Infra charges may go up if DTCP has its way

CHENNAI: There may be a hike of 50 per cent in infrastructure and amenities charges for buildings if the State government clears a proposal by the Department of Town and Country Planning. Sources told ‘Express’ that a proposal was submitted to the government nearly two months ago to increase the infrastructure and amenities charges by 50 per cent on the areas under the  Commissionerate of Town and Country Planning and the Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority.Currently, `500 per square metre (sq.m) is being collected from multi-storeyed buildings, which includes commercial, IT, industrial and institutional under the Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority as well as Chennai Metropolitan Area, and Rs 250 per sq.m for multi-storeyed residential buildings, besides Rs 250 per sq.m for other than multi-storeyed buildings, which include commercial, IT building, group development and special buildings.The Directorate of Town and Country Planning (DTCP) proposed the hike following a huge demand for creation of infrastructure and requirement of funds.Interestingly, it was in 2007, the government ordered that the infrastructure and amenities charges collected shall not be above Rs 500 per sq.m for commercial and IT buildings, Rs 1,000 per square metre for multi-storeyed buildings, `200 per sq.m for institutions and `300 per sq.m for buildings for industrial use.It also brought in Rule 4 of the Tamil Nadu Town and Country Planning (Levy of Infrastructure and Amenities Charges) Rules, 2008, fixing a minimum rate of `500 per square metre and a maximum rate of `1,000 per sq.m for multi-storeyed buildings accommodating residential and commercial or information technology or industrial or institutional buildings, besides a minimum of `250 per sq m and a maximum of `500 per sq m for commercial buildings, IT buildings, group development and special buildings.Surprisingly, the collection of the cess in three instalments of 50 per cent, 25 per cent and 25 per cent was opposed by the  Confederation of Real Estate Developers’ Associations of India (CREDAI), following a slump in the construction industry. As a result, in 2009, it was waived with the charges to be paid in lumpsum before the issue of planning permission.Interestingly, if the proposal gets the nod of the government, sources feel that it would generate a total revenue of `500 crore annually.