Pooled land, developer-led model for Bidadi township?

Belagavi: Developers may be given land parcels on a 99-year lease for layout and property development at the proposed integrated township at Bidadi for which the government is examining a new approach to minimise financial burden.

This was discussed last week during a presentation the Boston Consulting Group (BCG), the finance department’s consultant, gave to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah.

It has been recommended that the government take up ‘land consolidation’ upfront to avoid price escalation. ‘Land consolidation’ involves mainly land pooling and resorting to acquisition only for small parcels.

While the Bidadi township is estimated to cover 8,000-10,000 acres, the Bengaluru Metropolitan Region Development Authority (BMRDA) has planned four more —  Nandagudi (17,000-19,000 acres), Solur (11,000-13,000 acres), Ramanagara (3,000-5,000 acres) and Sathnur (15,000-17,000 acres). These townships were first mooted when H D Kumaraswamy was chief minister in 2006.

Siddaramaiah, also the finance minister, was briefed on land pooling models used in other states for infrastructure and urbanisation projects. Examples included Maharashtra’s Samruddhi Mahamarg and Andhra Pradesh’s Amaravati. 

For Bidadi, the plan is to build the integrated township in three phases. 

In the first phase (800-1,000 acres), the government will start master development and land will be put in a special-purpose vehicle with equity stakes.

The second phase (2,500-3,000 acres) will involve government oversight while land is transferred to developers on a 99-year lease to form layouts and properties.

The last phase (4,000-5,000 acres) will be entirely private developer-led. The developer will be entrusted with full responsibility, including returning developed land to owners of pooled land.

An official source in the finance department said the actual implementation will depend on consent of landowning farmers. “Since the proposal is to go in for a 50:50 or 60:40 type of development, consent of the farmer is very important,” the official
said.

“The total land will be pooled, layout will be developed and the developed land, which typically is about 50-55 per cent of the total land under development, will be shared between landowners and the government agency at 50:50 or 60:40 ratio depending on the value of the land,” the official explained. 

“So, if there is large-scale opposition in some areas, then the government may not pursue the projects,” the official said.