People who have built houses without proper documents from Chipata Municipal Council will be penalised during the land auditing exercise that the local authority is carrying out.
Town Clerk Davies Musenge has told Breeze News that residents who have built houses without documents will be charged before being given land records for their structures.
Mr Musenge says Chipata Municipal Council has started the land auditing exercise to redefine the map of Chipata town before it becomes a city.
He says the issuance of the land records is for the purpose of security to properties adding that these are mini titles since they will not be given free of charge to those that do not have council documents.
Mr Musenge says site planning is also taking place in Walela to identify spaces to settle people who do not have plots.
He noted that during the process people who have built where there is road passage will have their structures erased for the construction of the road.
Mr Musenge says the local authority will be meeting local leaders to find a way of resolving some complex issues.
He says that the council is finding it difficult to deliver services to its citizens because some structures are not reachable especially houses built on top of the mountains where roads cannot be graded.