Flawed TDR Scheme Bane for Landowners

BHUBANESWAR: The Transferable Development Rights (TDR) scheme, introduced by the Government as a route for compensation against land acquisition, has put land owners in a fix, thanks to glaring lacunae in the system.

Laced with ambiguity and differential treatment along with cumbersome processes, the new system will subject the landowners to great harassment, experts have stated.

While the land acquired by the Government has to undergo a thorough process of legal vetting as well as checks with different departments like Tehsil, Registrar office and the Development Authority to determine its genuineness, the TDR Rule has not fixed any time-frame for completion of the formalities. With all these processes quite time-consuming, the land losers will be ultimate sufferers as there will be inordinate delay in getting their TDRs.

In the event of joint-holding property of a family, the TDR certificate will be issued in the name of one person among the co-owners. This statute stands to cause discord among joint holding property owners as they will subsequently lose their right over a property.

Further, the TDR is valid only for five years and can be subsequently renewed for another five-year term. However, there is no clarity on what happens after the 10-year term both on the status or value of the certificate.

In the case of lost TDR or defacement, the holder has to deposit processing fees at the rate of 1 per cent on the ‘present valuation’ apart from other necessary compliance like giving an undertaking along with an indemnity bond and FIR copy. 

“Thus, the TDR holder will be forced to pay penalty and also make rounds of Government departments to get a duplicate copy of his certificate,”  Akash Mishra, a resident of Old Town area, rued.

The problems faced by the land losers notwithstanding, the TDR system combined with FAR is set to create a massive imbalance in property value in the Capital City. For example, a real estate developer will have to pool in TDRs from the market on benchmark or market valuation for construction of multi-storey apartments beyond the base FAR 1.2.

The additional expenses incurred by the builder in procuring TDRs to make for the permissible FAR limit beyond base 1.2 will automatically be transferred to the constructed property. This will lead to escalation of flat or apartment prices.

loopholes

In joint-holding property of a family, the TDR certificate will be issued in the name of one person among co-owners

There is no clarity on what happens after the 10-year term both on the status or value of the TDR certificate

In case of lost TDR, the holder has to deposit processing fees at 1 per cent on the ‘present valuation’

The TDR system combined with FAR is set to create a massive imbalance in property value in the Capital City