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Panchkula: Sector-24 flat owners decry ₹100-cr land enhancement cost
Residents of Sector 24 in Panchkula, most of them elderly with no source of income, are spending sleepless nights as the government has asked around 15 societies here to pay nearly ₹100 crore as land enhancement cost
Residents of Sector 24 in Panchkula, most of them elderly with no source of income, are spending sleepless nights as the government has asked around 15 societies here to pay nearly ₹100 crore as land enhancement cost.
General secretary of the Sector-24 resident welfare association, Upender Pathak, said that most of the flats were owned by senior citizens and retired personnel: “The present scenario of continuous and unwanted load of interest charged by Haryana Shahari Vikas Pradhikaran (HSVP) has caused mental agony to all those who opted for flats as they could not afford independent houses.”
Enhancement is the increase in compensation paid to a farmer/landowner for the acquisition of his/her land, which is decided by a court in case the farmer or land owner is not satisfied with the price of land being offered by the state government or its agency. The residents of plots/group housing societies built on that land then have to pay the cost of enhancement.
The societies in Sector 24 have been built on either 1 acre land or half acre land. In 1-acre societies, where around 40 families live, the land enhancement cost is ₹10 crore. In societies built on half acre land, where around 24 families, it is ₹5 crore.
Pathak said that on average, the amount due to be paid by the residents is around ₹100 crore without availing any last and final settlement scheme (LFSS). There are seven societies of 1-acre each, and five societies of half-acre each. “Per family, around ₹25 lakh are to be paid. Even if we get a 50% rebate, the amount to be paid per family comes around ₹13 lakh. How can an elderly person, who bought a flat for ₹10-15 lakh around a decade ago, arrange ₹25 lakh?” a member of the RWA said.
Final settlement scheme ended on June 15
A public notice was issued by the HSVP on extension of availing LFSS up to June 15, wherein it was intimated that allottees can represent for correction of their plot and property management (PPM) account statement before June 6 to the respective estate officer.
In June, the members of Sector-24 RWA and individual petitioners of the group housing societies of Sector 24 wrote to the chief controller finance, HSVP, to “recalculate the additional price on account of land cost enhancement.”
“The residents, who are staying here for over 10 years cannot even think of paying this huge amount, which cost around ₹25 lakh per flat owner, which is all attributed due to the disproportionately large addition of common area in Sector 24,” Pathak said.
The association members said that the amount was so high because the authorities had added 76 acres of Ghaggar land to Sector 24. They said that the Sector was only 44 acres, out of which 19 acres was saleable and other areas were common. But now, with the addition of 76-acre Ghaggar land, that too after 20 years of land acquisition, was adding a huge financial burden on them.
The residents, who have been representing against this inclusion, have time and again requested the authorities to recalculate the additional price, so that they could deposit the amount to HSVP and avail the LFSS and avoid increasing interest burden.
HD Sharma, one of the owners of a society, said that he bought a 1-acre plot for ₹1 crore. “In 2013, the cost enhancement was ₹2.5 crore with 15% interest. Then in 2018, a second enhancement was announced wherein the amount was increased to over ₹3 crore. It means the land was bought for ₹1 crore in 1999, and now we have to pay ₹6 crore on that land, which comes out to be around ₹25 lakh per family.”
‘Extra costing by executive order is illegal’
Advocate Harmanjeet Sethi said, “Extra costing by virtue of executive order is illegal. Executive has no right to charge an extra amount from people on the basis of the executive’s instructions. If they do so, any person aggrieved can challenge the same. As per the provisions of HUDA Act, the enhanced cost of land is passed on to the allottees, proportionately. However, HUDA Act does not contemplate that in case extra land is added or acquired subsequently then HUDA can charge extra amount from land owners.”
HSVP estate officer Mamta Sharma said she had written to the development authority’s chief controller of finance on June 6, requesting that necessary decisions be taken and conveyed to the office at the earliest so that the societies may avail benefits of the LFSS accordingly. In the letter, the estate officer had stated that residents want HSVP to exclude the 76-acre Ghaggar land and recalculate the amount.
Sharma said no decision has been taken on the representation and the scheme is closed now. “We have done what was right. Moreover, it is not in my hands to decide on their representation,” she said. The chief controller of finance, HSVP, was not available for comment despite repeated attempts.
