The CMC has tried to make the building plan approval process more transparent by asking landowners to mention in the application the exact quantum of land they have, a CMC official said on Wednesday.

It can be different from the land area mentioned in the deed, the official said.

There have been instances where the land area didn’t match with the one mentioned in the deed when one physically measured a plot, an architect said. “Suppose the deed mentions a 5-cottah plot; after physically measuring it, we found it to be 5 cottahs and a few chhataks. We did not do anything illegal. All adjacent plots had boundaries erected by their owners,” the architect said.

In such a case, the CMC authorities asked applicants to mention 5 cottahs and not 5 cottahs and a few chhataks in the application and in the plot map submitted along with the application, an architect said.

“We had to do this but it was fudging real information,” the architect said.

This was done because the more the land area, the more is the scope for construction. But the civic body could not have allowed more construction than what was permitted according to the land area mentioned in the deed.

“Allowing more construction would have meant doing something illegal,” a CMC official said.

The changed rules say the application should mention the exact quantum of land found after measuring a plot. Simultaneously, the deed should be submitted as well. “We will give permission for construction based on the land area mentioned in the deed. So, if someone has 5.5 cottahs and the deed says the plot is 5 cottahs, construction will be allowed only for what is permitted in a 5-cottah plot.

The excess land in possession cannot be used for additional construction,” a CMC official said.

The official said the excess land will remain as an additional open space, in excess of the mandatory open space for a 5-cottah plot.

“The tweak in the rule makes the process more transparent. No one has to lie. And the plot owners or architects will not be in trouble while getting a completion certificate,” the official said.

A situation where the land in actual possession was more than what was mentioned in the deed could have happened because any of the adjacent plots was occupying less than its rightful share of land, an architect said. “There was no coercion on part of the owner of the land being measured… and this is how it has been for years.”