Punjab is getting tough with builders and developers. The state government has issued instructions that ??no housing project would get government approval unless the colonizer gives clear proof of acquiring at least 50% of the land mentioned in the project??. The new instructions, issued last month, are a modification of the earlier policy for housing projects when Amarinder Singh took over as chief minister.
Prior to these instructions, builders and colonisers used to ?book? land from farmers by paying them a token amount with the promise to pay the balance at the time of the conveyance deed. The modus operandi was to book the land with a small amount and then float ?a pre-launch scheme? to raise money from investors, said a source.
The president of the ruling Shiromani Akali Dal and the man behind this new policy, Sukhbir Singh Badal, said the new policy, which has the CM?s approval as he head the portfolio, would reduce cases of fraud in the state?s housing sector. He said the government would ensure that the coloniser owned the land on which a housing project was being offered. ??How can we allow someone who does not own any land to come up with a mega project and get a nod for it??? he told the media in Mohali.
For all new projects, promoters would have to submit ownership documents for 50% project land at the time of submission of the proposal to the committee headed by the chief secretary, before it is considered by the empowered committee.
Similarly, at the time of applying for change of land use, ownership documents for at least 75% of project land would have to be submitted by promoters. According to the government, the policy would encourage only serious players in the field of private housing. In response to a query that it might hit small and medium colonisers, Sukhbir said the policy had been formulated to ensure that only genuine players came forward.
However, a small builder operating in Zirakpur, Dera Bassi area, Jatinder Singh Mehta, said, ??no small builder can afford to buy a chunk of 100 acre, as required by the new policy??. This would leave the field open for only big players, he added.
Under the new policy, the state has been divided into three zones based on the area’s growth potential. The Greater Mohali area has been placed in the hyper zone, while Amritsar, Jalandhar and Ludhiana have been placed in the high potential zones. Areas within 5-km along both sides of NH1 have been placed in the medium potential zone. All other areas fall under the low-potential zone.
According to the new policy, a residential colony (plotted) will be of minimum 100 acre in the high potential zone, 50 acre in the medium-potential and 25 acre in the low-potential zone.
For a group housing scheme, the minimum area required for the coloniser in a high-potential zone will have to be 10 acre independent and 5 acre as part of a plotted colony. The rule remains the same for the medium-potential zone. In the low-potential zone, such a colony can be established in 5 acre.