Andhra Pradesh Government Offers Relief to Realtors by Waiving Development Charges on Old Layouts

In a major relief for real estate developers, the Andhra Pradesh government has decided to revive old layout permissions without collecting development charges. This decision is expected to benefit around 870 real estate promoters who had proposed ventures across more than 8,500 acres of land.

These layout proposals had been pending for years due to non-payment of development charges. Under existing rules, developers are required to complete layout development within three years of receiving the Initial Layout Permission (LP) number. However, many failed to meet this deadline, and urban development authorities demanded payment of both layout fees and development charges a financial burden that developers claimed was unfair.

Seeking a resolution, a group of realtors approached Municipal Administration Minister Dr. P. Narayana, expressing willingness to pay the layout fees but requesting a waiver on what they described as duplicate development charges. The minister directed officials to investigate the matter.

In her report, Director of Town and Country Planning Vidyullatha noted that around 870 layouts covering 8,509 acres had been approved between two and twenty years ago and now require revalidation. She recommended that the government allow revalidation by collecting applicable layout fees and a penalty for delays — but grant a one-time exemption on development charges.

Following this, a government-appointed committee backed the proposal and suggested implementing the revalidation process within a fixed timeframe. The state government has accepted the recommendation and issued orders to revalidate these old layouts by collecting only the layout fee and a delayed penalty, waiving development charges entirely.

This move is seen as a significant boost for stalled real estate projects across the state, as it reduces financial hurdles and opens the door for faster project execution.

Officials believe the decision will not only help revive long-pending developments but also attract further investment into the sector by easing regulatory burdens on genuine promoters.