News: Only plotted areas, not highrises, in private colonies to be taken over by Municipal Corporation of Gurugram?-08-06-2022
Only plotted areas, not highrises, in private colonies to be taken over by Municipal Corporation of Gurugram?
GURUGRAM: Highrises in the nine private colonies that MCG will take over by June 15 will remain outside the purview of the civic body. As a result, while maintenance of individual plots in areas such as Ardee City, Malibu Towne and South City will be under MCG, highrises in these colonies will remain in the hands of the developer, which is likely to cause a disparity in development, residents said.
MCG has prepared an estimate of deficient infrastructure of only plotted areas of these colonies, excluding highrises. According to an MCG official, the proposed takeover is only for plotted areas as colonies and group housing societies (highrises) are governed by different norms. According to the Haryana Apartment Ownership Act, highrises should be handed over to RWA after completion and there is no provision for their handover to the corporation.
The ongoing takeover process has put The Residency, a highrise in Ardee City, in a peculiar situation. Ardee City will be taken over by MCG while The Residency will continue to remain under developer Ardee.
According to residents, the society is yet to be complete and lacks boundary walls, promised civic amenities and green spaces. DTCP had cancelled the project licence of Ardee City, including The Residency, last year. The developer and its directors were also booked for violation of the terms and conditions of the licence issued by DTCP for the colony.
“The detailed project report (DPR) has estimated the cost of deficient infrastructure works in the colony at around Rs 11 crore. But deficiencies to the tune of Rs 5 crore in The Residency weren’t included. Who will pay for these and hand over the society to RWA as per the Apartment Act and Rera? The authorities should take over, assess and address these deficiencies,” said Siddhartha Bagchi, secretary of The Residency RWA.
“People living in houses on individual plots and those in highrises pay the same property tax. Our exclusion will mean that the civic body will have different yardsticks for maintenance of these two areas in the same colony,” Ramesh Yadav, a resident of Malibu Towne, said.
Sudeksinha Laha, member of a residents’ group working with MCG, said the takeover is about basic amenities like roads, sewerage, drainage and water supply, which should be covered in all areas.
“Basic services are the same in plotted areas as well as highrises,” she said.
Meanwhile, district town planner RS Batth said housing societies are governed by the Apartment Act, which has provisions for handover of the society after its completion to the RWA.
“Plotted colonies are covered under the Haryana Development and Regulation of Urban Areas Act and are to be handed over to the civic body for maintenance after completion of work. Maintenance of housing societies is the responsibility of the RWAs concerned,” he added.
MCG and DTCP senior town planner Sanjeev Mann said the corporation will take care of civic amenities till the boundaries of the societies. “In case of highrises, the developer has to file a deed of declaration which defines the common areas and the owner’s share of rights in those common areas. The deed is not required in case of a plotted colony.”
The councillor of Ward 31, under which Ardee City falls, said when a survey for deficit infrastructure was carried out, only plotted areas were covered while highrises were left out.
“This will create a very peculiar situation wherein a certain part of the area will remain under MCG while certain pockets will remain outside its purview, which may create problems in overall development and planning. I have written to the urban local bodies minister highlighting the issue,” councillor Kuldeep Bohra said.
