The Tamil Nadu government has recently notified the Tamil Nadu Land Pooling Area Development Scheme Rules, 2024.
According to the government, the scheme enabled planned development of new areas, provides basic amenities and mobilises land for trunk infrastructure proposals, “which otherwise have to be acquired through land acquisition process”.
The scheme, as defined in the Tamil Nadu Town and Country Planning (Third Amendment) Amendment Act, 2023, provides for pooling together land owned by individual/individuals and developing it by the appropriate planning authority. “A part of such developed land is transferred to the original owner, and the remaining portion is used to establish common facilities and amenities, or, for sale.”
According to the 2023 amendment, the authority is to notify its intention to make a scheme and may adopt the scheme proposed by any government department, PSU or authorities, or by “70% of the land-owners in the scheme area”. The objection and suggestion received under Section 39-K (Public consultation to Draft Scheme), shall be examined and considered before submission of the Draft Scheme to the government for its approval under Section 39-L of the Act, according to the new rules.
Though there are provisions restricting development work without prior approval of the authority after the declaration of the intention to make the scheme, they would not apply to any “operational construction” undertaken by the Central/State governments, such as infrastructure relating to railway or roads and telecommunications, among others.
In 2018, the then AIADMK government amended the Tamil Nadu Town and Country Planning Act, 1971 to introduce the ‘land pooling area development scheme’, and eventually notified the draft rules in 2020. But, they were not brought into force. But, the DMK government had, in April last year, introduced fresh amendments to the 2018 amendment of the 1971 Act.
By the 2023 amendment, the government had introduced fresh provisions on restrictions for land development work and the contents of the draft scheme. The government also removed the provision for reserving land for providing housing to the economically weaker section in the scheme area, which was originally provided for in the 2018 amendment.
The latest rules provide for estimation of value of original and final plots, calculation of increment and betterment contribution to be paid by the land-owner/land-owners. The land pooling ownership certificate is to be issued by the authority to land-owners within 60 days of the publication of the final scheme.
