The amount was given from the money the company had paid as licence fee for a commercial project and an IT Park in Gurgaon.

Confirming the news, P P Singh, District Town Planner (headquarters), said: “DLF had applied for a licence to set up a commercial complex on 120 acre of land and an IT Park on 30 acre. However, since the application for the licence was pending, they had only paid the initial fee, which they wanted back.”

The DLF had applied for a refund of Rs 240 crore.

When asked why the amount refunded was lesser than what the company had applied for, Singh said, “The licence fee varies between Rs 1 to 3 crore per acre depending on its location, so after calculating that, the company was refunded the amount.” It is not yet known how much the company paid for the licence.

Calling it an unhappy moment, Rajiv Talwar, group executive director, DLF, said: “At this time of slowdown, any refund received should benefit companies. However, it is unfortunate for us to have applied for the cancellation of licence application. We plan to utilise the money in other ongoing projects.”

S S Dhillon, director, Town and Country Planning, said the department has already paid back Rs 240 crore as refund to various companies. “We have to pay another Rs 150 crore to other applicants who have applied for cancellation,” he said.

During the last two years, the government received Rs 3,000 crore as licence fee each year, of which Rs 600 crore was refunded after builders withdrew licence applications.