Three months after an official announcement of proposed amendments to the Delhi Development Act, 1957, aimed at making land pooling mandatory in the Capital, no progress has been made on that front.
A senior Delhi BJP leader, who is familiar with the developments, told The Hindu that the proposed amendments are “unlikely” to be passed soon and added that certain tweaks have been made to the proposal that will “benefit only a select bunch”.
The proposed amendments — which were announced by Union Minister Hardeep Puri on March 8 — are aimed at eliminating roadblocks in the Delhi Development Authority’s land pooling policy, in which the urban body plays the role of a facilitator.
The amendments, if passed, would make pooling of land mandatory even for those land owners who have not expressed their interest in the scheme if the minimum participation of 70% is achieved in a sector. The amendments also propose granting of powers to the Centre to declare pooling of land mandatory even if the minimum participation rate is not achieved.
EWS among beneficiaries
Notified on two occasions, in 2013 and 2018, the land pooling policy is aimed at providing 17 lakh dwelling units — including five lakh units for economically weaker sections — for a population of roughly 80 lakh people.
Currently, 104 villages, which have been divided into six zones and further divided into 129 sectors, have been identified for land pooling. The DDA had eecently issued conditional notices for the formation of consortiums in three high-priority sectors falling under zones- N and P-II. However, development works are yet to start under the land pooling policy.
Tweaks made
When asked about the progress on the amendments, a senior DDA official said a proposal has been sent to the Union Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs with a “few tweaks” to some of the amendments.
Refusing to elaborate on the tweaks, the senior official confirmed that the two amendments that propose to make pooling mandatory have been retained in the proposal.
“The amendments were discussed, corrected and sent to the Ministry. Now it is up to to them. The tweaks to the amendments are aimed at making them better,” said the official.
Despite multiple requests for a comment, Manoj Joshi, Secretary, Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, did not respond.
The context
While the land pooling policy has remained promising on paper, the DDA has struggled to execute it on the ground due to a condition, which requires 70% contiguous land apart from the minimum participation rate.
Though the urban body has achieved the minimum participation rate in various sectors, it is yet to fulfil the minimum contiguous land condition.
Since the DDA first opened its window for land pooling applications in February 2019, a total area of 7,275.45 hectares from a total of 6,922 applications has been registered.
The proposed amendments look to eliminate the contiguity by making pooling mandatory. The issuing of conditional notices has now placed the onus of ensuring contiguity – and an implementation plan within 90 days – on landowners who have already expressed their interest in the scheme. The failure to do so will result in the notice being cancelled or withdrawn.
