The department of town and country planning (DTCP) has cancelled the licence of a residential plotted colony of the Vatika Group for the realtor’s failure to pay outstanding external development charges (EDC) to the tune of nearly Rs 23 crore, despite repeated reminders. The department has also decided to take over the colony along Dwarka Expressway and complete the pending development work.
The Vatika Group was granted the licence for developing the residential plotted colony over nearly 84 acres falling in sectors 81, 82, 82A, 83 and 84 along Dwarka Expressway in 2014. More than six years on, the developer has failed to deposit pending EDC of Rs 22.94 crore, along with the interest, with the department. Moreover, the service plan estimate of the colony has not yet been approved. The developer has also not submitted with DTCP the mandatory no-objection certificate from the Union environment ministry.
“Despite multiple notices issued by the department, the developer has failed to rectify the deficiencies,” said KM Pandurang, the director town and country planning. “The developer’s licence has been cancelled.”
As per law, DTCP has to recover EDC from developers for carrying out development work in the locality.
After taking over Vatika’s colony, officials said, the department will take care of the issues like the pending development work, electricity supply and registration of properties.
For this purpose, a committee has already been formed under the chairmanship of the senior town planner (STP) of Gurgaon. “The committee will now make an assessment of the amount that shall be incurred on deficient development work in the colony so that the same can be recovered from the developer,” a senior officer of DTCP told TOI.
The Vatika Group has, however, declined to comment on the development.
Between 2016 and 2018, DTCP had cancelled the licences of 21 commercial and residential projects of different private developers in Gurgaon for a range of reasons, including failing to pay EDC and furnish bank guarantee, not carrying out construction, non-renewal of licence and not complying with building norms. Most of these projects were non-starters.
The Haryana Shahari Vikas Pradhikaran (HSVP) is in process of auctioning the land of these projects to recover the pending EDC.