Amendment to boost revenue, says MCD

<div class="section1"><div class="Normal"><span style="" font-family:="" arial="">NEW DELHI: If the amendment to the Delhi Municipal Corporation Act, 1957, comes through, you could end up paying a lot more for getting your building plans approved. For instance, if you were constructing a three-storey house, the application fee came to around Rs 100.According to the new system, the fee will increase to almost Rs 2,700.</span><br /><br /><span style="" font-family:="" arial="">MCD commissioner Rakesh Mehta said the amendment has been proposed to boost revenue collections. "The fees and fines have not been revised for several decades. In fact, many of the fees do not make any sense now," he said. </span><br /><br /><span style="" font-family:="" arial="">There''s more. Besides the application for sanction of building plans, the MCD has also proposed amendment of Section 417 of the Industries Act. As of now, the fine imposed for any industrial activity without permission of the civic agency is Rs 500. "We want to increase it to Rs 5,000. Nobody values Rs 500 anymore," Mehta added. But he clarified that this would apply to all agencies, including the DDA and NDMC.</span><br /><br /><span style="" font-family:="" arial="">Meanwhile, here''s what you will pay if you want to build on a larger plot. For a plot more than 100 square yards but not exceeding 250, existing charges are Rs 60 for the first floor, and Rs 120 for second and subsequent floors. While you could pay Rs 300 now, this will cost you Rs 7,200 according to the new rate.</span></div> </div>