Chandigarh, December 10
The Haryana Urban Development Authority (HUDA) is allegedly diverting funds, collected from its allottees, to the state government for fulfilling the latter’s exigencies. The office of the Auditor-General, Haryana , has now objected to this “ illegal diversions.”

The office of the Auditor-General, Haryana, has pointed out towards diversion of HUDA funds to the tune of Rs 157.02 crore for other state activities. This is in violation of the Haryana Development and Regulation of Urban Areas Act, 1975, which says that money collected by HUDA, in its capacity as a model colonizer in the state, will be utilised for the creation, development and maintenance of urban states in the region.

The Department of Town and Country Planning, Haryana, maintains that this” temporary transfer of funds” is a routine matter and these funds, diverted to various state departments, would be returned to the Haryana Urban Development Authority in due course of time.

The auditors, overseeing HUDA finances, have pointed out that an excess payment of Rs 142.30 crore has been made to the state government by HUDA as service charges (infrastructural development charges, licence fee and conversion charges). They have maintained that HUDA was supposed to pay Rs 367.70 crore to state government , but an advance payment of Rs 510 crore had been paid — between November, 1996, to March, 2002.

It may be noted that it was decided by the Council of Ministers in March 1997, during the Bansi Lal government, that the cost of development incurred by the state - directly or indirectly, for the benefit of urban estates of HUDA, may be charged from the plot holder. HUDA was directed to recover these costs at the rate of Rs 10 per square metre from residential/ institutional/ industrial plot allottees and pay the same to the government on actual recovery basis.

It was thus that a sum of Rs 510 crore has been advanced to the state government over the past six years, almost 38 per cent more than what was due. A loss of interest to the tune of Rs 7.25 crore has thus been caused to HUDA on account of this advance payment, as calculated in the audit , at the rate of interest of 13 per cent per annum. The auditors have also pointed out that a loss of interest of Rs 39.91 crore to HUDA owing to another advance payment of Rs 192. 27 crore up to March, 2001, was made in the Audit and Inspection Report for the year 2000-2001.

When contacted, a senior official in the Department of Town and Country Planning, requesting anonymity, said that these dues would be adjusted by the end of financial year and that the audit objections were premature.

The money invested in construction of various Mini Secretariats and jails in the state (Mini Secretariats in Karnal, Rohtak, Faridabad, Jind and Gurgaon, and a modern jail in Gurgaon) at the cost of Rs 14.2674 crore (till June 2002) has also invited objections from Auditor-General. The construction of these buildings, points out the audit report, from resources of HUDA , for state infrastructural development was not admissible under the HUDA Act, 1977 and this liability is vested with the state government.

Similarly, in contravention of the HUDA Act, a sum of Rs 18 lakh (in two separate instalments of Rs 9 lakh each in June, 2000, and October 25, 2001) was paid to the Sports Department. This money has reportedly been paid for the maintenance of kabaddi and boxing teams and for incurring expenditure on these games.

The Department of Town and Country Planning says that the money spent on the construction of Mini Secretariats and jails was in accordance with government land scheme. The officer said that HUDA had funded the construction of Mini Secretariat buildings, as it would help them develop their own land near these buildings and thus help them get better returns .