New policy to allow owners to offer land for public infra, get certificate
Officials said the government has come up with the TDR policy, because getting land under the new acquisition policy is very expensive and most departments don’t have enough resources.
To address the lack of roads and civic infrastructure in urban areas where acquisition of land has become a major obstacle due to high cost, the Haryana government has come up with Transfer of Development Rights (TDR) policy to allow land owners to offer their land for development in exchange of development certificate that can be bought by developers to carry out additional construction in their projects as per norms.
The land owners whose land has been earmarked for infrastructure projects under the development plan of a sector can apply for the TDR certificates under this policy, said officials of Department of Town and Country Planning (DTCP).
This policy could particularly benefit new and developing sectors (58-115) in Gurugram, where neither has the government acquired land for open and green spaces, nor have the builders constructed internal sector roads, both blaming the high cost of land acquisition.
Under the new TDR policy, land owners can surrender their land to the state government to set up critical infrastructure, such as sector roads, green and open spaces, and amenities such as hospitals and schools in exchange of a TDR certificate. The land surrendered under this policy shall be transferred to the government to build infrastructure.
Officials said the government has come up with the TDR policy, because getting land under the new acquisition policy is very expensive and most departments don’t have enough resources.
A TDR certificate refers to the government awarding extra floor area ratio to the land owner for surrendering part of his land for building critical infrastructure. This certificate can be monetised by the land owner by being sold to a developer for construction of additional area as per rules, states the policy.
“This is a very important development as new sectors, where infrastructure such as roads are stuck, land owners can now get a TDR certificate and monetise it. A TDR certificate can be given for land required for building sector roads, green belts and arterial roads that are included in the development plan,” said RS Bhath, district town planner, Gurugram.
Bhath also said that most land owners whose land has been earmarked for roads, hospitals and other works will be interested in opting for the TDR policy becaused they cant get licenses to develop it. “If farmers are able to get development rights after paying a nominal fee, they will go for it,” he added.
The notification states that the entire process of issuing TDR certificates will be digitised, but till this happens manual applications will be accepted. The policy is likely to be implemented by September this year, as the DTCP is seeking objections from residents till August 30.
As per the policy, TDR certificates can be issued for internal sector roads of 30-metre, 24-metre, 18-metre width and those that are part of sectoral plan road pockets. This is likely to come as a relief for residents of developing sectors in Gurugram, as most of these roads, which were the responsibility of the developers have not been constructed despite the projects being done.
Another relief under this policy is that land can also be surrendered to set up sites such as colleges, hospitals and other amenities that are considered part of external development.
Open spaces and green belts, part of the development plan shall also be eligible under this policy, states the notification. The development of green and open spaces in developing sectors, particularly along the Dwarka Expressway, has been a bone of contention, as the government has failed to acquire 1,300 acres of land earmarked for green spaces in sectors 81 to 115, owing to high cost of land acquisition.
Prashant Solomon, MD, Chintels, and spokesperson for CREDAI, a builders’ association, NCR and Haryana, said that this policy is a welcome move as every stakeholder will be benefitted by it. “In this time of cash crunch, this innovative scheme will help in building of roads over land, whose development rights are transferred to builders. The rights can be monetised in other projects,” said Solomon.
