Transfer of government land to PMRDA for land banks
In a move to empower the civic body (in Pune) with land rights and make it self-sufficient for mega-infrastructure projects, leaders of the legislative assembly in the city have demanded transfer of government lands to the PMRDA (Pune Metropolitan Development Authority). The state government has been mulling over numerous financial models for the same.
According to the government officials, after the transfer of land by the Pune state government to the civic bodies, land monetization and commercial exploitation will make the way for economic empowerment of the PMRDA. This will act as a boon for the civic body. In addition to it, prices of properties will shoot up, along with demand. Implementation of infrastructure projects will be a stepping stone for the developers in the region and help promote real estate of the city signifcantly.
What fuelled the need to transfer land?
The demand for such land transfer cropped up as a backdrop of the central government’s strategy to design a land back for the local governing bodies. Focusing on the proper implementation of the second phase of JNNURM (Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission), the Centre aims to dole out the municipal corporations their own resources for the completion of large projects.
In tune with land transfer, the member of the MPC- Metropolitan Planning Committee (the planning body for PMRDA) has thrown in a suggestion to imitate the MMRDA (Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority) model. As per the model, the state transfers its land to the civic body, which exploits the property to accumulate funds and implements mega infrastructure projects.
Financial models considered by the state
As per market experts, MMRDA model is considered the best one for the purpose of land transfer in Pune region. It will enable the PMRDA to implement its individual projects and do not need to bank on other sources of revenue. In the absence of a robust financial model, the PMRDA will not yield fruitful results.
Few other models that have been taken into consideration by the state comprise of a model, where the local governing bodies will have to take care of the expense initially, and also divide the project expense implemented under the civic body. This will be done for as long as the MMRDA model is not implemented by the state government that will enable the state to acquire land and use it to procure funds.
