The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh / Hyderabad News : Ambiguity over revised development charges

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Tuesday, Aug 21, 2007
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Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh - Hyderabad

Ambiguity over revised development charges

Pending cases face uncertainty as GHMC moots new levies

HYDERABAD: GHMC and HUDA might be at loggerheads over sharing powers of development rights, but both are in for an unexpected windfall in revenues. It is all thanks to confusion created by the GOMs 439 issued two months ago relating to steep revision of development charges for all urban development bodies.

The charges were escalated considerably from existing rates for conversion of land use and also for built-up area relating to residential, commercial, industrial, agricultural and recreational use in all urban bodies of Hyderabad, Visakhapatnam, Warangal, Vijayawada-Guntur-Tenali-Mangalagiri, Tirupati and so on.

Infrastructure

Sharp increase in cost of infrastructural development since 1996 for taking up civic works for traffic improvement, construction of bridges, development of green belts, etc., was cited as the reason. Eight-five per cent of the income is to be utilised for infrastructure and the rest for administration and maintenance.

Lofty thoughts, no doubt, but trouble arose when the GHMC decided to levy the new charges on pending building clearance cases too retrospectively.

“How can revised fee be made applicable for plan proposals awaiting formal permission? The new rates should be made applicable to cases coming after the GO came into vogue,” argued an applicant. He has a point considering that the Government had allowed old building plans submitted before March 3, 2006 be cleared under old rules when the new common building rules (GO 86) had come into force.

Clarification sought

With many cases of building permissions waiting for plans to be released, the civic bodies are in for a bounty if revised development rates are fleeced for pending cases too. Senior officials too feel a correction is necessary and have sought a clarification from the Government.

But, some applicants not willing to wait anymore are voluntarily paying up to get their plans cleared. “We paid Rs. 2.5 lakh more because no one wants to run around the offices,” sighed an applicant.

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