The Telangana government has issued orders exempting a social service organisation run by the daughter of former Union minister and BJP’s vice-presidential candidate M.Venkaiah Naidu from paying various charges to Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority (HMDA) amounting to over ₹ 2 crore.
The order was issued by the Municipal Administration and Urban Development department a month ago, on June 20, but was not made public on the State government’s website, for reasons unknown.
As per the order, the organisation ‘Swarna Bharat Trust’ based in Nellore, to which Mr.Naidu’s daughter Deepa Venkat is the Managing Trustee, has been exempted from payment of a total of ₹ 2,20,76,922.38 to HMDA towards developmental charges for total site area, proportionate layout charges, open space charges and compounding charges, for building in an extent of 36,143.5 square metres at Muchintal village of Shamshabad district.
A request had been made to the government in March this year by Ms.Venkat, seeking waiver of development charges for total site area, while expressing willingness to pay development charges for built-up area, publication charges, external betterment charges, and processing charges.
‘NGO’
Stress was laid on the claim that the organisation was a non-profit organisation and the construction of buildings was meant for “skill development, training and provision of health care for the needy”. The order mentions a letter written by the HMDA commissioner T.Chiranjeevulu on June 20, seeking clarity on the matter, as there was no provision in the HMDA Act, 2008, for exemption of development and other charges. Further, the letter also mentioned that the development and other charges payable by the Trust for the ‘Tutorial Centre Building’ amounted to over ₹ 2.46 crore, which leaves the amount payable after exemption at about ₹ 26 lakh.
Sources from HMDA have informed that there has not been any precedent of an NGO being granted such exemption, even as there have been instances of the same in case of industries which had huge employment potential. One more concern is that even if the buildings are later converted for commercial use, the HMDA will have forfeited the right to collect requisite charges then.