CHANDIGARH: Holding that the fee charged for change of land use (CLU) by the Amritsar Municipal Corporation from a company coming up with a multiplex and a hotel was untenable, Justice K. Kanan of the Punjab and Haryana High Court has directed the MC to refund the entire CLU fee of Rs 14.4 crore to the petitioner company.
Alpha G: Corp. Development Pvt Ltd, in a petition filed before the HC, had stated that the Punjab government had announced a policy for setting up mega projects at an investment of over Rs 100 crore. In response to the scheme, the company submitted a proposal for a multiplex and a hotel in Amritsar on October 3, 2005. The project was approved and building plans submitted. The company said it had also got the approval from the Pollution Control Board and other departments before starting the construction work.
On September 9, 2008, the company applied for completion certificate from the MC. But the MC authorities said the company had not paid the CLU fee and demanded Rs 14.40 crore from it in accordance with the proposed Building Development Scheme. The company challenged this levy.
During the pendency of the petition, the firm deposited an amount of Rs 14.4 crore subject to the final outcome of the petition. After hearing arguments of both the sides, Justice K. Kanan held that the scheme did not apply to the property where development had taken place and therefore the impugned levy was illegal. He directed the MC to refund the amount collected from the company with 9 per cent interest from the date of receipt.
SOURCE-HT
