E-Paper
Govt agencies call it GO of favouritism!
WHEN THE State Government asked the development authorities and the UP Housing Board to allot plots in housing schemes only after they were fully developed one thought that the order would also apply to private real estate developers and colonisers. Right? Wrong.
WHEN THE State Government asked the development authorities and the UP Housing Board to allot plots in housing schemes only after they were fully developed one thought that the order would also apply to private real estate developers and colonisers. Right? Wrong.
Strange though it may sound, the October 6 Government Order, which lays down the allotment guidelines, has no bearing whatsoever on private developers, according to Secretary Housing KL Meena. “We have introduced other safeguards in our new Hi-Tech Township Policy 2006 to ensure that these developers do not take the people for ride,” informed the Housing Secretary.
And what exactly are these precautionary measures? “Though I do not remember the exact provisions at the moment but it was precisely keeping public interest in mind that I had suitably amended the hi-tech township policy when I took over the job. We have specified a particular stage for carrying out allotment, sale and receiving advance payment from the public for these developers” commented Meena. Citing government guidelines for inviting private participation in the development of hi-tech townships in the State contained in its order dated May 18, 2006 officials at the LDA tend to differ.
“It’s no longer a level playing field for us. How can any government policy promote the interest of an individual or a private player at the cost of its own institution,” questioned an official requesting anonymity for obvious reasons.
“Para 6.21 of this GO on hi-tech township policy states that the developer company would have the right to allot, sell, obtain advance payment and lease the property after getting the detailed layout plan approved and signing of development agreement,” pointed an official. Nowhere does this order imposes any bar on the developer company that booking or allotment of plots/flats would be done by it only after fully developing the scheme, he added.
“What with instances of fly-by-night-operators before us, one would have thought that the government would have made more stringent safeguards than in the case of development authorities, which in any case enjoy far greater public trust,” he said.
