Delhi govt transfers land in 95 villages to revenue department

The AAP-led Delhi government has transferred gram sabha land in 95 rural villages to its revenue department. The decision was taken to protect government land in these areas. These villages have to be declared as urbanized and transferred to Delhi Development Authority (DDA) for the implementation of land pooling policy in the near future. Sources say the decision to transfer the land to the revenue department will help the Delhi government keep this land for infrastructure projects even after the villages have been handed over to DDA.

In an October 29 notification, the Delhi government ordered for the transfer of thousands of hectares of land from the Panchayat department to the revenue department. "Under the panchayat department, the gram sabha land has to be handed over to DDA once the villages are declared as development area. For infrastructure projects, Delhi government would have to buy the same land from DDA," said a senior government official.

This has been one of the biggest worries of the Delhi government after the Union urban development ministry notified the scheme for land pooling in 2013. The guidelines for its implementation was notified recently. DDA has been pushing that 95 rural villages be declared as development area so that it can roll out the scheme for land pooling to meet the growing requirement for housing in the city.

But the Delhi government is apprehensive about the policy. Sources say, CM Arvind Kejriwal is thinking of consulting urban development experts before giving a go ahead to declare the villages as development areas. "We need to carefully study the policy to ensure that farmers' interest is taken care of," said an official.

Under the policy, those who give two to 20 hectare of land will get 48% of the total land back while those who give 20 hectare and above will get 60% land back for development of residential, commercial and public and semi-public facilities. The location of the land will be decided through a computerized process, but preference will be given to those who apply first. The land owning authority will collect external development charges (Rs 2 crore per acre) from the farmers or developer entity who avail the policy for development of civic infrastructure.

Once implemented, DDA officials say that it will help in the development of 24-25 lakh housing units in the years to come without getting stuck in the land acquisition process.

Source: PropertyatNeoDevelopers.Wordpress.Com

Surplus land of state-run companies may be used for infra projects

Amid the political standoff over the Land Acquisition Bill, the government is considering to use the vast land tracts available with the state run companies for infrastructure and industrial projects, including those under the plug and play mode.

In this proposed mode, the government will ensure that all clearances and linkages are in place before the project is awarded through a transparent auction system. A senior government official told ET that deliberations are being carried out on the availability and use of surplus land available with central public sector enterprises (CPSEs) and mostly sick units.

"There have been some discussions. The first stage is to identify the freehold land available and if that can be put to use. In the next stage, we will work out a mechanism as to how this can be made available for specific projects," said the official, requesting not to be named.

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley had in his budget for 2015-16 announced five new Ultra Mega Power Projects (UMPPs), each of 4,000 mw in the plug-and-play mode. The government expects UMPPs to help unlock investments to the extent of Rs 1 lakh crore. Jaitley had said in his budget speech that the government would also consider similar plug and play projects in other infrastructure segments such as roads, ports, rail lines and airports.

The ministry of heavy industries and public enterprises had earlier this year sought details of land available with CPSEs, a senior ministry official said.

"The details were sought with regard to the India-Japan investment promotion partnership and whether some projects can be quickly sanctioned based on land availability," he said, adding that about 2.5 lakh acres of land is available with the sick CPSEs. Experts say that the idea is novel but it may present its own challenges. "You will have to zero in on a land tract which not only matches the requirement of a project but also is of the right size and at the right location," said Amit Jain, partner with BMR Associates.

A senior official with a sick CPSE said that it may be difficult to put the land immediately to use. "Some of the land that we have is leased from the respective state government. Until the government decides to wind up all sick companies it will be not possible to put that land to some other use," he said, adding that some of the land available with CPSEs has been encroached upon. In a recent report, the Comptroller & Auditor General of India had pointed out that about 425 acres of land available with Sambhar Salts, a subsidiary of Hindustan Salts, is under encroachment.

Source: PropertyatNeoDevelopers.Wordpress.Com