HUDA doesn’t have money to pay for land compensation

The Haryana Urban Development Authority (Huda) doesn’t have money to pay compensation to owners whose land have been acquired. It is seeking loans from banks, which are yet to be sanctioned.

Almost all accounts of Huda have been attached in various land compensation cases across Haryana.

In one of the cases of non-payment of land compensation at Panchkula, where 4 petitioners are to be paid around Rs 4 crore, Huda administrator RS Verma appeared before the court of additional district and sessions judge Rajnish Kumar Sharma on Monday and submitted that the authority didn’t have money to pay. The detailed order was available on Tuesday. He was called along with other top officers after there was constant violation of court orders.

Verma had not appeared at an earlier hearing on March 16 after which the court had imposed a cost of Rs 2,000. The cost was not deposited and Panchkula deputy commisisoner Gauri Prashar Joshi was asked to collect the cost and deposit it as land revenue.

Meanwhile, Joshi was sent another reminder to recover the cost on Monday.

Verma stated before the court that “there is paucity of funds in the Huda and very shortly Huda is going to get the sanctioning of loan from nationalised bank”.

The land owners strongly opposed the Huda’s stand on the ground that “for the last 5 years from the date of passing of the award, Huda was not making payment on one pretext or the other”.

They said that Huda was a government institution and very easily it could manage the funds to make the payment of compensation amount to the decree-holder. It was also submitted that they had been deprived of land by Haryana and now they and their families were facing starvation.

The case is adjourned for May 8 for making payment.

“Huda doesn’t have money to pay. On Monday, I had to appear in courts in 3 different districts. Every week there is some personal hearing or the other for land compensation,” Verma told HT.

He added, “Almost all the accounts have been attached. Even if there is a delay, HUDA gives 15% interest on land compensation payments whereas banks give around 6%.”

From Panchkula court alone, 10 accounts of HUDA have been attached in another case of land compensation.