Haryana: Municipalities directed to ensure refund of development charges

The Haryana government has directed municipalities across the state to ensure refund of development charges which “should not have been charged at first instance” from the property owners. The directorate of urban local bodies (ULB) has identified 1,589 properties where the municipalities concerned charged development charges from the property owners to the tune of ₹5.19 crore.

The ULB directorate said that the development charges are not applicable on areas of Haryana Shehri Vikas Pradhikaran (HSVP), Haryana State Industrial and Infrastructure Development Corporation (HSIIDC), planned/licensed colonies, properties where change of land use (CLU) has been granted, lal-dora residential properties as well as agriculture properties.

In a November 9 letter to all the district municipal commissioners of Haryana, all the commissioner of the municipal corporations and all the executive officers/secretaries of municipal councils/committees, the ULB directorate asked the municipalities to remove anomalies on the property data regarding development charges.

The ULB department has also enclosed the municipality-wise list of properties where the property owners will be refunded the development charges.

“It is requested to all the commissioner of municipal corporations...to direct the concerned to review the identified approximately 1,589 properties where the property owners have already paid the development charges which should not have been charged at first instance and ensure the refund of development charges to the property owners concerned,” the ULB directorate has said.

The Haryana government has decided to refund the development charges in these cases after retaining the amount equivalent to property taxes dues for one year (with 15% rebate) for adjustment. An online mechanism for processing these refunds has already been devised on the No Dues Certificate (NDC) portal.

Officials said the affected property owners have been notified via SMS about the reimbursement process, encouraging them to apply for a refund through the NDC portal. “It is the responsibility of ULBs concerned to peruse and follow-up in this regard with the property owners concerned,” the letter says.

While the ULB directorate has categorically stated that the development charges “should not have been charged at first instance”, the state government on Monday in a statement said that it has been decided to refund development fee to property owners who “erroneously paid it in connection with properties” where it is not applicable.

“The government made this decision on becoming aware of the situation. As a result, a total of 1,589 property owners will receive a refund of ₹5.19 crore,” an official spokesperson said.

At least 51 property holders have submitted their applications on the NDC portal. The state government said that employees involved in this refund process have received training to expedite the return of development fee to property holders.

The Section 96-A of the Haryana Municipal Corporation Act, 1994, and Section 99-A of the Haryana Municipal Act, 1973, makes issuance of ‘No Dues Certificate’ mandatory. It says: “A document in respect of sale, transfer, lease, gift...of any lands or buildings situated in a municipal area which is required to be registered...shall not be registered unless accompanied with a no dues certificate issued by the commissioner...certifying that all municipal dues, including rents, taxes, charges in respect of such lands or buildings as mentioned in the document...have been fully paid.”