Government to pay enhanced fee on allotted land: CM to industry

Gurgaon: The state government drew fire from industrialists at the meeting with the chief minister on Monday, where industry members raised several issues plaguing industrial development in the state, ranging from corruption to red tape and inefficiency of officials, particularly of Haryana State Industry and Infrastructure Development Corporation (HSIIDC).

According to people present at the meeting, industrialists from Udyog Vihar Industrial Area raised 14 complaints at the meeting. Some of these complaints were regarding enhancement charges, irregularities in power bills, lack of parking space, lack of transparency and issues related to floor area ratio (FAR).

"We raised 14 issues, which were already forwarded to the CM Office, at the meeting. Most officials didn't have any answers to our problems. Corruption and red tape is eating into the state's industrial development," said colonel Singhla, chairman, chambers of industries, Udyog Vihar. He added the CM was quite responsive.

One of the major demands made by industrialists was that land for industry should allotted at a fixed and final rate. Once allotted, it should be registered, after which, HSIIDC should not interfere any further. The complaint was that industries are asked to pay enhanced external and internal development charges repeatedly, ostensibly on account of factors such as enhanced compensation to allottees.

Reacting to the industry demands on enhancement charges, Khattar said, "From now on, industries will not pay any enhanced charges on allotted land parcels. Such burdens will have to borne by the government."

While industry members welcomed his prompt response, many other issues have remain unresolved, they said. "The chief minister was welcoming of our suggestions and we are hopeful of timely resolution. While the enhancement issue has been addressed, many other issues, like lack of car parking in Udyog Vihar, confusion of property taxes, etc, must be followed up by the government," said Umesh Gupta, CEO, Kautilya Analytics LLP.

He was complaining about the confusion over property taxes, whereby industries in the industrial estate are asked to pay maintenance charges to HSIIDC on top of property taxes to MCG, making it a dual burden. Industries have long been seeking clarity on the matter. Besides, over the past few months, DHBVN has issued huge penalties to 40 IT and ITES units, a matter which was also raised at the meeting.

Sources told TOI that Khattar told industry members he wasn't aware of the extent of problems they faced, and that he would follow up on Monday's meeting with a subsequent meeting to address such industry concerns.