News: Now, development charges in Haryana linked to collector rate-22-02-2022
In a move that will impact a large part of population living under the jurisdiction of civic bodies of Haryana, the state’s urban local bodies department has linked the development charges to the collector’s rate of the area concerned.
CHANDIGARH: : In a move that will impact a large part of population living under the jurisdiction of civic bodies of Haryana the state’s urban local bodies department has linked the developme nt charges to the collector’s rate of the area concerned.
In its Friday evening orders, the department fixed the development charges at 5% of the collector’s rate. Since 2013, the charges were between Rs 50 and 150 for each square yard. The increase in the charges is five to 10-fold, which will burden the residents. Even those who have not paid the development charges since the regularization of colonies will have to pay by the latest plan. For each square yard, the municipal committees and councils used to charge this fee at Rs 50 on an average, Rs 150 in Gurgaon and Faridabad, and Rs 100 in the other municipal corporation jurisdictions. It came to light on Monday when Congress general secretary and former Haryana minister Randeep Singh Surjewala made the ULB department’s Friday circular public. He claimed this was the first such notification issued with retrospective effect, where even those who paid development charges in the past will have to pay these again. Surjewala said: “These orders are not only draconian but also devilish. The ULB department holds 70% of the state’s urban area. We will run an awareness campaign, followed by agitations." Accepting that the government has linked development charges with the collector’s rate, ULB minister Kamal Gupta denied that it will burden the public. Gupta said: “The formula links the budget with the inflation index. The opposition misleads the masses. The development charges are an important component for running any civic body, and the new charges are affordable.” He clarified that only the families who haven’t paid since their colonies were regularised will be charged the current rate. Else, the fee is uncharged. With elections due in 75 municipal councils and committees, the decision can also backfire. Ellenabad legislator Abhay Singh Chautala of the INLD (Indian National Lok Dal) alleged: “The government is snatching shelter from the heads of 80% of the population, the poor mainly. It should withdraw this notification."
