The proposed Informal Settlement Management bylaw will deal with illegal invasions, abandoned shacks, illegal church structures and partially built shacks.
The proposal comes shortly after the DA-led coalition was criticised by opposition parties for the way it handled land invasions in Wells Estate and Uitenhage.
About 60 families from Wells Estate were displaced after their shacks were demolished last month following a court order in favour of the municipality.
In a report tabled at yesterday’s mayoral committee meeting, the human settlements department wrote: “The municipality has the legal obligation to provide land for the development of residential areas to accommodate residents in an orderly manner within available resources.
“It is, nevertheless, faced with the proliferation of informal settlements.
“Most of these informal settlements have developed as a result of unlawful invasions and occupation of both private and state-owned land in an unplanned manner and in conflict with planning strategies and priorities, which makes delivery of municipal services difficult.”
