Unlocking surplus public land
Consequently, putting a number on the total area (and its value) of land belonging to the government is a challenge. The country’s Port Authorities certain hold a substantial chunk of it, with the actual size of their holdings in the range of 2.58 lakh acres, out of which approximately 20 per cent is not in use. The Airports Authority of India owns around 49,000 acres and media reports suggest that the defence services hold approximately 17 lakh acres.
The Rail Land Development Authority (RLDA) is the single-largest owner of land in the country. In fact, it has approximately 1.06 lakh acres of vacant land under its purview — most of it in locations where there is a shortage of housing. Certainly, these land holdings represent great opportunities to develop mass housing projects with private sector participation.
MONETISING LAND value:
the process TIMELINE
An interesting question arises when one considers the auctioning of these lands as a potential avenue for lightening fiscal deficit: how long would such a process take?
The time required for marketing these lands would depend on a number of factors. At the first level, the government would need to have a structured sale
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