Haryana clears policy for allotment of govt land to religious

The Haryana Government today approved a policy for allotment of government land for social, religious, charitable trusts or institutions for construction of places of worship, dharamshala or community centres.
As per the policy, the applicant should be a registered legal entity, that is a Society registered under the Haryana Registration and Regulation of Societies Act 2012, or a Trust registered under the Indian Trust Act, or a Not-for-Profit company registered under the Indian Companies Act.
The Government would consider allotment of land only at places where government land is available and can be spared for the purpose after meeting the needs of the government, Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda told reporters here after chairing a meeting of the state cabinet.

"This policy does not in any manner create a right in anybody to demand allotment of land for the said purposes," he clarified.
According to an official release, the government would allot the sites only where the access to such community sites is from a 15 meters wide road so as to ensure that the access to the site is congestion-free.
The government land may be allotted on lease hold basis on payment of upfront lease premium and, thereafter, payment of annual lease rentals.
In another decision, the cabinet, authorised the Chief Minister to provide tax relief under Haryana Value Added Tax Act, 2003, to textile and textile products that include sarees, shawls and unstitched women's suits, bed sheets with pillow covers of the value not exceeding Rs 500 and textile mats of value not exceeding Rs 50 per piece.

The Cabinet also approved bringing an ordinance for inserting "Amnesty Scheme" in the Haryana Value Added Tax Act 2003 so as to facilitate recovery of old arrears of taxes and to provide relief to all types of dealers from payment of penalties and interest in the state.