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The Andhra Pradesh Capital Region Development Authority (AP CRDA) Bill-2014 seeks to introduce a licensing system under which any 'developer entity' that desires to undertake its land pooling scheme in the capital region will have to obtain a licence from the authority.
Though the state government has not stated any criteria pertaining to granting these licences in the draft Bill, such a provision presupposes the scope for entry of multiple private players to deal with farmer lands in the capital region.
The government has already identified 30,000 acres of land in Tullur mandal of Guntur district for acquisition through the land pooling system in the first phase for the development of the new capital city.
The concept of permitting land pooling to a developer entity was used in the past by the Delhi Development Authority (DDA), which had categorised any individual farmer or a group of farmers or a developer as the developer entity.
In the case of Delhi land pooling policy, the DDA was designated as the land pooling agency to implement the policy for integrated planned development as per the master plan.
CRDA to be facilitator
The AP Bill considers CRDA more as a facilitator of land pooling having powers to grant licence as well as notify the final land pooling scheme. However, the authority has been given powers to acquire the land through various means, including land pooling, town planning and special area development plans in the capital area, which will be notified separately.
The state government is introducing the Bill in the ensuing Assembly session starting from Thursday after approving some changes in the draft Bill at the Cabinet meeting on Wednesday.
The government had revised the compensation package as well as the amount of land to be returned to the original owners a couple of times in a bid to change the mood of the farmers in favour of land pooling in the proposed capital city region. The final contours of the package is expected to be announced in the Assembly by the government.
Scheme area
According to the draft Bill, the authority would earmark 10 per cent of the total scheme area for parks, play grounds, gardens and open area, 30 per cent of the scheme area for roads and other utility services, 5 per cent for social amenities such as schools, dispensaries and other community facilities and 5 per cent for affordable housing meant for economically weaker sections.
Once the Bill becomes Act, the government would create the capital region development authority under the chairmanship of chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu with municipal and finance ministers and secretaries of various departments as members. A separate executive committee will handle day-to-day functions of the authority while the commissioner will act as chief executive officer, according to the draft Bill.
A separate integrated transport authority for the capital region, a separate board of appeal on any decision of the planning officer and a separate capital city development fund are among the other important features.
The Bill also provides for a three-year imprisonment or levy of up to 20 per cent of the registration value of the land as a penalty in case of any unauthorised construction or any deviation from the prescribed land use.
