Pay taxes only for services, urges Rajya Sabha MP Goel

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, July 14

The redevelopment of housing societies is another opportunity to turn Delhi into smart city as the new flats would be equipped with parking facilities, community centres, water harvesting systems and all other amenities that the current flats lack today, said Rajya Sabha MP Vijay Goel at a Mahasammelan for Group Housing Societies at Talkatora Stadium today.

Goel encouraged the residents to fight for their issues and asked them to pay taxes only for the services they receive.

The Mahasammelan was held for the first time in the Capital by the Federations of the Group Housing Societies to discuss and address their various issues, including redevelopment.

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman was the chief guest of the event.

BJP national vice-president Shyam Jaju and MP RK Sinha, Parvesh Verma, Ramesh Bidhuri, Meenakshi Lekhi, and Hansraj Hans were among the dignitaries who addressed the gathering.

Goel said post his meeting with LG Anil Baijal, the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) has been ordered to begin the survey of all group housing societies in order to amend the policies concerning their redevelopment. The preparatory survey would determine the present conditions of societies and flats, plot size, status of civic amenities, and issues faced in converting plots to freehold among other things. More than 10 lakh residents live in 1,200 group housing societies which demand redevelopment as their conditions had become deplorable in the past 40 years, said Goel.

He said the redevelopment would be carried out on the self-sustainable model and not a single penny would be charged from residents. It was decided in meeting with the LG that the societies would undergo redevelopment if at least 66 per cent of the members demanded it. “Once decided, the residents would shift to rental homes until the new buildings come up. Since there is no height restriction and the Master Plan Delhi-2021 permits additional, incentivised FAR, a four-storey building would be replaced with a one with 10-storey. The entire project cost, including the rental assistance to residents, would be covered by the sale of additional flats,” he said.

Sitharaman said the government aimed to provide a roof to every Indian before 2022 and thus to provide affordable housing to poor and middle class, her maiden Budget provided tax rebate of Rs 3.5 lakh on home loans of up to Rs 45 lakh. Lampooning AAP government for not doing any work on the Yamuna, she said the waterfront project could have become the biggest attraction of the city. She said her ministry would provide all support to the housing societies in resolving their issues.