Amendment by Haryana govt to ensure proper spending of EDC

economies, such as India, so that a well-planned and strategic policy decisions could be drafted and implemented for their mitigation.

“Threats from regional and social imbalances that give rise to insurgencies are the operating risks that businesses need to factor in,” said Rahul Chaudhary, chairman, FICCI homeland security committee at the seminar. GURUGRAM: The Haryana government on Tuesday took a major decision after it amended the Haryana Development and Regulation of Urban Areas Act, 1976.

By means of this amendment, the external development charge (EDC) collected from Gurugram will now be utilised exclusively for the development in the city.

Earlier, the EDC collected from different places used to go to a centralised pool, from where it was spent to different areas of the state.

For long, residents of Gurugram have blamed that the inability to properly utilise this large amount has resulted in most colonies not being able to develop infrastructure.

Now, directives will be sent to the Department of Town and Country Planning (DTCP), after which it will be implemented, with DTCP director Makrand Pandurang confirming the development said on Tuesday.

“The EDC generated in Gurugram will now be spent here itself and the EDC generated in Sohna would be spent (for development) in that town.

“This is a very positive development and will give a major boost to local infrastructure,” he said.

The decision comes after a reply to an RTI query revealed that a large amount in pending dues is yet to be paid by builders to the state government.

Since his the BJP formed the government in Haryana in 2014, led by Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar, the pending EDC dues have increased from Rs 6,198 crore to nearly Rs 15,000 crore.

Around 70 per cent of the builders who are defaulters have their projects in Gurugram.

Most of these new projects lack proper roads, power connections and sewerage.

The main reason cited for the lack of social infrastructure is the large EDC amount, that is unaccounted for.

Taking a strict stance, even the Punjab and Haryana High Court had directed the state government to make builders pay the pending amount, so that it can be used for the welfare of homebuyers.