The Lagos State government has charged residents in the state to be vigilant, conscious of their immediate environment and observe all building laws in the state.
The Commissioner, Ministry of Physical Planning and Urban Development (MPP&UD), Rotimi Ogunleye, urged residents to observe all town planning laws while doing any project to avoid clash.
Ogunleye, who spoke at a stakeholders’ interactive meeting organised by the Lagos State Physical Planning Permit Authourity (LASPPPA) for people in Amuwo-Odofin Local Government and Oriade Local Council Development Area at the weekend, enjoined the residents to obtain building approval permit in order for them to have safe and secured property.
He said this serves as collateral for obtaining financial or monetary assistance, adding that the administration is aware that a functional community is a city that is organised, livable, business and tourism-friendly. He noted that the need to achieve this necessitated the quarterly stakeholders’ meeting to engender feedback mechanism between the government and the populace.
Speaking in the same vein, the Special Adviser to the Governor on Urban Development, Mrs. Yetunde Onabule, reiterated that planning is essential in developing a smart city, advising residents to notify the state government of any violations/ contraventions in their respective locality for a speedy response to avert a major catastrophe.
In similar vein, the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry, Mrs. Boladele Dapo-Thomas, thanked the people of the area for supporting the administration of Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode and urged them to keep on supporting the government in order to do more of developmental projects.
The General Manager, LASPPPA, Mr. Funmi Osifuye, a town planner, explained that creating functional communities requires strict adherence to the provisions of the “Operative Development Plan” for the areas. He disclosed that the subsisting development plan for Amuwo-Odofin LGA and the Oriade LCDA was the Badagry Masterplan covering 2012 -2032.
Osifuye, however, said the government was aware of various issues militating against the application for the grant of planning permit by intending developers such as land title on federal and state acquisitions; illegal conversions; illegal developments, that is construction prior to granting of planning permit in some areas.
He further disclosed that the government has made provisions to encourage voluntary compliance through continuous public sensitisation. Besides, he revealed that the entire process has been simplified and made easy for the public. For instance, Osifuye said there is provision for the electronic submission of applications via the Ministry’s website; electronic payment/validation of processing fees; email notifications; status and activity dashboards for electronic stage-tracking of applications, and provisional planning permit.
Osifuye explained that the state’s policy on regularisation of use for applicants who had illegally converted their buildings to other uses still subsists, adding that there is a moratorium of six months running between March and August, 2018, for developers and property owners who had either commenced construction work or built without obtaining the requisite planning permit.