The Urban Development Department has decided to create a land bank in all towns and cities (except Bangalore) to utilise it for purposes like construction of sewage treatment plants (STPs) and drinking water installations, said Urban Development Minister Vinaykumar Sorake on Thursday.
The minister said the department needed 20 acres to set up the STPs, which were not available in many urban areas. In view of this, the department would create land banks exclusively to use it for the department’s development works. The cost of the land purchase would be borne by the water board. This would help the department to plan its projects for the next 25 years, he said.
Sorake said many ULBs have failed to utilise the funds released by both the state and the Centre since 2009 for various works. However, the money remained in the banks and was not returned to the government as unspent amount, he said.
He said the government would borrow from HUDCO to create a revolving fund of `700 crore to be given at low interest to ULBs for development works.
Sorake said the state government has consented to the regularisation of illegal structures in urban areas under the Akrama-Sakrama scheme. Buildings with 50 per cent violations (residential) and 25 per cent (commercial) would be regularised.
Under the JnNURM scheme, the state had submitted 113 proposals worth ` 6,848 crore and the Centre had sanctioned 75 projects worth `3,404 crore. In fact, the state bagged the first prize in implementation of JnNURM scheme, he said. The department will undertake a survey on requirement of public toilets in towns and cities, he said.