After years of near dormancy, the government’s ambitious land pooling policy, aimed at developing new housing and residential layouts in urban centres, is finally showing signs of improvement with farmers increasingly coming forward to strike a deal with urban housing development authorities.
Since most land in urban areas is privately owned, a land pooling policy was introduced to ease the acquisition process. The scheme barely had any takers, but there is a change in the trend now in most urban centres except Mysuru and Mangaluru.
“Whether it’s the lack of decent agriculture returns or the lure of making a quick buck, many farmers are willing to part with their land,” said a senior urban development official.
A fine example is Hassan. UDD officials say farmers are offering 900 acres to develop two residential layouts. “While one parcel of 250 acres offered by a group of farmers is close to being approved — there are a few clarifications pending from the Hassan Urban Development Authority (HUDA) — we have received another proposal by a group of more than 200 farmers offering 650 acres of land,” said a UDD official.
In cases where such large parcels are being offered, the local MLA usually takes the lead in playing “power broker”. In the case of Hassan, BJP legislator Pritham Gowda is said to have taken the lead.
UDD principal secretary Anjum Parvez said the government is likely to make consensual agreements with farmers a routine affair, rather than purchase plots outright. “With land acquisition costs sky rocketing, a consensual agreement with farmers appears to be the way forward,” Parvez said. “The response to the proposal has been tremendous. In this way, the value of farmers’ land multiplies at least twice and urban development bodies also make sizeable revenue.”
Under land pooling, UDD seeks a minimum 10 acres of land offered on consensus basis. The local development authority then assesses ownership papers, including RTC and mother deeds of the property before seeking the UDD approval to form a layout.
It is estimated that in most urban locations, the cost of development is anywhere between Rs 50 lakh to Rs 75 crore per acre. Farmers are given 50% share of developed land. At present, the UDD is in the process of approving layout projects in Bidadi, Ballari, Davangere and Kalaburagi.
However, little or no interest has been evinced in Mysuru where land costs are well above investment value.
