GHAZIABAD: UP govt is set to draw up a set of standard operating procedures (SOPs) that will simplify the handover process of townships developed by private builders or development authorities.
While regulations require that townships be transferred to local civic bodies once they are developed, delays are caused due to incomplete work, developers’ reluctance to hand over projects, and disputes between authorities, like in Indirapuram. Residents are the ones left to endure poor maintenance due to the prolonged wait for official handovers.
Officials said a meeting has been now convened on Wednesday in the state capital, which is to be attended by officials from development authorities and municipal corporations of Ghaziabad, Kanpur, and Lucknow.
“There is no government order or specific direction on the part of the state govt on the handover process. The mandate for development authorities and even private developers is to develop a township, and once it is done, the maintenance should go to the municipality,” Rajendra Tyagi, a five-time GMC councillor, told TOI.
Private developers, he said, often use the loophole and delay the handover to milk homebuyers dry in the name of maintenance charges, which are usually exorbitant.
“Maintenance charge—water, sewer, and house tax rate levied by the municipality—is far less than the ones charged by developers and development authorities. In many cases, residents are coaxed into paying taxes twice—house tax to the municipality and maintenance charge to developers,” Tyagi added.
GMC chief engineer NK Choudhary said UP govt has asked them to come up with suggestions which will be discussed in the meeting. “A committee is likely to be formed to frame rules to ensure a seamless handover process,” he said.
In Ghaziabad, six townships — Madhuban Bapudham, Indraprastha, Swarnjyantipuram, Koyal Enclave, Indra Kunj, and Tulsi Niketan — developed by GDA are yet to be handed over to GMC for more than two decades. Raj Nagar Extension, Wave City, and Crossings Republik, developed by private builders, too are waiting for takeover by the civic body.
The GDA and GMC were embroiled in a long standoff over the handover of Indirapuram township, and the state govt had to step in to resolve the deadlock. The township was formally handed over to GMC on Oct 3, after the GDA paid the first instalment of Rs 70 crore to the civic agency for infrastructure upgrade, as per the terms of the agreement signed on Sept 6.
The deadlock over the handover of the township, spread across 1,222 acres, dragged on since 2016 over a lack of consensus as to how much money GDA will pay GMC. The civic body earlier demanded Rs 365 crore, insisting there was much work related to repairing roads, sewers and streetlights pending in the township. It wanted the GDA to either complete the work or give the corporation the funds to do so. GDA argued that GMC already collects house tax and has no claim over funds.
Ashwini Shastri, a resident of Gyan Khand in Indirapuram, said, “The GMC recently issued notices for the recovery of house tax arrears spanning the last 10 years or more. The township was under the GDA for over 25 years, during which it managed water and sewerage charges by taxing entire plots. This imposition of arrears, coupled with threats of coercive actions, including labelling properties as being under the ‘Kurki process’, is unjustified. This has happened because the handover process has been marred by claims and counterclaims. There is an urgent need to standardise the handover process.”
Source Homevior.in
