Berhampur, Jan. 19: For a new power connection, residents will have to submit a copy of their property plan duly approved by the Berhampur Development Authority.

The state housing and urban development secretary has made it clear in a recent letter to the power distribution company here.

Southco, the regional power distribution company, earlier had no role in restricting power supply to newly constructed houses.

Regional planning member of the Berhampur Development Authority Raj Kishore Sahu said that this order would restrict construction of illegal houses especially in urban areas.

“The mandatory provision of approved plan of the Berhampur Development Authority for supply of electricity to any new house will help the city develop in a planned manner,” Sahu said.

Construction in Berhampur and its outskirts has been going on at a rapid pace. It is being alleged that many builders and private parties are flouting the Berhampur Development Authority’s norms in most of the construction sites.

A comprehensive development plan has eluded Berhampur for last 44 years. The last town plan was prepared for Berhampur in 1969, for Chatrapur in 1986 and for Gopalpur 1987. Now, a comprehensive development plan is being prepared by a central government agency by taking various areas of the district, such as Gopalpur and Chatrapur and 55 villages, along with Berhampur Municipal Corporation. The area of the proposed town will be around 317sqkm, while the present area of the Berhampur Municipal Corporation is 85sqkm. The areas of Gopalpur and Chhatrapur urban local bodies are 17sqkm and 47sqkm respectively. The population of the proposed area is 513,760, according to the 2001 census.