Salient Features of Delhi’s Land Pooling Policy | Part 2

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.

R-Zone: High Density Residential Area

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

• Anyone (Societies/Builders/Farmers) with over 2 hectares (5 acres) of land can participate in the Land Pooling and will be considered as Developer Entity (DE) by DDA. They will need to voluntarily contribute their land share to the common pool to be organized by DDA.

• DDA will return consolidated land to the DE after retaining their share for infrastructure development. Developer Entity, pooling land over 2 Hectares (5 acres) and below 20 Ha (50 acres) will receive 48% land back from DDA. The ones contributing over 20 Ha (50 acres) will get 60% share. The consolidated land piece within the same zone will be returned within 5 km radius of the land holding.

• While DDA will limit itself to external development, for which it might charge some External Development charges too, internal development will be planned and carried out by the DE.

• DE will also be responsible for development of EWS units, for which it will receive additional FAR of 15%. They will need to pass half of the units to DDA at a pre-decided cost and they will be free to sell remaining 50% of them at market price.

• DE will be expected to complete the construction for their land share within a stipulated period of time which will vary for the ones falling in under 50 acres bracket and the ones contributing over 50 acres to the land pool.

• While DDA is expected to do time bound infrastructure development, such as, water supply, transportation, drainage, sewerage etc, DE will take care of internal roads, sewerage, rain water harvesting along with construction of units for their land share.

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.

Check List for the Prospective buyers

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.

Understanding concept of the society:

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.