The department of town and country planning has issued a public notice on maintence charges in affordable housing societies and sought suggestions and objections on the same. The Affordable Housing Policy 2013 clearly spells out that no maintence fees would be charged for five years from the grant of occupation certificates.
As per public notice, all mandatory services to be provided by the developers include upkeep of all roads, open spaces, public parks, public health services, annual maintenance charges of the lifts, costs incurred on cleanliness of common areas, upkeep of parking spaces and maintence and running costs of sewage treatment plant (STPs).
The provisions of electricity in common areas i.e installation, upgrade and upkeep of electrical equipment in common areas, including electric poles, bulbs and lamps posts and the expenses incurred upon the salaries or management staff and engineering manpower namely plumbers and electricians are to also be borne by the developers.
The developer should also maintain diesel generator sets for power back-up however the running cost fuel will have to be borne by homebuyers. The maintenance fees that can be charged from homebuyers including electricity bills as per consumption, water bills proportional to the net consumption and doorstep waste collection according to the notice. Any charges decided through bilateral agreement, including facility for security services may also be charged by the developer, it said.
Senior Town Planner Sanjeev Mann said that this is a draft proposal on the maintenance charges levied in the affordable housing projects. Any resident and developers can give their suggestions and objections on the same within 30 days. Once the proposal is approved, it will bring in more clarity.
