CHANDIGARH: The Haryana Cabinet on Tuesday approved the Land Pooling Policy-2026, replacing the existing Land Pooling Policy-2022, to facilitate landowners' participation in development projects.
Under the new policy, landowners will be offered 50 per cent of the total saleable area of a project, as per the approved layout plan, while the remaining 50 per cent will be retained by the development organisation. The earlier provisions linking the landowners' share to market value have been removed.
Of the landowners' 50 per cent share, commercial sites will be offered according to the prescribed entitlement. The remaining area will be allotted as residential, industrial or institutional plots, depending on the purpose of the project.
The policy provides annual interim financial support of Rs 1 lakh per acre, proportionate to the land contributed, for four years from the date of registration of the sale deed. If the amount is not transferred within 15 days of the sale deed, the landowner will be entitled to simple interest at nine per cent per annum for the period of delay.
The project completion period has been reduced from five years to four years. The development organisation will be required to complete infrastructure facilities within four years from the date of final approval of the project, failing which the land will revert to the landowners.
The minimum sizes of developed plots to be offered to landowners have been fixed at 100 square metres for residential plots, 250 square metres for industrial plots and 500 square metres for institutional plots.
The actual area allotted will be determined in proportion to the land contributed. Commercial plots in the form of kiosks or booths will be allotted, as applicable, where the land contribution exceeds 2,000 square metres.
Landowners contributing less than 999 square metres will receive monetary compensation under the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013, or at the reserve price of the plot, whichever is higher.
Holders of Land Entitlement Certificates will be able to club their certificates and jointly apply for larger developed plots. The period for buyback of allotted plots by the development organisation has been extended from one year to three years.
The policy also fixes the land aggregator's remuneration at 0.5 per cent of the collector rate for agricultural land in the concerned revenue estate. This remuneration will be borne by the development agency and paid after completion of the project's sale deed process. Land pooling through e-Bhoomi has been excluded from the new policy.
In a related development, the Cabinet also approved an amendment to Clause 9.2 of the New Integrated Licensing Policy (NILP)-2022, revising the provisions governing project completion and licence renewal.
Under the amended provision, projects will have to be completed within five years. If a project is not completed within this period, its licence will be renewed in accordance with Rule 13 of the Haryana Development and Regulation of Urban Areas Rules, 1976, upon payment of the applicable licence renewal fees.
The amendment brings licence renewal for NILP colonies on a par with that for group housing colonies. It replaces the existing provision requiring project completion within seven years, comprising an initial licence validity of five years and a two-year renewal. Beyond this period, renewal required payment of 100 per cent of the licence fee.
The revised provision will take effect from the date of final notification and will also apply to all existing licences.
