Tirupati: Nellore Urban Development Authority (NUDA) is grappling with a surge of unauthorised layouts within its jurisdiction, as developers are converting vast swathes of agricultural land into residential plots without following norms.
Rapid expansion of industry in Nellore district has attracted people from several states, fuelling the for housing. As a result, illegal layouts have proliferated in areas, such as Nellore Urban, Nellore Rural, Kavali, Kandukur and other areas.
Rising affluence within upper-middle class, salaried employees, and business communities is driving the demand for plots.
Real estate developers are exploiting this demand by converting agricultural lands into plots and selling them, without adhering to regulatory guidelines. By creating unauthorised layouts, they are bypassing development charges, maintenance costs, and mandatory allocation of 10 per cent land for public purposes. Lengthy approval process is also being cited as a factor pushing developers towards illegal layouts.
Sources said a special team of NUDA has identified 117 illegal layouts within its jurisdiction. In Kondlapudi of Nellore Rural mandal alone, there are 12 different layouts spread over 77.09 acres. Similar situation is prevailing in Devarapalli, Amancherla, and Pottepalem. In Mocharla of Gudluru mandal, three layouts covering 95 acres had been created in 2023. Another layout spread over 6 acres had been established in 2021. None of these layouts have taken any permission from NUDA.
People who had brought plots in such layouts have now started facing the consequences. They are facing difficulties in getting permission to build their houses or obtaining loans from banks.
D. Surendra, a businessman from Dhanalakshmi Nagar in Nellore, who bought a 30 Ankana plot in Kondlapudi, is now struggling to get approval for building his home.
“We are identifying illegal layouts within NUDA’s jurisdiction and issuing notices. We have advised developers to take due permissions and regularise their layouts. Strict action will be taken against those who do not comply,” a NUDA official said. He asked people not to purchase plots in unauthorised layouts and suffer losses.
