Land Pooling Policy:

I have experienced consistent queries on DDA’s Land Pooling Policy asked by buyers who are interested in purchasing a property, particularly in Delhi. Some of them are what does Land Pooling Policy mean? How does it affect property buying and selling? Should you invest in a pooled land property?

Land Pooling is an idea where small pieces of land are owned by a group of owners who group for the development of infrastructure as per the plans of the Delhi Development Act 1957.

The idea behind land pooling is to combined small pieces of land into a large piece, develop necessary infrastructures such as water supply, drainage, and sewage system, make a plan for wider social and other infrastructure, including transportation and main roads, and return the developed land to owners or developers in a fixed ratio.  This is to assure the development of urban land parcels available in the city, particularly on its outskirts, in an effective, supportable or livable and equal manner. It will help to develop and extend the city in a planned manner by boosting the supply of new land and fulfilling the demand for housing.

According to Minister of State (I/C) for Housing & Urban Affairs has stated that the land pooling is a new model for the urban development of Delhi, where the private sector will play an active role in collecting land and developing physical & social infrastructure.

Land Pooling is a concept that where small chunks of land are owned by a group of owners who assemble for the development of infrastructure as per the provisions of the Delhi Development Act 1957.

Recently, Delhi has launched a web portal for the Land Pooling Policy. Under the new Land Pooling Policy, the role of DDA will be that of a coordinator and planner.

As a first step towards its functioning of the policy on fast track mode, the web-enabled interface on DDA’s website is for inviting Expression of Willingness for participation where any landowner of any land size falling in planning Zones K-1, L, N, and P-II may come forward to register on the website.

The policy grants a Floor Area Ration (FAR) of 200 for group housing/residential purpose, considering the availability of resources and services.  It is expected to generate about 17 Lakh housing units for 76 lakh people. In order to promote affordable housing, FAR of 15% over and above the maximum permitted residential FAR has also been allowed for EWS/ affordable housing. This will meet all the goals of Housing for All. Out of a total of 17 lakh housing units, more than 05 lakh housing units will be for the economically weaker sections of the society.

The new developments under the land pooling policy shall adhere to the mandatory green building standards as directed in the Delhi Master Plan (MPD) and building bye-laws by organizing policies like maximum use of recycled water for non-potable purposes, storage of rainwater, double pipeline, zero waste technology, etc.  Minimum 10% of all energy use shall be renewable through solar power or through other renewable energy sources.

Keeping in mind the goal of ‘Ease of Doing Business’ the complete process of development by Developer Entities/Organization will be through the Single Window System, which has been launched in February 2019, within the given time period.  Through this portal available on DDA’s website, Expression of Willingness would be encouraged for participation in the policy.

Under this new policy, single owner/multiple co-owners are required to register online and make payment of prescribed charges/fees, based on which a unique registration ID shall be provided to the applicant for future use.

The Khasra/land details and other uploaded documents shall be checked by DDA from the respective departments/custodian of the records. On joining/pooling of minimum 70% adjacent land of the sector and on completion of verification of revenue records, DDA will issue a Notice to agreed landowners of the sector, to form a single association called the Consortium. Under the policy terms, the consortium formed will be asked to prepare an Implementation Plan in discussion with all agreed landowner and sign a lawful contract agreement with them before applying to DDA as a single entity for initiating development within the sector.

The portal will continue open for a period of 6 months to assure maximum participation/pooling in the named sectors so that planning and execution of infrastructure can be initiated in a combined way.