Authority’s fund crunch hits development in Gurgaon’s new sectors

The financial crunch in the Haryana Urban Development Authority is now beginning to impact development of infrastructure in newly developed sectors of Gurgaon.

The financial crunch in the Haryana Urban Development Authority (Huda) is now beginning to impact development of infrastructure in newly developed sectors of Gurgaon.

Gurgaon, India- May 15: Sector 81,82, and 83 are slowly being occupied by residents who find the kherki daula toll plaza a major bottleneck, in Gurgaon, India, on Sunday, 15 May 2016. (photo by Parveen Kumar/Hindustan Times) (Parveen Kumar/HT File Photo)

Due to the shortage of funds, the authority is unlikely to announce the award for acquisition (payment announcement) of 1,298 acres in 13 Gurgaon villages that was scheduled to take place on August 12. The land was required to develop open spaces in new sectors from 58 to 115. If the authority cancels the announcement of the award for acquisition, the entire process carried out so far to acquire these lands will become invalid.

The Huda needs around 3,000 acres for developing open spaces under the Gurgaon Manesar Urban Complex Master Plan 2031. But this will require payment of a whopping Rs 9,000 crore to land owners and this has forced the authority to look for other options such as transfer of development rights to farmers.

The development authority plans to take a less costly route to acquire land by transferring the development rights to farmers.

Under the transfer of development rights policy (TDR), if a plot is located within a residential sector or within the alignment of a proposed project, the plot owner is entitled to get floor space index (FSI) rights which can be transferred to a developer.

A land owner who has a one-acre plot will get rights to develop 4,047 sq metre or 43,264 sq feet area as FSI which can be monetised. To facilitate this the government has increased the sector density to 250 persons per acre.

Huda administrator Yashpal Yadav said the cost of land has multiplied exponentially in Gurgaon and so the agency is looking to acquire land by partnering with farmers using policies such as TDR and land pooling.

“The TDR policy will be applicable on plots that are one acre and above. We plan to acquire land under this policy as it will be cost effective for the government. The farmers too can monetise their assets easily at the market prices,”he said.

As per the policy, once the licence is obtained under TDR, the owner shall transfer the land free of cost to government within 60 days.

What is going to help the farmers most is that FSI rights obtained by the landowner under the TDR can be utilised in any residential sector.

The shortage of resources means that the Huda will not be able to acquire land in Shikohpur (240 acres), Kherki Daula (115 acres), Naurangpur (88 acres), Nawada Fatehpur (23 acres), Kherki Majra (22 acres), Dhanwapur (85 acres), Mewka (50 acres), Dhorka (181 acres), Bhangrola (88 acres), Kankrola (228 acres), Hayatpur (68 acres) and Wazirpur (24 acres).