Gurgaon: Farmhouse townships may be set up on unused SEZs

The Haryana government is contemplating a plan to introduce farmhouse townships and has begun the process of drafting a policy in this regard. Sanjeev K Ahuja reports.

The Haryana government is contemplating a plan to introduce farmhouse townships and has begun the process of drafting a policy in this regard.

HT Image

The move came after the failure of the state’s ambitious scheme to set up 52 Special Economic Zones (SEZs) in Gurgaon.

The developers, who had acquired hundreds of acres to set up SEZs, have approached the state government seeking permission to develop farmhouse townships on the acquired land.

With an aim to recover their money invested in shelved SEZ projects, the developers have also asked the government to reduce the minimum plot size criteria for mega tourism projects from 300 acre to 100 acre.

“SEZs are now a shattered dream and the large tracts of land purchased from farmers have been lying unused in and around Gurgaon. We have approached the state government requesting it to work out proper usage of the unused land and either formulate a policy allowing conversion of the SEZ land into farmhouse townships or reduce the minimum land requirement norms of 300 acre to 100 acre for mega tourism projects,” said Navin Rajeha, president of the National Real Estate Development Council (NAREDCO).

According to sources, the state government is working on a new policy which proposes a requirement of minimum 100 acre land for the setting up of a farmhouse township.

The new policy will have provisions for a single farmhouse of at least 4800 sq yards (1 acre) with duplex house embedded with swimming pool and other luxurious facilities.

According to the existing farmhouse policy, which allows conversion of agriculture land in controlled areas into a farmhouse, the applicant seeking permission for change of land use (CLU) must have at least two acres of land.

Earlier, the government had formulated the Haryana Special Economic Zone Act 2005 to encourage developers to set up SEZs, industrial model townships and technology parks.

Out of the 52 proposed SEZs, five were in the category of multi-products/services and 36 were meant for the information technology sector.