AURANGABAD: The local civic body has decided to prepare proposals for regularising Gunthewari properties within municipal limits of Aurangabad. A group of 25 architects and engineers will be hired on a contract basis for this.While the demand for regularizing Gunthewari properties is quite old, the latest amendment to Maharashtra Gunthewari Developments (Regulation, up-gradation and Control) Act, 2001 has rekindled hopes of owners of such properties.In a public notification issued on Thursday, Aurangabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) said the architects and engineers to be appointed will be responsible for preparing necessary proposals for regularising the properties in question.“The architects and engineers will ready maps of Gunthwari properties and will collect necessary documents from owners in order to prepare complete proposals,” AMC has said, adding that the last date for sending applications by architects and engineers will be August 27.The resource persons to get hired will receive honorarium equal to 10% of total fees charged by AMC towards regularising properties measuring upto 150 square-meter and upto 7% for properties having area more than that. The honorarium per proposal will be capped at Rs 50,000, it was said.As per official estimates, municipal limits of Aurangabad have around 118 Gunthewari areas spread over considerable portion of the city housing around four lakh citizens. The gunthewari status of properties puts limitations on real estate transactions, besides denying loan facilities to property holders from a section of banks.While the state government had passed amendment in aforesaid Gunthewari Act in March this year, almost a year after formal announcement, outbreak of Covid-19 has been blamed by government authorities for delay in initiating necessary formalities.