Haryana CM Manohar Lal Khattar seeks status report on Rs 17,000 crore collected by Hooda government

CHANDIGARH: The Manohar Lal Khattar-led BJP government has asked the state chief secretary to submit a status report on collection of over Rs 17,000 crore by the previous government on account of External Development Charge (EDC) from property owners, an issue that the party had raised vigorously in the run-up to assembly elections.
The government suspects that a lion’s share of the money is lying unspent in state coffers, an official said, adding the report will detail the money collected so far, money spent and under which heads, amount lying with the state and the amount that is yet to be spent on EDC.

Hours after the chief minister presided over the first meeting of the Cabinet on Monday, the secretary of finance gave a presentation with update on the debt the state government is reeling under, officials said. Finding the component of EDC missing from the presentation, which primarily focused on the budget allocation, the ministers sought to know its current status.

The matter is already under judicial scanner and it was only after repeated reprimand and strictures by the Punjab and Haryana High Court that the Haryana Urban Development Authority had furnished details on the money collected. As per HUDA’s affidavit, the department had gathered over Rs 17,000 crore from various districts under this head till March 31, 2013. When it was in opposition, BJP had demanded a CBI probe against the BS Hooda government and officials for not spending the money and not giving a satisfactory explanation about the details of the unspent money.

The party had alleged "misappropriation of funds" by the previous government and said the officials had deposited the money in banks, including private banks. As admitted by HUDA, "surplus" money is "lying as fixed deposit in banks".

BJP had alleged the money is being "transferred on the whims and fancies of the political heads as well as bureaucrats". The party had further alleged that the then state government did not get a "legitimate audit" of the money done by the state’s Accountant General.

The explanation given by HUDA is "the interest earned on unspent amount of EDC collection is utilised to bridge any gap in the funds available for the projects and actual costs".

However, the expenditure shown by HUDA did not cut ice with the high court, which raised eyebrows over the heads under which the government officials claimed to have spent money on.