Enhancement fee: Owners offer to surrender houses to HUDA

Deepender Deswal

Tribune News Service

Hisar, July 27

Fearing hefty enhancement fee by the Haryana Urban Development Authority (HUDA), the residents of residential Sectors 5 and 6 (part 2) in Hansi town of the district have offered to surrender their houses and plots to the authority.

Residents today wrote to the Estate Officer, HUDA, that they are unable to pay “exorbitant” enhancement likely to be imposed on them. “Instead of paying such high price, we offer to surrender our houses,” said two of the 14 residents who had built their houses in Sector 6 (part 2).

HUDA had developed these sectors in 2011 on about 240 acres acquired from farmers at Rs 10-12 lakh per acre.

Ravinder Kumar, one of the residents, said seven of the 14 house owners (other plots are vacant) have asked HUDA to take over their houses. “Around 400 plot holders, who have not built houses, have already surrendered their plots to HUDA,” he claimed.

RWA president Virender Singh said, “I purchased a 270-sq yd plot for Rs 17 lakh and spent another Rs 50 lakh to build a house on it. Last year, HUDA asked me to cough up Rs 13.60 lakh as enhancement fee, which I am paying regularly,” he said.

“The Punjab and Haryana High Court has increased the amount of compensation to be paid to the farmers. Though the case is pending with the SC, we have lost hope due to weak defence of HUDA in the court. HUDA is likely to transfer this burden on us,” said Virender Singh, a government employee.

HUDA Estate Officer Sumit Kumar said the matter of enhancement fee was pending in the Supreme Court. He said scores of plot holders were surrendering their plots to HUDA. Some allottees wrote to surrender their houses but there was no provision to take over houses, he added.