Jotting: Fillip For Real Estate
A green signal for the much delayed Land Pooling Policy (LPP) implies the availability of at least another 70,000 hectares of land for development in the national capital region (NCR) around Delhi. At least another 24 lakh housing units can be constructed in the region, apart from hundreds of schools, colleges and hospitals. In the LPP, 89 villages located within the NCR have now been tagged ‘urban areas’ by the Aam Admi Party government. Of the 89 villages, 50 are in north Delhi and 39 in south Delhi.
In the policy framework, land owners of these 89 villages can pool their land and give it to the Delhi Development Authority (DDA). The DDA will then develop roads, hospitals, schools and other infrastructure facilities and return 48 per cent of the land back to these villages. The formula comprises a further division of what should constitute the 48 per cent of developed land. As much as 43 per cent of the land will comprise residential projects, three per cent will be commercial projects and the remaining two per cent will be developed for public/semi-public use.
Should the villages give more than 20 hectares of land to the DDA, it will then need to return 60 per cent of the developed land, of which 53 per cent will house residential projects, five per cent will have commercial projects and the rest will have public/semi-public utilities developed on it. There is a small catch, however. Along with the land parcel, the farmers or villagers will have to pay Rs 5 crore per hectare to the DDA as External Development Charges or EDC. If the EDC is not paid to the DDA, it will need to return only 35 per cent of the developed land as residential colony post development.
After the approval of the LPP for the 89 villages, the Delhi government won’t need to buy land from the DDA for developing facilities such as electrical sub-stations, stadiums, industrial areas, old-age homes, hostels, schools, etc.
In terms of accountability, DDA or its designated builder in-charge of the development will need to develop the land parcel in seven years. If, for some reason, DDA is not able to develop the basic infrastructure before the completion of the projects (residential/commercial), it will be required to pay to land owners two per cent of the EDC in the first year and three per cent in the successive years. Also, 15 per cent of the development of residences will be for the economically weaker section and the maximum permissible Floor Area Ratio or FAR is 400 per cent. If implemented successfully, the LPP will give a fillip to the real estate market. How? The DDA’s Master Plan for Delhi 2021 proposes construction of 25 lakh housing units, for which 10,000 hectares of additional land will be required.
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