A high level meeting, chaired by Rajiv Gauba (Secretary, Ministry of Urban Development) and attended by senior officials of all the departments (Ministry of UD, Govt of NCT of Delhi, DDA and North and South Muncipal Authorities), was held on Tuesday (November 1, 2016) to sort out issues and enable Notification of Land Pooling Policy regulations.
Gram sabha land was identified and marked to be kept separate from Land Pooling, as was asked by Delhi Govt.
North and South Muncipal bodies have passed resolutions for notifying 89 villages as urban areas.
Delhi Govt gave a in-principal nod to the Land Pooling Policy. Chief Minister, Mr Arvind Kejriwal, openly lauded the policy.
Issue: Delhi Govt has sought some clarifications regarding provision of civic amenities in the developed areas.
Solution: Both the MCDs (North and South) have been asked by the Ministry to expedite their reply to the Delhi Govt.
Issue: Delhi Govt had asked for 10% of developed land for infrastructure development.
Solution: DDA in the meeting stated that transfer of developed land would be provided to the Delhi government on need basis as is being done now in accordance with the Master Plan of Delhi.
Also, the Delhi government was requested to consider the issue of waiver of stamp duty on transfer of developed land to Developer Entity (DE).
With this, Delhi Govt. was requested to expedite notification of the villages as urban areas and development areas. To this, Delhi government assured that local revenue officials would at the earliest verify the ‘Sajra’ maps of these villages falling under land pooling ambit.
After discussing out on what and why of Delhi’s Land Pooling Policy and Country Homes / LDRA, we will move on to the next and the most important section of the policy’s R-zone, i.e., High Density development.
The Policy will be bringing all this land under one umbrella after converting it from its current Agricultural status to R-zone. This will comprise of High Density areas which should get to see high-rises and Low density residential areas also known as country homes.
In this section we will be discussing about the former one.
The policy is based on a new concept of land aggregation against the traditional practice of land acquisition by the government(s) for undertaking large scale residential/commercial projects.
Under this, DDA will be undertaking urbanization of around 24,000 hectares of publicly owned land through land pooling to accommodate a population of around 50 Lakh in outer Delhi zones, namely, P-II, L, N etc.
Key Points: R-Zone – High Density – DDA’s Land pooling Policy
The policy aims at providing affordable housing to people and covers the huge gap between demand and supply
It is expected to deliver close to Seven hundred thousand of EWS flats for the poor and can help Delhi become slum free to a large extent.
Land Pooling Policy is expected to have an enormous impact on the residential as well as commercial real estate market in and around Delhi.
Though the Delhi govt has given a in-principle nod to the policy but once it puts its physical impression on it for approval, dream of millions of people to own a house in the capital’s upcoming smart cities will become a reality.
In our last post we explained what and why of the Land Pooling Policy. Today we will try to dig deeper into other salient features of the Delhi’s Land Pooling policy.
Under this Policy DDA will be undertaking urbanization of around 24,000 hectares of publicly owned land through land pooling to accommodate a population of around 50 Lakh in outer Delhi zones, namely, P-II, L, N etc.
DDA will be bringing all this land under one umbrella after converting it from its current Agricultural status to R-zone. This will comprise of High Density areas which should get to see high-rises and Low density residential areas also known as country homes.
In this section we will be discussing about the latter one.
‘Country homes’ is an exciting concept for anyone willing to have a lavish space at an affordable price within the capital. 23 villages have been earmarked under LDRA development. Also, 47 villages falling under green belt will be a part of this group.
DDA introduced new norms for owning farm houses in the capital via S.O. No – 1190 (E), on 10th May, 2013.
Key Points on LDRA / Country Homes
This will keep number of dwelling units in these areas in check and will make sure that the periphery of Delhi remains green & eco-friendly.
With all been said, there is just one more thing to add; Delhi is offering a limited opportunity to all to own a bungalow/farmhouse in the heart of the country.
In our next section/post, we will be discussing about the next feature of Land Pooling Policy, i.e., high density residential development.
The land-pooling policy was notified on 5 Sep, 2013; and regulations for its operationalization were approved by UD ministry in 2015. All we are waiting for is the declaration of 95 villages as urban.
Why Land Pooling?
Till now, Delhi had been at the mercy of DDA for the development of new housing units; or the city was being burdened by unauthorized construction by converting agricultural land into unauthorized colonies. DDA had never been capable of meeting the housing requirement of the capital and neither were they able to meet the construction standards been set by the builders. Besides, land acquisition is no longer a preferred mode for accumulating large chunks of land for bringing up of planned township. There have been several occasions where such projects had to face farmer agitations at some stage.
Yes, Land-Pooling is the answer we had been waiting for to meet the growing housing and infrastructural needs, and to turn the capital into the city of the future.
What is Land Pooling?
DDA’s land pooling policy envisages public-private partnership in land assembly and development in Delhi. Delhi’s Land-Pooling is a concept where small chunks of land, owned by group of owners, will be assembled for the development of infrastructure and smart sub-cities, as per the provisions of the Delhi Development Act 1957. After the development of land, DDA will redistribute the land after deducting some portion as compensation towards infrastructure costs.
Land owners, let they be farmers, societies, or builder groups, will be considered as Developer Entity (DE) by DDA. DE having 50 acres (20 Ha) or more land will get 60% land back while others having over 5 acres but less than 50 acres of land will get around 48% of land back from DDA. The remaining land would be used by DDA for infrastructure development per MPD 2021.
DDA in association with the govt will act as a facilitator with minimum intervention and will catalyze speedy, integrated planned development. Govt/DDA will have regulations in place for building standards , delivery time etc, but, will otherwise give a free hand to the Developer Entities on pricing etc.
Through this policy DDA will be able to develop the urban extension area, measuring roughly 24 thousand hectares. These areas will be self contained with all facilities and infrastructure.
Prospective buyers in and around Delhi have been struggling since a while with a very important question of whether they should invest in the NCR region or should wait for the Delhi’s Land Pooling policy to become operational. It has been all about the most preferred choice for home seekers in and around Delhi.
Since last few years, things have not been rosy for people who have somehow managed to pull in enough resources to buy some property in Delhi/NCR region. NCR region has been in a state of correction after witnessing India’s largest real-estate boom in the residential market. Builders are staring at a piled up inventory of unsold homes and that has led to dipping sales.
Economic slowdown has had an impact on all industries including real-estate sector. Then there had been other factors, such as delays which took a toll on the end user’s confidence. Per a survey done last year, construction for over 4 lakh flats was running over 2 years behind schedule. This has led Investors to go on their back foot causing a further setback and has acted as a roadblock in the pace of construction.
During the explosive early period when real-estate market in NCR was bullish, many builders passed reserves from one project into newer ones eyeing an exponential growth. This too led to the current financial crunch.
After witnessing the up’s and downs of the NCR real-estate market, Delhi is all set to join the bandwagon and should convincingly grab the spot for the most preferred/prominent real estate hub in North-India.
In the current offerings, sellers are refusing to lower their prices, and buyers are refusing to meet the asking prices for property. This has resulted in a standstill in the property transactions since the buyers are willing to wait further for the prices to become more affordable. Delhi’s Land Pooling Policy is for sure an answer to this deadlock which has all the ingredients for dwelling a true smart (sub) city right within the heart of the country and will offer smart homes to the smart buyers at affordable prices.
Though, the DDA’s ambitious land pooling policy for the capital has been in doldrums since its inception and has recently became victim of state-center apathy because of political-technical differences, will get to rise beyond expectations once it’s been through the current phase.
Stay in-tune for further updates on the Land Pooling policy which should soon step out of the paper on the real ground.
This Friday, on 30th September, Federation of Housing Societies and Developers under the banner of Delhi Dehat Vikas Munch, staged yet another demonstration, this time on Parliament Street, near Jantar Mantar to urge DDA, LG, State and Central government to find an early resolution to the stalled Land Pooling Policy.
The policy was notified in Sep, 2013; and the guidelines for operationalisation of it were approved by the Urban Development Ministry on May 26, 2015 with five amendments. Following which, the then DDA Vice-Chairman, Balvinder Kumar, had said, “The ball is in the Delhi government’s court”.
The actual implementation of the policy hinges on the state government’s decision on declaring 95 villages as development areas and 89 of them as urban villages. The housing authority had earlier requested to it to issue a notification in this regard.
Delhi govt had demanded 12-15% from the pooled land for carrying out development projects. DDA, on the other hand, after considering the Delhi govt’s demand, had found it infeasible to be met.
No visible signs of negotiations on this from either side forced farmers and other stakeholders to hold a protest. They tried to bring attention of all agencies and common man towards the bright side of the policy and how is it going to have a very positive impact on everyone’s life. Stating that, they urged all to have a look at the issue with a sense of urgency.
Land Pooling Policy is based on public-private partnership model and seeks to make landowners partners in the development of zones. It is divided into two categories: (I) for land measuring 50 acres and above; and (II) for 5 acres to less than 50 acres. In the first category, the developer entity will have around 60 percent share, while DDA will retain 40 percent. In the second category, DDA will retain 52 per cent while rest will go to developer entity.
There are a number of options in the market for homebuyers interested in DDA’s Land Pooling Policy. This comprises of both Societies and builders. Also, there is no clarity on the legality of their existence and if they could sell the units before the commencement of anything concrete on the ground. So if one still feels keen in looking into the available options, we would like to offer a check list for the prospective buyers.
A number of like-minded individuals come together and decides to take a route leading them towards a common interest. With time more people would join the bandwagon ensuring the sustainability of the idea. As far as we understand, societies have always worked on a similar principal. DDA’s Land Pooling Policy is one such lucrative concept which has lured people from public / private companies alike into forming such housing /welfare societies to take advantage of the policy. DDA too has abstained from taking a clear stand on the legitimacy of such societies.
One must take into account certain precautions before investing into any proposed society/builder project in any of the zones under LPP.
Registration and Mutation of Land:
First comes the NOC after which comes registration of the land. It is then followed by mutation which could also be considered the most important step towards the procurement. One must ensure that the society holds the required papers for the land they claim to be theirs.
Do a background check:
Not all societies would be formed by genuine beings. Try not to get swept away with the market sentiment and do a thorough check for the authenticity of the managing committee.
Societies are supposed to work on a no-profit no-loss basis and no commercial activity should be carried out by them. They are supposed to get their accounts audited after the end of every financial year. Better level of communication is expected since most of the times they get formed with the participation of known ones.
Centre, State Tussle on LPP has become the reason for holding up of Delhi’s humongous potential of creating affordable homes. Group of experts tries to dissect the issue between State and Centre Government to get to the root cause and a probable solution to the stand-off.
DDA officials, after considering the Delhi govt’s demand, have found it infeasible to be met. This comes out as another setback to Delhi’s Land Pooling Policy. The AAP govt had asked DDA for 12-15% of the pooled land to it for free for development projects.
Central government has agreed to give land at Re 1 per annum to the state government. Also, the transfer of gram sabha land has already been approved. Stating the same, DDA has said that the government’s demand for share in the total pooled land is not valid.
With this DDA has urged the AAP govt to expedite the implementation of land-pooling which has been stuck for quite some time now. The policy was notified in year 2013 and the operational guidelines were issued in year 2015. Since then the policy has been stuck for clearance from Delhi Govt.
The policy is considered to be important for providing housing to all. City’s ever growing housing demand and absence of any such planned approach to it had been responsible for mushrooming of such large scale unauthorized clusters.
It will be a big game changer once the Land pooling is approved by the Delhi Government and is implemented by DDA. Though, it’s easier said than done. Even after the villages are declared as development area by the Delhi govt, DDA might need more time to start the pooling process.
Delhi’s L-Zone is located in South-West Delhi and is strategically positioned between Dwarka and Gurgaon. It is the most popular zone among property buyers of all the zones in Land Pooling Policy; and is expected to give an impetus to the slow and stagnant real estate market of the national capital.
Zone L is the most popular zone among property buyers, housing societies and real estate developers. It has the highest land bank among all the zones in the MPD-2021. Many reputed builders of Delhi-NCR have not just stepped in but have already launched their new residential projects in L-Zone. L-Zone for being so strategically placed, is supposed to provide excellent returns on your investments. The property prices are way too low here as of now as compared to the adjacent already developed areas. But the land/property price in this zone is rising with each passing month.
L Zone, among all the zones, is probably the best in terms of location and connectivity.
L-Zone is close to IGI Airport. It is strategically located between Dwarka and Gurgaon; is close to Dwarka Sector 21 Metro Station and Dwarka expressway. The zone is in close proximity to New 18 Hole Golf Course, which is under construction and upcoming new diplomatic area. 80 M wide UER-II will connect L-zone with Airport, Dwarka and South-Delhi.
A substantial development of Residential, Commercial, Public and Semi-public segment will happen through public – private partnership. This is largest of all the zones to be a part of Delhi’s Land Pooling Policy. Hence it is expected to supply the largest share of property in the capital.
It is surrounded by NH-10/Rohtak Road and Railway Line on its North side; the NCT of Delhi’s boundary on its southern and western sides; and it is just a few kms away South Delhi and West Delhi.