Gurugram: 10-fold fee hike to de-seal property?

GURUGRAM: The department of town and country planning (DTCP) has proposed that the fee for de-sealing residential properties that have been sealed for running commercial activities from the premises be raised 10 times along with a bank guarantee.

Officials said the proposal was made because the current fee for de-sealing such properties is too low and house owners easily get away with paying a small amount in comparison to the huge profits they earn by running a commercial establishment from a residential building. Since the fine is low, such property owners often resume the illegal commercial activities.

A DTCP team conducting a recent sealing drive in Sushant Lok 1, Golf Course Road and other licenced colonies had found that several residential buildings were being used as guesthouses, hotels and offices. District town planner (enforcement) RS Batth, who had made recommendations about the revised fee to the senior town planner, said such property owners are usually “habitual offenders” because of the low fine.

“We have proposed a 10-time hike in the fee for de-sealing such properties that were found running illegally in licenced colonies. The department has also proposed a huge penalty on the owners of such property,” he added.

Officials said the move was aimed at checking violations of building norms and illegal commercial activities from private buildings in licenced colonies. Most of these properties are along internal roads (18 and 24 metres) and sectoral roads. After the recent sealing drive, DTCP has received several applications for de-sealing properties.
Gurugram: 10-fold fee hike to de-seal property?“When we were examining the applications, we realised that the fee for de-sealing properties was on the lower side and did not have much effect on property owners. These offenders become habitual and often resume the illegal activities after paying the de-sealing fee,” said Batth.

The de-sealing fee, when compared to the profits a house owner would earn by running a guesthouse from a residential building, is nominal, officials said. For instance, a private house on a plot measuring 250 sq yards and with a permissible FAR of 2.64 would usually earn between Rs 3-4 lakh a month if it is used as a guesthouse in a prime location. The de-sealing fee is around Rs 1.3 lakh and a bank guarantee of Rs 2.6 lakh.