A notification from the state land and land reforms department has cleared the legal obstacles for some premium residential projects along EM Bypass to change the status of their land from leasehold to freehold.
The notification issued on Tuesday enables individual apartment owners to change the status of their share of land by submitting a registered indenture to the department of land and land revenue. The fee for the conversion will be 15% of the flat’s current market value, as assessed by the inspector general, registration.
The notification also permits the conversion of Kolkata Khasmahal Land, which covers residential land.
The lessee of the unsold and unassigned part would have the same facility. Sources close to the development said that there are lots of projects along the Bypass, including 6-7 premium projects, which were initially built on vested land and later leased out to the real estate developer.
“There could be over 10,000 such flats in this area,” added a source. It was learnt that owners of such apartments had urged the state government for this conversion right. A leading real estate player pointed out that the conversion to freehold from leasehold would be beneficial to flat owners while they would like to resell the property.
The president of CredaiWest Bengal, Sushil Mohta, pointed out that it was a welcome initiative. “There are projects on leasehold land along the Bypass. Besides, there is lot of khasmahal land in Tangra and Kidderpore area,” he added.
The chairman of Ambuja Neotia Group, Harsh Neotia, also welcomed the move. “It would help in further development,” he added.
The president of Credai Bengal, Siddharth Pansari, said, “It is a landmark move. It will help all stakeholders.”
Incidentally, the urban development and municipal affairs department which owns the rights of land in Salt Lake and New Town also came out with a notification earlier this year for residential and commercial plots. It applies to plots leased out for 99 years or more by government organisations such as HIDCO, NKDA and KMDA.
It was applicable mainly for Salt Lake and New Town areas. The thika tenancy areas has also been transferred to urban development department through a recent notification. As per sources the quantum of land under Thika could be over 2,500 acres spread over various part of the city. There is lot of such land in Howrah as well.
