EDC dues up 120% in 5 yrs, city’s growth hit

Gurgaon: External development charges (EDC) that the government has to collect from Gurgaon have increased by more than 120% over the last five years, impacting key infrastructural projects and hampering the city’s growth.
EDC is the amount paid by developers to the government for development of external infrastructure, including roads, sewerage, drainage, green belts, open areas and related infrastructure.

While EDC dues in 2014 were Rs 3,427.93 crore, they now stand at Rs 7,549.68 crore as of March 2019. The figures were revealed in reply to an RTI filed by city-based RTI activist Aseem Takyar.

EDC is one of the major revenue sources for the Gurugram Metropolitan Development Authority (GMDA). In the current financial year alone, infrastructure works worth Rs 536 crores were to be funded from EDC charges, according to a GMDA estimate. However, many developers have not paid these dues, leading to a major backlog.

Officials in the department of town and country planning (DTCP) said the principal amount on EDC is the same as the government hasn’t issued any new licences in this time period. “It is, however, the interest component that has increased over the years as the developers have simply refused to clear their dues,” said a senior DTPC official who did not wish to be named.

Additional chief secretary K Pandurang did not respond to calls.

Government representatives and ministers such as Rao Inderjit Singh, as well state finance minister Capt Abhimanyu Singh, have often said during speeches that the delay in the payment of these funds has affected Gurgaon’s development.

However, in the two years since it came into existence, GMDA has said DTCP has not transferred any money to it under the EDC head. During a meeting of GMDA’s executive committee last month, DTCP had assured that these funds would be transferred at the earliest. But GMDA chief V Umashankar told TOI, “The authority has not received a single penny from the government under EDC as yet.”

The fund crunch, meanwhile, has hit some key projects. The cost of redevelopment of Southern Peripheral Road is about Rs 300 crore. While the project has been approved by chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar, it is bound to be delayed as there is no clarity on how it would be funded.

DTCP officials said that they have taken several steps to get the dues. The department recently terminated the licences of some developers who together owed Rs 200 crore in EDC payments. The agencies, however, are yet to decide the process for monetisation of those land parcels.