Gurugram civic body allows Vatika and Era Resorts to take over 'revenue roads'

Gurugram civic body allows Vatika and Era Resorts to take over ‘revenue roads’

GURUGRAM: The Municipal Corporation of Gurgaon (MCG) has allowed “revenue roads” to become part of two housing societies that are split into two halves because the pathways cut through them. In return, the private developers will have to give the civic body another land parcel of equal value.

The proposal, which was passed in the House on Monday amid objections from a group of councillors, is applicable only in case of roads that end at the society itself and do not lead to anywhere. The two developers who have been allowed to take over the revenue roads are Vatika and Era Resorts.

Revenue roads are actually village pathways that existed long before highrises came up along them. The problem started when private developers were allotted land on either side of such a road. Now, if a developer chose to build a housing society on the two plots of land that were separated by the road, the project could only be constructed in two halves. Civic rules did not allow the builder to make any construction on the road itself.

In several cases, village roads cut through the campuses of societies housing thousands of families. This prompted residents to lodge repeated complaints about security. The developers then approached the civic body and sought a policy that would allow them to make the revenue roads part of their projects itself.

The urban local bodies had in 2017 mooted a proposal that could help the developers and MCG had sought a list of societies that were split into two by village roads. The applications of Vatika and Era Resorts were passed on Monday.

So now, the Vatika Limited in Sihi will take over the revenue road cutting through it, which measures around 3.3 acres in total. Likewise, Era Resorts will get 0.1 acres in Ghata. The roads can now be turned into common areas, with one compound instead of two halves.

MCG officials said the policy, if replicated, would help several housing societies along the Dwarka Expressway and Southern Peripheral Road that have such pathways cutting through them.

When the proposal was tabled in the House on Monday, a few councillors raised objections, saying the mismatch in the rate of land that the developers were getting and what they were giving the MCG in return would hit the cash-strapped civic body’s coffers.

The most vocal among the protesting councillors was RS Rathee, who pointed out that there was a huge difference in the circle rate in Sihi and Ghata, where the developers were getting the extra land in the form of roads, and Garhi-Harsaru, where MCG was being given plots in return. Later, Rathee submitted his objection in writing to mayor Madhu Azad and MCG commissioner Vinay Pratap Singh.

“MCG is giving around 3.3 acres to Vatika Limited in Sihi village. This land had a circle rate of Rs 9,000 per square yard in 2019-20. But the land in Garhi-Harsaru, which is being given back to MCG, has a circle rate of Rs 1.1 crore per acre, which is approximately 25% lower in value,” Rathee said. According to the councillor, the land exchange would cost the civic body a loss of Rs 70 crore under the current market rate.

Rathee said the 551.6 square yards that Era Resorts was getting in Ghata village had a circle rate of Rs 30,500 per square yard in 2019-2020. “Here, there is a net loss of Rs 1.6 crore to the MCG exchequer. In the same way, if we calculate the proposal on the basis of the current market rate, MCG would lose more than Rs 8 crore,” he claimed.

MCG commissioner Singh clarified that the policy had clearly stated that if there was a mismatch in land rates, the developer will have to compensate by either giving a larger plot or paying the difference amount. He said MCG had sought 968 square yards from Era in exchange of the 551 square yards that the developer was getting. “The land that MCG will get in return will be used for public purposes, such as building a school or any other structure,” he added.