Efforts on to expedite changes to land Act

Amendments will make land pooling a mandatory exercise for all after participation rate reaches 70%

To expedite the implementation of the land pooling policy, efforts are being made to introduce the proposed amendments to the Delhi Development Act (1957) in the current parliament session, a senior official of the urban body told The Hindu.

The proposed amendments were announced last week at a press meet by Union Minister for Housing and Urban Affairs Hardeep Singh Puri.

Through the amendments, land pooling becomes mandatory for owners who are yet to express their willingness, once the minimum participation rate reaches 70%. However, one of the proposed amendments grants powers to the Centre to declare pooling mandatory, even if the minimum threshold of 70% participation is not achieved. 

Asked whether the change in the nature of the policy — as proposed in the amendments — from voluntary to mandatory had led to any objections, the senior official dismissed the notion. 

Referring to the amendments, he added, “Wherever development takes place on these lines, it is backed by the act. We are working hard towards introducing the proposed amendments to the act in the current parliament session. It is now up to the Cabinet to decide.”

Currently, 104 villages — that have been divided into six zones and further divided into sectors — have been identified for land pooling.  According to the policy, 70% of contiguous land is required to attain eligibility for forming a landowners’ consortium in a sector.

Meanwhile, citing that the legislative process for the due amendments might take time, the agency has worked out a second strategy where it is looking to issue conditional notices for forming consortiums for sectors where the minimum participation rate has already been achieved.