Date:09/06/2007 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2007/06/09/stories/2007060906450100.htm

Front Page

Infrastructure, amenities fund created

V.S. Palaniappan

Major buildings in the State to be charged for basic facilities

Rs. 500 per sq m for commercial buildings

Rs. 1,000 per sq m for a multi-storeyed building

Coimbatore: The Housing and Urban Development Department of the Tamil Nadu Government has issued an order (GO MS No 191) dated June 1, 2007 creating an Infrastructure and Amenities Fund. The source of revenue for this fund would be infrastructure and amenities charges for major buildings across the State, the order said. The charges had been fixed based on a proposal by the planning authorities in the context of rapid development taking place.

The fund is aimed at ensuring sustainable development leading to the formation of well-planned urban areas and growth centres through provision of adequate basic amenities such as alternative or additional source for water supply, broad road connectivity, standard infrastructure, implementation of schemes for connecting sewerage and drainage to the trunk systems and creation of environment-friendly atmosphere on term basis.

The charges could be collected as follows but not exceeding the stipulated rates; Rs. 500 per sq m for commercial and IT buildings, Rs. 1000 per sq m for a multi-storeyed building, Rs 200 per sq m for institutions and Rs. 300 per sq m for industrial use.

The charges would not be applicable to residential buildings and small buildings.

The order also empowered the Director of Town Country Planning to fix rates for different places for each of the above categories of buildings, taking into account the various aspects of developments as well as infrastructure requirements. The charges collected fund should be credited to the separate account to be operated and maintained by the Director of Town and Country Planning. Orders for creation and maintenance of the said fund would be issued separately.

In respect of Chennai, the Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority should collect the infrastructure and amenities charges and would be credited to the fund. Till the fund became operational, the charges collected should be credited to the new personal deposit account opened for this purpose and they should be transferred to the fund account after it became operational.

The authorities said that with the creation of this fund, financial or budgetary constraints would no longer hold back the implementation of vital infrastructure projects.