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• The Rajasthan government's decision to regularise unauthorised colonies through Urban Service Camps has drawn criticism from town planners and municipal officials, who say it weakens action against illegal developments.
• Recent relaxations under urban development rules allow several property-related services, including mutation and NOCs, to be processed without mandatory site inspections, raising concerns over planning and public safety.
• Officials believe repeated regularisation encourages builders to develop unauthorised colonies, expecting future governments to legalise them through pattas issued at a nominal fee of INR 500.
• Experts have also questioned the decision to delegate planning responsibilities to junior engineers in municipalities where key town planning posts remain vacant, warning it could affect the quality of urban development and oversight.
The Rajasthan government's move to regularise unauthorised colonies through Urban Service Camps has come under scrutiny from urban planners and municipal officials, who believe the policy undermines efforts to control illegal colonies and encroachments. While the state has repeatedly spoken about curbing unauthorised developments, officials argue that regularising such settlements sends a conflicting message and weakens enforcement of urban planning laws.
To facilitate faster disposal of pending property-related cases, the state government issued a circular earlier this month introducing several relaxations under existing urban development rules. Under the revised provisions, applications related to property mutation, conversion of leasehold properties into freehold, issuance of no-objection certificates (NOCs), and subdivision or reconstitution of plots processed during Urban Service Camps no longer require mandatory site inspections.
Urban planners have raised concerns that removing physical verification could lead to serious planning issues. They said site inspections play an important role in checking violations such as inadequate setbacks, illegal construction and road access before granting approvals. According to planning experts, bypassing these checks could create long-term safety risks for residents and make future enforcement more difficult.
Officials also pointed to emergency response concerns. They warned that if unauthorised colonies continue to be regularised without proper verification, narrow internal roads and planning violations may prevent fire engines or ambulances from reaching affected areas during emergencies. They referred to a recent incident in Jaipur's Kho Nagoriyan area, where emergency vehicle access reportedly became difficult, as an example of the risks associated with poorly planned colonies.
Municipal officials said residents of unauthorised colonies often use these camps to obtain ownership documents and legalise their properties. They argued that successive governments have followed a similar approach for years, allowing encroachments on government land valued at lakhs or even crores of rupees to eventually receive legal recognition through official pattas after payment of only INR 500.
According to senior local government officials, such regularisation drives have created an expectation among some developers that unauthorised colonies will eventually become legal. Officials believe certain builders deliberately develop such layouts because they expect future governments to provide pattas to plot owners after 10 to 15 years. They argued that this practice encourages violations instead of ensuring compliance with approved development plans and described the policy as a populist measure.
Another provision that has drawn objections relates to staffing in urban local bodies. The government has allowed chief municipal officers to authorise junior or assistant engineers to perform the duties of senior draftsmen or assistant town planners in municipalities where these posts remain vacant. Municipal officials believe planning functions require specialised technical expertise and that assigning these responsibilities to officials holding different positions could affect planning quality and regulatory oversight.
The issue of regularising illegal colonies has remained a long-standing challenge in Rajasthan. Successive governments have introduced schemes to provide legal ownership to residents of unauthorised settlements, citing public demand and the need to resolve pending property disputes. However, urban planning experts have consistently maintained that repeated regularisation without stronger enforcement encourages fresh violations, weakens planning discipline and increases pressure on civic infrastructure that was never designed for such developments.
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