December 11, 2019

By Nyein Nyein

Legal action is being taken against buildings constructed without permission in Yangon Region, said U Win Myint Than, committee member-7, Yangon City Development Committee (YCDC).

“Relating to construction of buildings without erection of green signboards, the elected Township municipal chairman, YCDC representative (EO), in his capacity as secretary, and two other members checked such houses and scrutinized land ownership. If the ownership was found to be legitimate, the house owner was asked to pay a fine. They were allowed to continue construction and will be given a BCC permit upon completion of construction,” said U Win Myint Than.

“Some heads of households perish while staying in such houses, leaving behind the problem of inheritance. The ownership of land and building are not clear in such cases. There are many similar problems. To prevent such cases, the YCDC committee lets them pay fines and apply for ownership. There are two types of fines–pre-construction penalty. But, we do not allow construction without payment of fines. While imposing a pre-construction penalty, we make the home or land owners pay a fine and continue with construction. Some people are willing to pay the pre-construction penalty,” he added.

“Moreover, we check the ownership of land through a complaint letter. If they pay the fine, we allow them to continue construction. During the new government’s term, we found only a few buildings constructed without permission,” U Win Myint Than added.

“A complaint letter can be sent along with the address of the houses that are being constructed without erecting green signboards. Then, we will take legal action against them immediately,” said U Maung Maung Soe, Yangon Mayor.

“YCDC staff are not allowed to levy any extra charge to issue construction permits. If anyone finds them quoting extra charges, they can inform the YCDC with detailed information. The YCDC authorities will take action against the staff under the rules and regulations,” said U Tin Maung Kyi, head of the Engineering Department (Buildings), YCDC.

“People planning to construct buildings have to apply for a permit first. If they fail to apply for a construction permit for valid reasons, they can pay a fine, and they would then be allowed to continue construction,” he added.

“Regarding the construction permit, the YCDC has relaxed some strict rules in order to ease the burden on the people. If they apply for a construction permit, we will issue it in a week, once the ownership is verified,” said U Tin Maung Kyi.

“We would like to suggest that owners apply for construction permits themselves. Then, they will know if it is complicated. Now, we are streamlining the permit issuance process. We are also implementing an online system as a pilot project. Currently, the online system can be accessed through the YCDC website. So, people don’t need to come to the YCDC office in person,” he said.

(Translated by Hay Mar)