Gurugram & Faridabad development bodies to get EDC directly from builders

GURUGRAM: After several delays in the payment of external development charges (EDC) by the department of town and country planning (DTCP), the metropolitan development authorities of Gurgaon (GMDA) and Faridabad (FMDA) will now be getting them directly from developers.

The decision was taken at the GMDA authority meeting held in Gurgaon on Friday under the chairmanship of Haryana chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar. “We have decided that the EDC charges will go to the metropolitan authorities in these two cities and wherever the next such body is constituted,” said Khattar.

The move comes after several complaints and representations by GMDA to the state government highlighting the delays in EDC payments by DTCP. Khattar said GMDA will receive around Rs 250 crore in EDC this year.

Gurgaon MP Rao Inderjit Singh hailed the development and said, “We have been raising the issue of EDC for a while now and I appreciate the state government taking this decision for the benefit of Gurgaon and the region.”

The meeting also saw discussion on GMDA’s budget. The budget for 2021-22 has been estimated at Rs 1,848 crore, whereas the expected receipts for the year are around Rs 1,200 crore. “There is a shortfall of around Rs 600 crore and we are looking at avenues for financing the gap,” Khattar said while talking to the media after the meeting. Sources said the gap will be covered by EDC.

For the previous financial year, GMDA had estimated a budget of Rs 1,653 crore whereas the estimated receipts were around Rs 1,173 crore. “The expenditure as well as the receipts for the previous year were less than expected due to the pandemic. The actual income in the previous year was Rs 287 crore, while the expenditure was around Rs 450 crore,’ said a senior GMDA official.

The meeting also saw approval granted for new projects in the city, including the urban forest in Sikanderpur which the chief minister said will be funded by corporate social responsibility funds. The construction of a flyover at Bakhtawar Chowk was also approved. Khattar also reviewed the status of ongoing infrastructure projects in the city and said several projects, including redevelopment of Huda City Centre, Mahaveer Chowk and Umang Bhardwaj Chowk will be completed and launched by August this year. These projects have been delayed significantly due to several reasons, including the pandemic.

Asked about the city metro project, Khattar said its detailed project report has been sent to the central government for approval and once the approval comes, the government will start work on the ground immediately. This was GMDA’s eighth meeting since its inception and FMDA saw its first ever meeting on Thursday. “We hope that through regular meetings, we will be able to speed up development in the two cities,” the CM said.