The Haryana government collected over Rs 15,000 crore on account of External Development Charges (EDC) in the last 12 years. Of this, it claims to have spent around Rs 9,500 crore under various heads, which still leaves the government with more than Rs 6,000 crore unspent EDC fund.
Surprisingly, of the total amount spent, Rs 568 crore has been utilised as "departmental charges" and Rs 315 crore on Metro service (Incidentally, as per a high court directive last year, money spent on Metro service cannot be included in EDC expenditure).
The details came to fore when Haryana, for the first time ever, submitted the receipt and payment details of EDC money in the Punjab and Haryana High Court Thursday. J S Redhu, chief town planner, office of director general, country planning, filed a detailed affidavit during the resumed hearing of a bunch of petitions challenging the EDC.
As per the government, the total amount was collected from residents of 14 districts. With a collection of over Rs 9,500 crore on account of EDC, Gurgaon tops the list followed by Faridabad, with Rs 2,000 crore and Sonepat (Rs 1,500 crore).
The state claims to have spent Rs 4,815 crore and Rs 2,281 crore on providing services to residents in Gurgaon and Faridabad respectively. Rs 973 crore was spent in Sonepat. The receipt and payment account has been compiled from April 1, 2001 to March 31 this year, however, the state has submitted that the information furnished is "subject to audit".
It may be noted that in the expenditure account, the state claims to have spent over Rs 4,700 crore on account of "land cost, including administrative charges". However, this expenditure is yet to be explained by the state in the High Court. Other services, which the state claims to have provided are "master roads, master water supply, master electrification, community building and water supply channel".
Haryana also submitted that Rs 12,568 crore was collected from colonisers in the past 12 years. A total of Rs 2,531 crores was gathered from HUDA sectors.
Earlier, the court, on the last date of hearing, had questioned the Haryana government's rationale behind enhancement of EDC, a decision it had taken in 2011, with retrospective effect from 2008.
Several aggrieved builders had moved the court alleging that state government's decision to charge EDC was unconstitutional, arbitrary and illegal. Builders from Faridabad and Kurukshetra also alleged that the state has done no development at all in the districts and was still charging EDC.
Hearing the case, a division bench had asked Haryana to furnish details of the decision (to enhance the EDC) taken by it in 2011 and submit an affidavit explaining under what circumstances the decision was taken. Also, the state was told to submit the principles used to determine the EDC.
Source:
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