BY SONI DANIEL, ASSISTANT EDITOR
ABUJA— Allottees of unserviced plots of land in the Federal Capital Territory are angry with the Federal Capital Development Administration, FCTA, over the imposition of annual ground rents.

The grouse of the allottees is that it is illegal for the administration to collect ground rents in districts not yet developed. They have vowed to take actions to seek redress without delay.

Findings by Vanguard revealed that the imposition of ground rents on unserviced plots of land is a new revenue generating measure introduced by the current Minister of the FCDA, Senator Bala Mohammed.

Before his appointment by President Goodluck Jonathan in 2010, FCDA only collected ground rents on completed buildings in developed districts such as Maitama, Asokoro, Wuse, Garki, Jabi and Utako.

According to our investigation, the FCDA has already given notices to allottees of plots in Katampe, Orozo, Karishi, Gaduwa, Kabusa and Kuje districts, which are yet to be provided with roads and other infrastructure, to pay ground rents or face  penalty.

By implication, none of them will have access to the plots for which they are being taxed until the FCT is able to open up those places and provide roads, water, electricity, road network, drainage and sewage.

Similarly, approvals required by any of the allottees to build and move into their property in the unserviced districts cannot be given by Development Control, an agency of the FCT, until infrastructure are provided by the ministry.

In text messages sent to allottees through the Abuja Geographic Information System, AGIS, the administration warned the affected allottees to pay ground rents on or before the end of September this year or risk being penalised.

One of the messages dispatched to a plot owner in Katampe District, which is yet to be provided with access road and other amenities, read, “Dear FCT land owner, your outstanding ground rent bill is ready. “You are advised to settle same on or before 30/09/12 to avoid penalties”.