Important Decisions of Haryana Cabinet

• 12 Oct 2023

Why In News?

On October 11, 2023, In the Haryana Cabinet meeting held under the chairmanship of Chief Minister Manohar Lal, many other important decisions were taken along with approving the Haryana Municipal Urban Built-up Planning Reform Policy 2023.

Key Points:

• Under the Haryana Municipal Urban Built-Planning Reform Policy 2023, permission will be given to convert residential plots into commercial use in the unplanned area of Haryana. The condition is that the colony should have been built at least 50 years ago.
• This policy will be applicable in the residential areas situated within the core areas of the municipality limits except the areas of Haryana Urban Development Authority (HSVP), Housing Board (Haryana), Haryana State Industrial Infrastructure Development Corporation and Town and Country Planning Department.
• This scheme will also be applicable to those plots who have divided their plots. Parameters like floor area ratio (FAR), ground coverage and plot height will remain in line with the original housing plan. The building line of the original plan will also be maintained.
• The application process will be facilitated through an online portal developed by the Urban Local Bodies Department. To apply, property owners will have to pay a conversion fee of Rs 10 per square meter and a development fee of five per cent of the commercial collector rate.
• They will also have to pay composition charges of Rs 160 per square meter on the converted area. For this, the applicant will have to apply by March 31, 2024. If the plot owners do not apply during this time period, action will be taken against them.
• A survey will be conducted to identify illegal commercial buildings and map the rights of way and affected plots. If a property is rejected or an application for regularization is not made, municipalities can demolish the illegal construction and restore the building to its original condition or cancel the license.
• The Cabinet meeting approved construction of the first floor or basement or both on single booths, shops and service booths allotted by municipalities and urban improvement trusts. The Cabinet has approved the policy for this also.
• To regularize the existing unauthorized construction on the first floor or basement or both at the booth, application will have to be made by March 31, 2024.
• There is no fixed time limit for new permission for construction of the first floor or basement or booth. This policy will not be applicable to controlled areas which require Change of Land Use (CLU) permission.
• This also does not include the licensed schemes approved by the Town and Country Planning Department within the municipal limits.
• Further the policy does not cover any temporary structures allotted by shops or municipalities under Tehbazari or Khoka.
• A fee of Rs 10 per square meter will be charged from the applicants on the total proposed built up area. The fee for regularization of existing first floor or basement construction is Rs 10 per square meter, but this is applicable to both the proposed and existing built up area on the plot including the structure on the ground floor.
• Haryana Digital Media Advertisement Policy was approved in the meeting. This policy has been brought to include social media news channels and social media influencers.
• The existing policy of the year 2007 and 2020 was limited only to print media, electronic media and websites. Under the new policy, five categories have been created for empanelment of social media news channels taking into account the number of subscribers, followers and posts on their social media accounts.
• DIPR Haryana will list social media news channels according to these categories. The Panel Advisory Committee will decide the rates from time to time for each category, ad format and social media platform.
• The Cabinet has also approved increasing the pension of journalists of the state from Rs 10,000 to Rs 15,000.
• The Cabinet has approved rounding off the fares of State Carriage buses up to Rs 5 for the convenience of passengers. For traveling up to seven and a half kilometers, Rs 5 will be charged and for traveling between eight to 10 kilometers, Rs 10 will be charged. With this, the general public as well as the conductors will no longer have to face problems like coins and change.