Sustainable Urban Land Development

Rapid Urbanisation trends worldwide has resulted in 54% of the world population living in urban areas, in 2014 from 39%, in 1980. As per 2014 Revision of World Population Prospects, UN, 2014, India & China are expected to be the largest contributors to the estimated increase in urban population till 2050. Most of the grunt of the population growth is going to be seen on big cities or mega-cities, with Asia to struggle most with estimated 60% of the megacities by 2025, most of them across India and China (13th annual edition of DemographiaWorld Urban Areas, 2017).Amongst the various challenges faced by these megacities, providing developed land (i.e. land with access toinfrastructure facilities) for future developments and city infrastructure within the limited funds available with the city & state governments, is a major one. Indian cities, due to limited funds often face delays in infrastructure development (due to high costs of land acquisition) resulting in haphazard development.Land acquisition for industrial, urban and infrastructure development has always been a contentious subject. For land development – land acquisition and land pooling are the two methods adopted in land acquisition process. Land acquisition is carried out under act (LAA), while land pooling is carried out using the provision of related town planning schemes like in the Gujarat. A public private partnership mode plays an important role in the land acquisition and in development of Land.This study attempts to analyse the mechanisms followed under the two methods and the benefits of each. It also recommends mechanism to provide for larger pockets of developed land to be used by the Urban Local Bodies for public purposes, generate revenue and provide for additional development provisions for the developers (for larger public good). The suggested tools & recommendations will in addition to cutting the cost of acquiring land will fetch capital to the project that would make the project self financed and self sustaining, releasing the financial pressure from the Urban Local Body.