MC Explains: How Haryana government wants to end malpractices in phasing of licensed colonies

As per the new rules, a developer will have to disclose its plan for the development of the colony, or part of it in phase(s) to the Director, TCP (DTCP). (Representative image)

The Haryana government has rolled out a set of guidelines related to phasing in licensed colonies, mandating 2/3rd consent from the allottees in case of revision in the layout plan/building plan. The guidelines would ensure the coordinated functioning of statutory authorities under the Haryana Development and Regulation of Urban Areas Act, 1975, Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016, and Haryana Apartment Ownership Act, 1983.

In order to regulate the development and check haphazard development in and around towns, the Town and Country Planning (TCP) Department issues licenses to developers for construction of residential or commercial colonies. The land parameters are based on the potential of that area as decided by the Haryana government. The areas in Haryana have been divided into four types:

1. Hyper: Urban areas in and around Gurugram town, including the Urban Areas declared by the Government for Gurugram-Manesar Urban complex

2. High-Potential: Faridabad-Ballabgarh Complex, Panchkula, Kalka, Pinjore Gual Pahari-Balola Bandhwari Complex in Gurugram District, Sonepat-Kundli Urban Complex, Panipat

3. Medium-Potential: Karnal, Kurukshetra, Ambala City, Ambala Cantt, Yamuna Nagar, Bahadurgarh, Jagadhari, Hisar, Rohtak, Ganaur, Palwal, Hodal, Rewari, Dharuhera-Bawal and Oil Refinery Panipat

4. Low-Potential: All the other urban areas in the State.

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As per the rule, the minimum area for a residential plotted colony is 25 acres for those in the hyper zone, 20 acres for high-potential zone, 15 acres for medium-potential zone, and 10 acres for low-potential zones. On the other hand, the minimum area required for a residential group housing project is five acres for hyper, four acres for high-potential, two acres for medium-potential, and one acre for low-potential zones.

What were the earlier rules for change in phasing?

According to a senior TCP official, developers earlier used to notify changes in phasing/alignment and invite any objection by publishing the same in a newspaper and by sending letters/emails to the allottees. In this case, even if someone used to raise an objection, through some technical loopholes, the builders used to make that objection null and void and proceed with the desired changes, he said.

Senior Town Planner Narendra Singh Solanki told Moneycontrol that even if some objections were filed earlier, a proper message was not conveyed by the allottees. "Now, people are more aware and filing objections in large numbers. Till now, the developers first used to take in-principle approval and then invite objections or suggestions from allottees. But now, the department is mandating 2/3rd consent if the developer wants to make any change in phasing," said Solanki.

He said that till now only those allottees used to respond who came to know about the notice published/sent by the coloniser. And in many cases, these objections used to get invalidated because they did not contain any logical/technical reasons, he said.

"Earlier, we used to get complaints from allottees regarding changes in the plans by the developers. Now, a developer cannot make any changes without 2/3rd consent. It's like the OTP that you share with the delivery boy. Without that OTP, the delivery cannot take place," said Solanki explaining the rule.

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Status of Licensed Colonies

There are around 185 licensed residential plotted colonies in Haryana, of which 72 are in Gurugram, 36 in Panchkula, and 18 in Faridabad. Of the 438 licensed group housing colonies, 306 are in Gurugram, 62 in Faridabad, and 54 in Rohtak. There are a total of 155 licensed affordable housing projects in the state, of which 119 are in Gurugram and 25 in Faridabad. There are a total of 305 colonies under Deen Dayal Jan Awas Yojna, of which 90 are in Gurugram, 82 in Rohtak, 70 in Panchkula, and 42 in Faridabad.

What are the new rules?

As per the new rules, a developer will have to disclose its plan for the development of the colony, or part of it in phase(s) to the Director, TCP (DTCP). Also, the developer will have to indicate community sites and commercial sites as independent phase(s) in the site plan. The rules also say that a multi-storey building/tower shall not be subdivided into multiple phases. Also, Economically Weaker Section (EWS) plots/flats are to be transferred to Haryana Housing Board (HBH), and hence, it may not form part of any phase.

The rule also seeks to mandate the declaration of all the proposed phases by the developer beforehand. The phase(s) shall be disclosed with, at least, commensurate essential services, viz., water supply, sewerage, drainage, roads, electricity, etc, the rules say. According to the guidelines, if the coloniser desires to amend the phasing as disclosed to the TCP, it shall be allowed only with the prior concurrence of the Haryana Real Estate Regulatory Authority (RERA).

"Earlier, the entire project used to get approved at once and they used to do construction as per their convenience. Now, the developer will also have to declare their plan of phase-wise construction," Solanki explained.

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The draft document said that while the earlier policy was found to be effective, there is a lack of uniformity in procedures since registration of a few Transit Oriented Development (TOD)/Transferable Development Rights (TDR) granted projects have got immensely delayed. To resolve this situation, the guidelines propose that the developer will have to seek 2/3rd consent of allottees in case of revision of layout/ building plan, taking into account the phasing plan.

The rule also says that in cases involving enhancement of Floor Area Ratio (FAR) in existing projects without obtaining 2/3 consent, the allottees may seek legal remedy under the provisions of the RERA Act, 2016.

Here’s what legal experts/residents say

Advocate VK Bansal (Senior Rera Lawyer) said that the policy will restrict the arbitrary changes made by the developers.

"Under the old policy of Town and Country Planning, builders were able to manipulate the rules to change their building plan and proposed plan. Earlier, they used to take phase-wise approval. Say, if they built phase 1 first, and took approval for phase 2 later, then the buyers used to face problems due to changes, such as in the garden area, roads, etc. Now, the new policy asks them to declare all the phases in advance and specify a date for the phase going for construction first. This will benefit the buyers as they will be able to see all phases and proposed plans in advance. And if the developer wants to make any changes in the plan, then it will have to take 2/3rd consent from the allottees. A similar policy of 2/3rd consent is already there in RERA. The new guidelines will put a restriction on the arbitrary changes made by the developers. Now the builders cannot make changes easily," said Bansal.

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He, however, pointed out that the process of getting 2/3rd consent should be fair. Otherwise, a developer can manipulate the buyers.

"The biggest problem with the new policy is that the developer can manipulate/force buyers for taking 2/3rd consent as those who may have booked a flat will be under pressure as their money will get stuck. The DTCP should make the process of taking 2/3rd of consent free and fair. It may appoint a government officer who can explain minute details to the buyers clearly, thus helping them in taking a decision. The DTCP can also get the proposed changes uploaded on the website, which will be verified by their official, and then it can fix a timeline for that," he said.

However, residents of Gurugram say the guidelines will not make a great impact as the majority of disputes are related to delivery of facilities promised by the builders at the time of sale.

"It's not that buyers are going to benefit much from this. I had advised the DTCP earlier as well that disputes between a developer and buyers are majorly due to the non-delivery of promised facilities. I had requested them to link the payments with the delivery of flats as well as facilities. Say, until a developer delivers all the promised facilities, it won't get more than 80 per cent payment from the buyers. It should get the rest 20 per cent only after it delivers the promised facilities and shows it to the department," said Praveen Yadav, President of United Gurugram RWAs.