The Haryana government has notified a one-time settlement scheme to recover as much as Rs 3,600 crore as licence and renewal fees payable by developers and colonisers. The “Vivadon Ka Samadhan” scheme will be applicable to those who defaulted on depositing outstanding renewal fees as well as applicable interest. The scheme will be open for six months from the date of notification.
According to the notification issued on May 12, 2023, if a coloniser or developer opts for the scheme, then 100 percent deposit of the principal amount on account of licence renewal fee shall be the pre-requisite statutory charge.
The scheme will be implemented in two cases: (i) for areas where part-completion certificate or occupation certificate has not been obtained, and (ii) for areas where part-completion certificate or occupation certificate has been obtained.
“If a coloniser deposits outstanding dues of 100 percent of principal amount of renewal fee plus 25 percent of principal amount in lieu of interest, in case part-completion certificate/occupation certificate has not been issued, which means overall 125 percent of outstanding renewal fees, then such licence shall be considered for renewal,” the document read.
In cases where a part-completion certificate or occupation certificate has been issued, the coloniser must deposit the entire principal renewal fee due plus 10 percent of the principal amount in lieu of interest, which means 110 percent of the outstanding fees for licence renewal.
Pending renewals
According to officials, there were over 700 cases of pending licence renewals across the state as of April last year.
In Haryana, the outstanding dues owing to renewal of licence are about Rs 3,600 crore, of which the principal amount of renewal fee is Rs 1,600 crore and the interest component is about Rs 2,000 crore.
The government also stated that the principal amount due plus actual interest, in either case, will be applicable for the first two months after the notification of the scheme. Thereafter, the amount payable will be increased by 1.5 percent every month during the tenure of the policy.
According to the Haryana Development and Regulation of Urban Areas Act of 1975, a coloniser licence is given to an individual, company or association, or a body of individuals to convert land they own into a colony. The licence must be renewed if the coloniser fails to complete the development work within the given period.
The developer may apply for the renewal of licence in form LC VI at least 30 days before the licence expires.
The cost of licence renewal varies by city and area. In the case of Gurugram, Faridabad and Panchkula, it is Rs 1 lakh per gross acre for plotted colonies and Rs 1.25 lakh per gross acre for group housing.
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