Mohali, September 25: The Greater Mohali Area Development Authority (GMADA) has again moved a proposal to reduce enhancement charges for allottees of Sectors 76 to 80 by only ₹800 per square yard, a plan that has sparked growing anger among residents.
According to officials, the proposal — to cut the current rate from ₹3,164 per square yard to ₹2,364 — will be taken up for approval by the authority’s executive committee in the first week of October. The move comes after Punjab chief secretary KAP Sinha, who chairs the GMADA committee, asked officers in July to study how similar housing bodies calculate such charges before clearing any reduction.
A senior GMADA officer said the study compared the formulae used by the Noida Housing Authority and Haryana Shahari Vikas Pradhikaran (HSVP). “The enhancement charge formulae differ from case to case. After the study, we have again proposed a reduction of ₹800 per square yard. The final decision will be taken by the authority in its next meeting,” the officer noted.
Enhancement charges are payments recovered from plot allottees to cover the extra compensation GMADA owes to landowners whose land was acquired for development. Nearly 30,000 plot holders in Sectors 76 to 80 are directly affected. Rates that stood at ₹700 to ₹850 per square yard in 2013 have since multiplied several times, largely due to compounded interest after GMADA delayed recovery for a decade.
The dispute traces back to a 2013 Supreme Court order directing GMADA to pay ₹300 crore as enhanced compensation to landowners. While allottees had signed undertakings to bear the cost, the authority did not raise recovery notices until May 2023. A 2022 audit report had already flagged the lapse, noting interest had been accruing since 2013.
That delay has left residents facing a ballooning liability. Interest alone has risen to ₹288 crore, pushing the overall dues close to ₹600 crore. “The burden on allottees is the result of administrative negligence,” said a resident leader, accusing GMADA of shifting its failures onto homeowners.
The frustration boiled over on Wednesday when residents of Sectors 76 to 80 staged a demonstration near Sohana Gurdwara, blocking traffic on Airport Road for nearly three hours. Carrying placards, banners and black flags, protesters denounced the government and GMADA for issuing fresh demand notices.
“The notices are unfair, arbitrary and violate the assurances that were given to us earlier,” said one of the protesting residents. Others alleged repeated appeals had been ignored and described the charges as harassment.
Traffic remained at a standstill during the agitation as police deployed in large numbers tried to manage the situation. Resident leaders warned the government of an escalation if demands were not met. “We will not remain silent. All democratic means, including continuous protests, legal action and mass mobilisation, will be used to press our demands,” a leader declared.
