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.
