and layouts.

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The cash-strapped Congress government had planned to make most of the LRS to raise around Rs 2,000 crore through regularisation fee, but the response has been sluggish.

Despite having around 16 lakh pending applications Statewide, only 5.5 lakh have been approved, and less than two lakh applicants have completed payments.

Of around 3.54 lakh from HMDA limits, less than one lakh applications have been approved and around 30,000 applicants have made payments. The slow response has raised concerns, prompting officials to speed up processing.

However, applicants have faced major technical issues. Many are still awaiting payment links, while others have reported incorrect fee calculations, with some receiving absurd payment demands — one applicant was asked to pay Rs 28 crore for a Rs 50 lakh plot, while another was charged Rs 5 crore for land worth Rs 14 lakh, both in Nuspur municipality of Mancherial district.

Similarly, another applicant with 337 sq yards plot in Jedcherla municipality valued at Rs 1 crore, received notice to pay Rs 27 crore.

Repeated field verifications have further slowed the process, with many being asked to submit documents and undergo inspections again, despite having completed them earlier. Further, due to technical errors, the applications processed by one department is not visible for other departments responsible.

To encourage payments, the government which offered 25 per cent discount on LRS fee, also warned that construction will not be permitted on unregularised plots, urging applicants to complete the process. However, unless the technical snags are resolved, the extension alone may not be enough to boost compliance.