The Indian Express                       26.03.2013

South corpn, DDA spar over revenue from farmhouses

Just days after Delhi Development Authority (DDA) passed its farmhouse policy allowing for their regularisation, dispute over the revenue from regularisation has started.

The South Municipal Corporation (SMC), which believes that revenue from regularised farmhouses should go to its coffers, has strongly opposed DDA's plan to declare the regularised farmhouses as 'development area'. Once designated a 'development area', DDA will be entitled to the revenue collected from development projects on those areas.

On Monday, the South Municipal corporation unanimously passed a resolution advising DDA not to go ahead with the plan. The corporation believes that it will loose around Rs 600 crores to Rs 1000 crores if DDA declares the farmhouses as 'development area'.

Defending DDA's decision, Rajesh Gehlot, chairman of standing committee and a former DDA member, said that it was the Urban Development Ministry which had regularised the farmhouses by via the DDA, allowing for more floor area ratio (FAR). Under the plan, the owners of the farmhouse would be required to deposit a regularisation charge as well as a penalty that, in case of big farmhouses, would run in crores. Gehlot had earlier passed the policy for the regularisation of farmhouses and proposed that farmhouses be declared as development area.

"By DDA's definition, 'development area' means an area where big DDA projects are in progress. At such a place building bylaws of DDA are applicable. We will loose out on the revenue which will otherwise have to go to South corporation in form of penalty and regularisation charge," stated Gehlot.

The Mayor of SMC Savita Gupta, on behalf of the House, has directed the commissioner to send their resolution to DDA for further perusal.

The corporation said if DDA does go through with its plan, the councillors will approach lieutenant governor to sort the matter. "We will not let DDA take the revenue which should come to corporation, simply because the farmhouses are in jurisdiction of South corporation," the mayor said.