The Lagos State Government has renewed calls on developers and investors in the built environment sector to desist from developing estates without obtaining layout approvals from the government.
This is contained in a statement by the Commissioner for Physical Planning and Urban Development, Dr Idris Salako, and made available to journalists on Friday, March 12, 2021 by Mukaila Sanusi, spokesman of the ministry.
Salako said all estates must obtain Layout Approvals through the Ministry of Physical Planning and Urban Development empowered by law, to process and grant layout approvals and regulate the development of public and private estates.
He said that the measure was “to help achieve a sustainable built environment in Lagos State”.
Salako decried the incidence of estates springing up in several parts of the state without approval, in spite of several warnings to that effect.
He noted that the state government had given a directive for all estates to regularise their layout approvals, in line with relevant provisions of the law.
Salako urged “the promoters of estates without layout approval to immediately commence the processing of their approvals by submitting the requisite documents to the ministry”.
He warned that the ministry would soon commence monitoring and enforcement exercise on estates in the state and would not hesitate to seal up the erring ones.
The commissioner subsequently advised members of the public to always request for layout approvals, granted by the ministry “before entering into any transaction with developers, as developments within estates without evidence of layout approval would be deemed illegal”.
He added that necessary sanctions would also be applied in accordance with the law.
By Grace Alegba
