Chandigarh, January 11
Facing flak from various quarters, including the Opposition, on the slow pace of development in the state, the Badal government today substantially slashed the external development charges as well as change of land use (CLUs) charges to give a boost to the industry, housing projects, educational institutions, sports infrastructure and relaxed conditions in setting up stand alone commercial centers, multiplexes etc.

Reversing its earlier decision with regard to residential colonies, the Punjab government has allowed residential colonies in less than 10 acres of land in those cases for which applications were received before July 17, last year. Irrespective of the size of the land, the applicants concerned will be issued licences to build colonies in these cases. Earlier, the government had issued orders that no housing project would be allowed in the private sector in areas less than 100 acres. Relaxing the earlier condition of minimum 10 acres, the stand-alone commercial centres, multiplexes have now been allowed in minimum 5 acres of land in the periphery of Chandigarh.

The charges were lowered today after a meeting of officers concerned held under the chairmanship of the Chief Minster Parkash Singh Badal.

As far as industry, the growth of which had almost become nil in the state in the past few years, the government has lowered the external development charges to Rs 5.50 lakh per acre from Rs 53.51 lakh per acre in the free enterprise zone within the periphery of Chandigarh and in the industrial zone of local planning area of Amritsar, Jalandhar and Ludhiana.

In the rest of the state, there would be no CLU charges on industry, and external development charges have been reduced from Rs 30 lakh per acre to Rs 1 lakh per acre. Industry will also include warehousing, logistics and IT parks etc.

Sources said the industries minister Manoranjan Kalia had pressed the state government for lowering these charges as he had told Badal that no industrialist would venture to invest in Punjab, which has a great locational disadvantage, in view of such a huge development and CLU charges. Earlier, the Industries Department had urged the Urban Development and Housing Department to lower these charges in case of industry, but its plea was not accepted, it is learnt. .

Charges for hospitals and hotels have been reduced from Rs 42.70 lakh per acre to Rs 15.85 lakh per acre in periphery and from Rs 25.50 lakh per acre to Rs 3.33 lakh per acre in other parts of the state. Hospitals, film and media centres, hotels and other institutions have been allowed in area up to 25 per cent in industrial parks etc.

Development and CLU charges on petrol pumps and gas stack yards have been reduced to Rs 35 lakh from Rs 334 lakh per acre in the periphery of Chandigarh and from Rs 175 lakh to Rs 21 lakh per acre in the medium potential zone and from Rs 105 lakh to Rs 7 lakh in the low potential zone. Petrol stations and gas godowns would no longer be required to obtain a no-objection certificate from PUDA or GAMADA as deputy commissioners concerned have been authorised to give final NOC.

Providing relief to educational institutions, the charges has been reduced from Rs 42.70 lakh per acre to Rs 8.18 lakh per acre in the periphery and from Rs 38.50 lakh per acre to Rs 6.94 lakh per acre around Municipal Corporation towns and from Rs 25.50 lakh per acres to Rs 1.79 lakh per acre in the rest of the state.

For promoting the sports infrastructure, charges have been reduced from Rs 75.84 lakh per acre to Rs 50,000 per acre. It includes setting up of golf courses etc.