Private developers get together to work out a road map to boost growth in housing and urban planning in north India

 The minister of state for Urban Development, Selja, has announced that the National Urban Renewal Mission will come up for cabinet approval soon. Though there were dramatic announcements at the recently concluded ?Ficci Conference on Housing and Urban Development Opportunities? in the north Indian states, yet what was more interesting was the roadmap that representatives of each of the states drew up for housing and urban development in their own states.

As private developers seek avenues of growth outside their core cities, across the region, this road map is of vital importance.

Haryana

Haryana, with its cash cow, Gurgaon led the pack. About 6,500 acres of residential colonies have been developed by colonisers in addition to the residential and industrial sectors being developed by HSIDC and Haryana Housing Board. The good news is that finally there is a Development Plan 2021, which is being finalised to tap the scope of expansion towards Sohna and Manesar. Other urban centres on the government?s radar in Haryana include Sonepat, Panipat, Yamunanagar and Karnal, where private development is taking place.

Government incentives include an education city in Sonetap/ Kundli and a thermal plant and over 10 km long elevated highway. With a Shatabdi train having reduced travelling time from Delhi to Sonepat to one hour, the government expects this to become a preferred business destination. Global tenders for development along and between the Kundli-Mansear Express Highway will offer multiple investment opportunities along this sector, including Bahadurgarh. New cities announced include Samalkha, Sampla and Badi as part of the NCR plan.

The Haryana government acknowledged how Gurgaon?s infrastructure fell short of expectations.

? It referred to the unplanned concentration of malls along MG Road, which also cannot be widened due to space constraints.

? There is also a spurt in demand for power.

? Storm-water drainage along the road has yet to be provided.

? Of the 100 cusecs of water promised to Gurgaon, thefts and transit loss as well as diversion to other stations such as Bahadurgarh have reduced it to 35 cusecs.

? As the State Electricity Board drags its feet on the construction of sub-stations, the power situation in the city has been affected.

? The quality of roads in the city necessitates their reconstruction on an annual basis.

? No proper facilities have been created for handling the 100 tonnes of garbage the city produces.

? Despite several buildings of over 100 m in height no proper fire fighting systems are in place.

Rajasthan

The Rajasthan government has framed a draft notification to promote planned developments by private developers. The proposed schemes include:

? Minimum size of 100 acres for private townships in Jaipur, 509 acres in other divisional headquarters except Bharatpur and 25 acres in other municipal towns including Bharatpur.

? Real estate developers must be registered with the local authority. Registration in Jaipur makes them eligible to other urban local bodies in the state.

? Licences for individual townships will be issued to registered developers and a processing fee @5% of conversion charges will be levied.

? Local authorities will consolidate and develop land and even put them up for joint venture development.

? Where the developer presents his scheme for development, the local body will function as facilitator if the developer holds at least 2/3rd of the land proposed for the development. This will be applicable only if the developers have registered land with legal titles.

? The onus of providing 40ft roads would lie with the developer.

? Economically Weaker Section quotas of 5% of total land would be developed and sold on a lottery basis.

? Gross residential density will be on the basis of available external infrastructure development.

There are provisions for conversion of land according to the law, water, land and energy conservation and incentives of additional FAR to developers for following energy-efficient practices.

Uttar Pradesh

UP has identified software development as a key sector for growth. Therefore it is encouraging development of state-of-the-art townships with modern facilities. Census 2001 revealed that UP has six cities with population of million-plus - Kanpur, Lucknow, Agra, Varanasi, Meerut and Allahabad. About 28% of the urban population in the state is concentrated in these six cities. However, they also registered the highest 48% decadal growth.

The UP government offers a Special investment package to act as a catalyst to development of 1500 acre townships within the next five years at a Rs 750 crore each. Companies with over Rs 100-crore annual turnover with adequate technical qualification and financial capability can submit proposals which will be evaluated by high-powered committees.

The land will be acquired for the developer by the development authority and housing board or other state agency. The cost of land would be borne by the developer. The 10% acquisition charges levied by the collector would be waived off. The lands on 90-year lease would also be exempted from stamp duty.

The sale of developed property would attract a 12% stamp duty. Master Plan guidelines will prevail and the townships are required to be environmentally sustainable. The Detailed Project Report is to be submitted within 180 days and approval is to be granted within 30 days of submission. The project should be completed within five years from the development agreement. A development authority or housing board would enter into agreement to supervise implementation of the project. The services will be maintained by the developer company till they are transferred to a local authority.

Punjab

With the thaw in Indo-Pak relations and growing educated workforce, Punjab too is working on a planned urban development plan. However, there were no details forthcoming.

The northern states are witnessing immense interest in real estate development. Creating masterplans and development strategies may not be enough. Implementation has to be the key to planned, organised development.

Source : E JAYASHREE KURUP, Financial Express