North Delhi's cashs-trapped municipal body has manufactured a tax-exemption rule for over 750 heritage structures to please one man - Union minister and BJP leader Vijay Goel - rivals alleged.

The move will cost the civic agency Rs 25 crore at a time when it has estimated deficit of over Rs 2,700 crore for this financial year.

One of the properties set to benefit from the scheme belongs to the sports and youth affairs minister's family.



MCD RUBBISHES ALLEGATIONS

The municipal corporation says the decision to waive the conversion and parking charges on these decades old mansions has not been taken as a favour to any particular person and is an attempt to motivate the owners to restore the creaky buildings and use them for commercial purposes.

However, Mail Today has a copy of a now retracted proposal from the agency to offer the privilege to just Haveli Dharampura that's in the name of Goel's family members. "On August 17, a plan was tabled before the standing committee of north corporation, which was to exempt the building situated at 2293, Gali Guliyan, Dharampura from paying conversion and parking charges," said a senior official.

Sources say the opposition Congress objected to the move favouring one individual and the proposal was rolled back.

The bustling Walled City area, which is a big tourist attraction, houses several mansions, bungalows and historic buildings, many of which are decaying for want of repair.

The scrapped proposal said the corporation had received an application for health trade licence - that gives permission to carry out a business in particular items and services-from the owner and that the civic body had sought comments on commercial activities including restaurants, bar, guest rooms, handicraft and jewellery shop among others in the heritage building.

The document says the municipal corporation sought suggestions from within and from other agencies including the Heritage Conservation Committee (HCC) and DDA on if the building, now restored and used as a destination for luxury dining and accommodation, could be offered tax incentives. The three-storey building has 13 rooms with a spa, restaurants, an art gallery, etc. A week later, a revised proposal was floated that incorporated all 750 heritage properties falling under the agency's jurisdiction and it was passed by the standing committee.



GOEL APPLAUDS AGENCY

Applauding the agency, Goel said it had done a commendable job to incentivise the restoration and adaptive reuse of cultural heritage sites. He emphasised that even the Delhi government and Shahjahanabad Redevelopment Corporation - which aims to promote conservation of built and natural heritage in the national Capital- should give more such inducements to encourage preservation of cultural monuments.

"I am not the owner of this haveli personally. It is my opinion that the government should in fact promote such efforts," the minister said. Goel says Haveli Dharampura is the first heritage building in the area which has been conserved through efforts that lasted six years and it has set an example for other such structures.

"In fact, whatever the amount the MCD could have earned from such conversion and parking charges, it is an investment in preservation of such sites. In my opinion MCD needs to invest more," he said.

The municipal corporation chief said the rejected plan was the outcome of a glitch. "The first proposal was wrongly drafted and had some technical error. The new proposal to exempt all the heritage properties was passed in a standing committee meeting," said North MCD chief PK Gupta.

He, however, said the exemptions will be applicable only in those cases where the characteristics of a heritage property are maintained.

The broke civic body has seen a wave of protests over the past year due to non-payment of salaries. Delhi's ruling party AAP has termed it "most corrupt". Congress leaders also attacked the corporation and the BJP while alleging that the party was favouring its own leaders.

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