What are the ways ahead?

The approval of local body for our layout is still pending. Reason - no roads laid or other amenities as stipulated by the CMDA provided by the society in the layout. The society is expected to provide all the amenities and also pay development charge to the local body. But the Society asks us to pay them Rs.20/- per sqft which,they say, they will pay to the local body. This amount (more than one crore) would be used to lay the road and provide other amenities.

Who has to pay the development fee? What is happening in other societies and the other layouts sold by this society? The price fixed by the Society includes the cost of development of the bare land into layout, development fee to be paid to the local body, other expenses incurred by the society and their profit. So, the development fee for this layout has already been loaded into the price and collected by the society from the members. When that is the case, where is the need for asking the members to pay it once again?

The contention of the society is that the development fee was not communicated by the local body for a long time and they have now charged at the current market value of the property. But is it a reasonable answer? The society has undertaken to pay the taxes, fees etc. due to the government in respect of the plots of the layout in the sale deed, upto the point of allotment/sale of plots. The development work should have been undertaken by the society well before the plots have been alloted to the members. Therefore, the due arise well before the allotment of plot and registration of the sale deed. In such case, who is liable to pay the development fee?

The reason attributed by the society that they cannot afford paying the development fee now is not fair, just and not acceptable. In any transaction, one may make profit and at times may also incur loss. One cannot go back on the agreement just because they need to pay up some due and with that may incur some loss on the transaction.

The society has sold 483 plots of various sizes in the layout. The total area of the plots would be approximately 425 x 2400 =1020000. Presuming that they would have got Rs.25 per sqft on the layout for selling the plots, they would have roughly got Rs.1020000 x 25 = Rs.2,55,00,000/-. When such is the case, they should not be making any fuss about this payment and stall the development of the area. It is also understood that they have earmarked Rs.1.34 crores as Amenity funds for this project.

So, what are the ways ahead?

1. Let us all gather ourselves and meet the SO and give a Memorandum signed by all, with a copy to all concerned - the Registrar of Co-op Society, Secretary, Minister concerned and the CM.
2. Give a time period of 4 weeks to solve the issue and if it is not solved by then, stage a dharna before the Society.
3. Call the press and give a wide coverage of the issue.
4. Parallely, we shall also explore the legal ways by consulting a leading Civil Advocate about the possibility of obtaining legal remedy.

Solicit your suggestions.

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