ET : ULCRA may go, but the poor will get their share : Nov 13,2007
ULCRA may go, but the poor will get their share
Abhiram Ghadyalpatil MUMBAI
MAHARASHTRA government may have made up its mind to get rid of the Urban Land Ceiling And Regulation Act (ULCRA), but it would still retain some of the socialist objectives of the Act, Mantralaya sources told ET.
Builders and realty companies eyeing large swathes of land in major cities may not be able to get hold of the entire land which falls in the purview of ULCRA, sources said. The realty sector may get only the surplus land which is eligible for acquisition, but has not been acquired yet, sources said.
The government has decided to use surplus land acquired under ULCRA to increase housing stock for the urban poor and middleclass segment, sources said. If a large chunk of land gets used for this purpose, the realty lobby eagerly waiting for ULCRAs burial could end up making not so substantial gains, sources told ET.
It would be wrong to say that the entire land falling in the purview of ULCRA would be automatically released to builders or the owners of the surplus land once the Act is repealed. Only that category of land, which is eligible for acquisition but not acquired and is free of ownership litigation, would be unlocked, a senior bureaucrat told ET. The government has maintained the surplus land will not be released even when the Act gets scrapped. In Mumbai, around 30,000 acres are eligible for acquisition under the Act. Since the Act is on the way-out, the government is tight-lipped about the quantum of land it has acquired on the pretext that releasing information could lead to rampant speculation in the housing sector. We are in the process of acquiring surplus land almost every day. At this stage, we dont want to throw any figures because the acquisition status would keep on getting updated till the Act is there. Once the Act is withdrawn, the government would go public about how much land it has acquired, how much remains to be acquired, and exactly how much can be released into the housing market, said a top official.
He said the ULCRA machinery under the district collectorate has stepped up land acquisition in all nine urban conglomerates in the state. A large quantity of land has been acquired in Pune, Nagpur, Thane and Sangli, sources said. Chief minister Vilasrao Deshmukh, who holds the urban development and housing portfolio, has cleared a proposal to hand over surplus land in possession of the government to MHADA after ULCRA is repealed. In Mumbai alone, MHADA would construct 2 lakh houses for people in the lowincome and middle-income strata, Mantrayala officials said.
Sources, however, cautioned that the governments intention might just prove to be lofty on paper but hollow in practice. The government has been proved to be the most fraudulent and politically patronising land owner. Even the exemptions granted under ULCRA on the pretext of increasing housing stock for the poor have been exploited by politicians in all cities. Whats the guarantee that the land in possession of the government will not be released to builders or institutions run by politicians, said a source.
IN THE WORKS
State to use land acquired to increase housing stock for the urban poor and middle-class
Land which is eligible for
acquisition but not acquired, and is free of litigation, would be available for commercial use
In Mumbai, around 30,000
acres are eligible for acquisition under ULCRA
Publication:Economic Times Mumbai; Date:Nov 13, 2007; Section:Political Theatre; Page Number:3