Land means business for govt too

MUMBAI: The Maharahtra government has gone on a land acquisition spree, with the repeal of the Urban Land Ceiling and Regulation Act (ULCRA) looking almost a certainty.

The Act authorises the government to take over land in excess of 500 sq meters owned by a single private entity. This created a land scarcity in Mumbai, causing property prices to spiral. For years, political parties were going slow whenever the proposal to abolish the Act came up. Understandably, there were vested interests at play, since a spurt in land supply could have softened property prices.

However, there is a long-pending demand to abolish this outdated legislation since it has locked acres of land in several urban conglomerates in the state. The state government finally decided to do away with it after the Centre held back financial aid for Mumbai’s makeover. The Centre has made it clear that it will release funds only if the state repeals the ULCRA.

This has forced the state to put a mechanism in place to abrogate the ULCRA, while politicians are scurrying to acquire as much land as possible before the law is annulled. “We are working overtime to scan ownership of every open space in the city,” a top functionary from the revenue ministry told ET.

Such is the hurry that the ministry has put additional staff on the job, as it wants to complete the process by July 11, the day the monsoon session of the state legislature begins. The government has decided to abolish the Act in the monsoon session.

“It’s simple. The powers-that-be want to make the best of the Act. Once the land is in government’s possession, it can be released selectively,” he said.

Under the exisiting system, builders and developers can request the government to make land in its possession available for housing. “All this will go once the Act is repealed. The politicians have only a few days left to make the best of it, and they are doing it,” an official said.

Brought into being during the Emergency era, in 1976, this socialist legislation is aimed at preventing hoarding of land to help the government execute social schemes. Though the Centre scrapped it in 1999, some states like Bihar and Maharashtra kept it alive. With the scrapping of the ULCRA, large tracts of land would open up for development in Mumbai. It is estimated that repealing this Act would unlock 400-500 hectares in Mumbai.