25,000 Greater Noida plot owners get demand for additional tax, interest

In a shocker for 25,000 plot owners in 50 sectors of booming Greater Noida town just on the outskirts of the national capital, GNIDA has slapped them with a demand notice to pay Rs 1,287 per square meter additional charge together with 11 per cent interest backdated to 2013.

The demand follows Allahabad High Court asking it to give additional compensation to farmers whose land was acquired. Greater Noida Industrial Development Authority (GNIDA) borrowed money from banks to pay some of the farmers Rs 4,500 crore, and is now wanting to recover it by backdating the demand from existing plot owners.

The additional charge of Rs 1,287 per sq mt will have to be paid by all plot owners irrespective of when they bought the area. This charge will be levied from May 1, 2013 and will attract a 11 per cent simple interest, GNIDA said in the order, adding the amount due will be payable in four equal installments.

"Non-payment of the charge will attract an additional 3 per cent penalty," it said.

The additional payment for a 200 sq mt plot comes to over Rs 4 lakh.

The September 28 notice to plot holders cites the Allahabad High Court order asking it to give 64.7 per cent additional compensation to farmers. It termed the additional charge as "additional compensation recovery".

Some Resident Welfare Associations have decided to challenge the order in courts.

Sectors called Alpha 1, 2; Beta 1, 2; Gama 1, 2; Delta 1, 2 3 are not part of this scheme.

Following an uproar over the new charge by the plot owners, GNIDA on October 5 issued a clarification saying it had "borrowed about Rs 4,500 crore from different banks / financial institutions to pay additional compensation to farmers. The authority has to pay monthly interest on this loan".

According to the GNIDA order, the first instalment is due to be deposited by October 31.