Land Pooling a much better option than land acquisition

Land is undoubtedly one of the most valuable immovable assets because its non-diminishing economic value increases quite few times when there is any infrastructure or social development in the surrounding areas. The cities grow in prospects and when the need for more infrastructure and public utilities become more poignant government has to take resort to acquisition of land owned by the private parties and citizens.

No doubt that land acquisition by the government and the local authorities has been a contentious issue and it is under the jurisdiction of the state government which generally follows the compulsory acquisition routes. In this case the compensation that will be paid for any piece of land is normally determined by each state and the municipality or the local authorities. But whatever may be the procedure of acquisition the state government have been noticed to acquire such land at a throw away price and have auctioned the land at a much higher prices to private parties. There are enough instances of these. 

The government has always been marginalizing the economic benefits arising out of the proceeds of the land. The original title holders of the land have always been marginalized. This kind of a scenario has made the government to go for alternative methods of land acquisition and also sourcing and developing land with more equitable distribution of the economic benefits to the land owners and all the parties which would allow the landowner to benefit from the development process.  In contrast let us look at the concept of land pooling.

Land pooling is aimed at a very efficient and equitable land development with all the interests being divided in a manner of equitable justice. The idea is to bring the uneven land distribution pattern of the fragmented land in to a larger holding of land parcel. After that the whole land parcel is developed and is subsequently returned to the original title holders applying a formula of deduction of a fair amount of land for development. The formula applied allows the authority to compensate for the development of the infrastructure and the services that were generated and added and allowing them to retain a part of the so acquired original land.  

It may seem complicated but this approach of pooling the fragmented land is a very practical and an effective way of achieving development while promoting simultaneous social justice as well.  Land pooling necessarily involves the active participation of the state as well as the central governments for policy formulation, approvals, notifications and formulating the operating norms.  It is up to the local agencies to create a proper and effective land valuation mechanism so that the landowners are willing to donate land.  

In this way the land pooling mechanism proposes to create an ecosystem of development with equitable justice through planned infrastructural development which would support the growth of the urban areas. This is also a way combining irregular land holdings in to larger and more developed stretches of land with social empowerment while simultaneously ensuring the sustainable development issues too.  

Not only that from the title perspective too, the land pooling system also proposes to create and conserve the land title and the ownership of the land too. In turn this also creates a transparent land registry system too which would eventually help in enhancing land revenues for the local authorities to undertake more developmental projects.  Thus the experts suggest that a more comprehensive solution to the contentious issue of land acquisition of India would be not to buy land but to pool it. No doubt the developed whole of the land with more infrastructure makes more value than the fragmented pieces of land.  

Great Noida Authority Cancels 100 Acre Plot of Unitech With Rs. 1055 Crore Due

There has been lot of payment and collection problems regarding the land allotted by the Greater Noida Industrial Development Authority. According to a GNIDA official the 100 acre land allotted to Unitech in 2006 still awaits payment. The developer has alleged to pay the installments despite the reminders given by GNIDA several times. The official sources reveal that the builder was sent several notices, warnings of cancelling the selling contract and yet the developer has failed to pay the installments. 

The land was allotted to Unitech to build a group housing society and now the GNIDA cancelled the land owing to the allegation made by the GNIDA that the developer owes more than Rs. 1000 crore and had failed to pay the installment in spite of the time given, over a decade. 

Along with the step taken for Unitech the Greater Noida Industrial Development Authority has decided to take action and be stricter with the other developers in the area owing money to it which is in the range of Rs. 4, 000 crore. The authorities feel that this is an amount that has affected the infrastructure development and has also led to a stoppage of the various public utility projects too. 

The CEO of GNIDA said that the land allotted to Unitech had happened in 2006 in the sector II of MU. In spite of the several reminders sent to the developer and even warnings of impending cancellation no installments have been paid. The official sources further remarked that in spite of these the developer has not paid any heed at all. Subsequent to this two notices of cancellation were issued and consequently a final cancellation notice was issued on the 18th November 2015 as reported by the official sources of GNIDA. The sources further said that the company owes over Rs. 1055 crores. GNIDA proposed to take possession of the plot in consequence of the cancellation order said one of the officials. The representatives of the developer Unitech reiterated that they did not receive any such intimation from GNIDA and so they can’t comment on this.  

The sources revealed that there are more than ten companies who have defaulted paying the instalments after the land had been allotted. The sources from GNIDA said that if the allottees who have defaulted in paying the installments decide to pay, they will be presented with a new schedule of payment plan. The GNIDA will subsequently work out the new payment plan, the new time frame and the number of installments they will be given to pay the balance amount. One of the senior officials of GNIDA said this, adding that if the developers still do not pay, more stringent actions will be taken like issuing lease deed cancellation notices. 

Amaravati – A capital city planned on farmlands

The land pooling scheme (LPS) to build the capital city, Amaravati for the new state of Andhra Pradesh after the bifurcation has been done is already complete. In that regard 3, 000 acres of land had been acquired from farmers which happened without much of a protest. This has taken the notice of many as this critical land acquisition happened without much of hassle while it’s a fact that the Land Acquisition Ordinance of the central government is still an issue of rage and deep rooted controversy. 

There are still many people who doubt that it’s the farmers benefit from the scheme which actually gives them back developed commercial and residential land ranging from about 900 to 1700 square yards of land for every one acre of land being surrendered. The farmers are further entitled to receive an annual compensation of Rs. 30, 000 to Rs. 50, 000 per acre of land. This of course will be paid with an annual increase of 10 percent for a ten year period. 

The state government would issue “Land Pooling Ownership certificates” for the month of December onwards once the plotting starts in the new capital Amaravati. Out of the total land of 33, 000 acres acquired, 8, 000 acres will go back to the original land owners. The remaining 15, 000 acres had been set aside for the open spaces, parks, ponds, lakes, open air auditoriums and other such common areas. The buildings of the state government, secretariat, Legislative Assembly, High Court, official accommodations, etc. will come up in just about the 8, 000 acres of land. This is the idea on the whole of Amaravati which is intended to be a green capital with lots of walkaways, open spaces and parks. There will be land apportioned for the corporates, banks and other entities who desires to establish offices in the capital region of Andhra Pradesh. The sources from the government said that these kinds of allocation will add to the creation of jobs per acre occupied by the government. 

Public view sought by Uttarakhand Govt. on Land Consolidation Bill

Dehradun:  The draft of the Land Consolidation Bill was submitted by the Land Holding Committee of Uttarakhand to the Chief Minister, Harish Rawat in Dehradun on Tuesday. On receiving it the Chief Minister reiterated that the government would seek public suggestions over the draft of the bill before sending it to the state Assembly for discussion and approval.
The government also stated that it would initiate processes and would take initiatives in making the people understand and be aware about what land consolidation is. The government would also seek suggestions from the general public to make the bill more exhaustive and inculcate any necessary changes needed and that would go on for three months before the bill is placed before the assembly.

The government is keen not to create any disadvantage to any section of the public by its legislature. That is the reason the government is making efforts to take public consent and suggestions before they make the legislation. Along with this the government has also planned to amalgamate the farm lands and wants to make sure that the farmers are at no disadvantageous situation as realty-developers are capturing cultivable-land after the law is passed or formulated, said the Chief Minister, Mr. Rawat.

Mr. Rawat also emphasized on the role of rural women in the households and in the economy of villages. He expressed his desire to empower the women of rural places and see that their participation and their role in land consolidation is kept intact and it helps the households and the economy at large.

In this context the government is also taking initiatives and is trying to get inputs from the villages of Uttarakhand too. In the first instance the government has shortlisted and identified 200 villages to spread the awareness about the laws of land consolidation, said the State Agriculture Minister Harak Singh. The government will find out ways to get suggestions about land consolidation from villages and the target sections to see that all interests of all the sections of society are being safeguarded.

Man Vs. Technology: Web pages are set to replace real estate brokers

It’s yet another classical example of technology versus man. Technology doesn’t seem to work within set boundaries; it’s all pervasive.  Real estate technology giant NoBroker has recently come into spotlight as there was a ruckus in front of their office in Bangalore.

The Company NoBroker offers people with rental, lease and other home related services for zero cost, which has infuriated the real estate broker community. The community barged into the NoBroker’s office and caused damages to their property and completely disrupted their work.

The brokers assaulted the office staff in spite of resistance by the security and office management which led them to lodge a complaint against all the brokers in the local police station. The police intervened in time and prevented further damages.

This company is not the only one in this segment but they have many counterparts such as Common floor, Housing and many others. These companies are rendering valuable services to the customers by providing free information on their website about the available homes in the market; that too free of cost. This means the brokers will be wrapping up their brokerage businesses soon. Their business is slowly but steadily declining due to which they have managed to attack the real estate technology leader NoBroker.

It’s a tug of war between brokers and NoBroker for that huge pot of gold in real estate industry

This company has made a mark for itself in real estate business. It has over 3 lakh customer base and has helped them save a whooping fifteen crore rupees which is a stupendous achievement for a company of just a couple of year old.

The technology enabled companies are sure to take over the major stake of real estate pie, compared to manual based companies. It is important to fight back in life but in an ethical way; it was wrong for the brokers to react that way. If the war has begun then changes are inevitable; so it’s important for the brokers to adapt to the change or implement technologies that will recuperate their business.

Are you are planning to buy property in Bangalore? Whether it is for residential use or for investment purpose you must go through with layouts reviews to be updated on latest news and to check out what people are discussing on properties in Bangalore.

How to go about buying a residential plot? – TGS Layouts Tips

Different local authorities regularly come up with residential plots for sale and distribution for individual citizens. Jaipur Development Authority is distributing land plots of different sizes currently and in the recent past Haryana Urban Development Authority has offered the public allotment of residential plots of different sizes in Palwal and Faridabad. Yet there are many other state governments who declare allotment of lands and distribute it through local or municipal authorities. In bigger cities and metropolitans, sale of apartments is more in vogue due to paucity of land at economical prices. But in smaller cities buying land is still a trend that is being preferred.

The realtors opine that in category B and C cities the percentage of the buyers of land is higher compared to metropolitans. The percentage of land buyers in smaller cities are more owing to the desire of building a house on the land and potential land buyers are in the percentage range of 30 to 35 percent in smaller cities while such percentage is only 5 to 7 percent in metro cities. In cities like Mumbai this percentage is even lesser and in the range of 2 to 3 percent due to the paucity of land in the city limits. Many people desire to settle down in their home towns and start working towards their goal in advance by buying a plot. They thus take a loan and construct a home which helps them achieve their plans.

How to go about it?

The process of buying a plot by taking a loan is entirely different from taking a home loan for buying an apartment primarily because of the difference of the assets involved. The eligibility of the loan amount is different for different assets and one has to figure out what proportion of the money should be used in buying the land and what proportion should be utilized in constructing the house. In case of an apartment the full amount can be taken as a loan but in case of a land and to build a house on it the segmentation has to be done.

An example will make the situation clear. Let’s say one’s loan eligibility is Rs. 60 lakhs and you decided to spend Rs. 45 lakhs on buying the land and the rest of Rs. 15 lakhs can be spent on the construction of the house. Let’s suppose if you have to change your mind and decide to spend Rs. 40 lakhs and spend the rest of Rs. 20 lakhs on the house, you have this flexibility to do so.

But in case of buying an apartment the flexibility would be limited and the lending banks disburse the amount of loan in installments. The composite loans are first of all disbursed for the acquisition of land and then for the subsequent construction of the building.

You may be asked for the submission of certain documents for the loan approval and also the documents relating to the land that you intend to buy namely the allotment letter issued by the development authority, copy of the drawings of the proposed property duly approved which is to be purchased, title deed, sale agreement and also the chain of documents in case of resale. Apart from these the borrower has to submit the title document of the plot in original along with the map duly approved by the authority with the estimate of the amount needed for construction.

If one wants the loan amount for the construction of the house one has to submit the building plan duly approved by the local authorities and the construction costs has to estimated and approved by an architect or a civil engineer. The construction of the house has also to start within the stipulated period as mentioned in the loan agreement or else the lending interest may go up as per the agreement with the lending institutions to higher rates as high as 13 to 14 percent as well. Banks like the ICICI restricts the construction to be completed within a time period of two years from the date of disbursement of the first installment of the loans.

Loan eligibility and interest rate

The amount that you are eligible for depends on the income and the credit profile, repayment capacity, savings history, spouse’s income and the number of dependents in the family and such other relevant factors. The Loan to Value ratio (LTV) is generally 75 percent for acquisition of plots. For composite loans of plots and construction of homes the LTV goes up to 85 percent for an amount of up to Rs. 20 lakhs and 80 percent for loans of up to Rs. 75 lakhs. This implies that if the LTV ratio is 75 percent of the property value of Rs. 50 lakhs a loan will be disbursed of Rs. 37.5 lakhs and the borrower has to pay Rs. 12.5 lakhs from this own pocket.

Interest rates are different in different banks and they come in fixed and floating rates. The rates of interest vary on many factors like tenure, loan amount and loan seeker’s payment and credit history. But the rules regarding the repayment of loan, interest rate change, delays in repayment remain all the same as for the loans for buying an apartment. The tax deduction rules are also the same.

Summary: TGS Layouts sell land plots at very affordable prices in Bangalore / Bengaluru at least 40 percent lesser than the market price. You can post your valuable comments / suggestions here. To view existing customers feedback click TGS Layouts Reviews.

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All You Need To Know About Bangalore Land Denotification Case

For the last three days there has been a big row in the state legislative assembly over the issue of de-notification of lands near Arkavathy Layout. BJP, the opposition party had been continuously protesting against the government led by Chief Minister Mr. Siddaramaiah and demanded an enquiry by CBI on the decision of the government for denotification and re-modification of 541 acres of land of Bengaluru / Bangalore Development Authority  in Arkavathy Layout.

What is it all about?

In 2003, the government planned to create a layout with 22,000 plots through the BDA in Arkavathy village near Yelahanka. This primary land acquisition circular or notification was issued in September 2003, and covered land measuring 3, 839 acres which comprised land from 16 villages. Out of that 1,089 acres of land were excluded by the court when the land owners approached the court of law, making the final notification covering land of 2,750 acres and thus the plan was to distribute 11,000 sites.

But the BJP government came into power and in 2007 had de-notified 198 acres from the land that was already acquired. Now the BJP has brought an allegation against the Siddaramaiah government that the revised plan by this government is of 11,000 sites. With BJP government excluding 983 acres from the layout the Arkavathy layout covers only 1,766 acres of land. The allegation that BJP brought against the present government is that in June 2014, the Siddaramaiah government has allowed the denotification of 541 acres of land.

On the commencement of the session, the BJP leaders on Monday alleged that Mr. Siddaramaiah had illegally de-notified 541 acres of land acquired by BDA in the Arkavathy layout and in that he has violated the orders of High Court. The JD(S) MLAs were also supporting the BJP’s stand and were noticed to be shouting on the assembly floor against the government.

Both BJP and JD(S) was seen to strike a protest when the Chief Minister intervened and while denying the allegation of the opposition over the issue of de-notification of land in Arkavathy Layout, he attempted to defend the government. In his statement Siddaramaiah said that the government hasn’t de-notified any land in Arkavathy Layout and insisted that the government is ready for a judicial enquiry in to the matter. But the opposition insisted on conducting a CBI enquiry on the issue.

What’s the opinion of the opposition leaders?

While addressing the media the opposition leader alleged the Chief Minister saying he violated the High Court’s verdict and guidelines and is involved in de-notification of 841 acres of land in Arkavathy layout. The opposition said although the Chief Minister denies charges against him, they have procured the documents with the signature of the Chief Minister. Alleging that it is a scam of a big nature, they demanded the resignation of the Chief Minister and also asked for a CBI probe.

As an answer to this, The Chief Minister has already ordered a judicial enquiry in to the matter. In his address to the media the Chief Minister said that a judicial enquiry has been ordered with a retired High court judge leading the enquiry. He further added that as BJP is trying to politicize this issue, he is ready for CBI probe too. As a measure to refrain BJP from politicizing the issue, he has taken this step, he added.

Visit TGS Layouts for BDA Approved Land Plots in Bangalore / Bengaluru.