DHOLERA: THE BEST INVESTMENT FOR FUTURE

The proposed special investment region (SIR) will be the first-of-its-kind to be created in the state. The land prices here have quadrupled in the last two years. Soon there will be 185 kilometres of six-lane roads. The tiny village with a population of 4,500, mostly farmers who grow wheat, jowar and cotton, is prospering and looking forward to a sea-change.

 

The roads are being built at a cost of Rs 1,584 crore to be linked with the Delhi-Mumbai dedicated freight corridor.Dholera also has greater possibilities of building modern port facilities. The Adani group might consider plans to build an eco-friendly port here.

 Dholera, which is situated in Ahmedabad district in the Gulf of Khambhat, is in proximity to road transport infrastructure and sea-port facilities. And what's more, the government has proposed to build an international airport near Fedara, 30 km from Dholera ensuring that the BEST PROPERTY DEALS become the USP of this region.

The manufacturing zone has been planned keeping in mind the windflow pattern so that industrial pollution flies out of the city. Dholera will be connected to the world through a new international airport on its outskirts, to the rest of the country through a new railway line and to Ahmedabad through a ten-lane highway.  

The entire city will run on a BRT system that can be converted into a light rail transport system in the future Every housing, office, and industrial complex will be within 10 minutes walking distance of some form of public transport.  All utilities including parking spots will be underground so that there is enough space to build pavements for pedestrians and dedicated cycle tracks It will be divided into five business districts and two knowledge zones.

The city will rely heavily on solar energy for its power requirements although a dedicated 1, 300 MW power plant is planned. A hierarchy of roads, from the main ten-lane artery cutting the city into two to four-lane interior streets, is planned for smooth traffic flow and proper intra-city connectivity.

India’s is urbanizing,so much that estimates suggest nearly 600 million of Indians will be living in cities by 2030, up from 290 million as reported in the 2001 census. Alongside the hordes of Indians go the jobs and the money as well Dholera SIR would generate 70% of the new jobs created by 2030, produce more than 70% of the Indian gross domestic product and drive a fourfold increase in per capital incomes across the country.

It will have modern waste management systems and facilities to recycle sewage water for industrial use. Housing has been so designed through the mixed use pattern that the work place is close to the residential complex. This might help in increase in INVESTMENT IN RESIDENTIAL, INDUSTRIAL AND COMMERCIAL POLT IN DHOLERA SIR.

LAND ACQUISITION BILL: COMPENSATION- II

In the previous part we have seen the benefits and features of compensation that was being offered to the people whose land was taken by the government for the development purpose, in this part we will see what are the cons of the compensation system of the bill. The bill has been criticized mainly for two things which are discussed in detail as below:

First, there is a huge debate on account of whether such compensation amount would be enough or not. Activists argue that prior to the coming up of a development project, the market price is quite low particularly in rural areas or semi-urban areas, and so the compensation amount (up to 4 times the market price) may be too little for a landowner/farmer who is losing his/her livelihood in a big way. 

Corporates argue on the other hand that this compensation amount is too high particularly in urban areas where the prices may already be very high. They also state that once it is announced that a development project is going to be constructed in a particular place, the market price of that land increases significantly for any area (rural/urban) and so, the compensation amount would be too high to provide for a private producer or the government. 

Activists however reject this argument by stating that it would be a little share of the overall investment in the project and so would not affect the project budget significantly. Still, a compensation of up to only 4 times the market price seems low, and many Member of Parliaments suggested that this should be increased to at least 5 to 20 times the market price in at least rural areas if not urban.

Second, those who would be affected after the establishment of the project, they have not been considered at all in the bill although one could say that this was not the primary purpose of the bill, and second, one could address these through proper implementation and enforcement of the environment regulations for air and water (if not for land). There are issues with those norms though, but for once, this is a secondary problem with the bill itself.

There are other issues however, such as that compensation should not be denied/reduced even if land-for-land is provided, and that those who are losing their livelihood because of land acquisition should also be given monetary compensation. 

These are major issues which remain unaddressed in this version of the bill. Also, concerns were expressed by a few MPs, notably the Leader of Opposition Sushma Swaraj in the Lok Sabha, that many landowners who become rich overnight on getting compensation money do not understand what to do with this excess money and use it to buy cars and vehicles rather than invest it in some productive activity. That concern also remains. 

India is a democratic country and to bring an act that is as important as this one is a very humongous as well as delicate task. All the aspects need to be discussed in detail and then after lots of pondering ad discussions, such decisions need to be taken.

You also can have a say in this, just post what you feel is right or what is wrong on our website adsn we will make sure you are heard, if your point is valid.

LAND ACQUISITION BILL: SALIENT FEATURES

The LAND INVESTMENT IN INDIA, our country is currently under the big cloud of Land Acquisition Bill. Although not all of land owners are affected by it, but then it is the duty of LAND INVESTMENT COMPANY like us – AAMANI SPACES that we keep you up to date with the going- ons. In this series find the features of the bill, with each aspect covered in detail, so this will be in series of 3 blogs. Stay connected.

 

When does the ACT apply:

         This act will apply only when a private project developer acquires or purchases land more than 100 acres in rural areas or 50 acres in urban areas through a private negotiation with the landowner, or when a private project developer asks the government to acquire land on his/her/their behalf. 

So if a private project developer wants to escape this clause, he/she will takeland in multiple parcels instead of one-time acquisition, which helps him or her escape the application of this Act.

Also, if land has been acquired under sixteen previous acts, this act will not apply. These include SEZ Act (2005), Atomic Energy Act, Cantonments Act, Damodar Valley Corporation Act, Land Acquisition (Mines) Act, National Highways Act, Electricity Act and many others. This list is under 4th Schedule of this bill, and other acts can be added to this bill with just a Central govt. notification. 

·         Requirement of consent:

In the original Land Acquisition Act (1894), there was no requirement of any consent from the original landowner in acquiring his/her land. But as per this bill, consent of 70% of the landowners is required prior to acquiring land for a "public-private partnership" project, while consent of 80% of the landowners is required prior to acquiring land for a "private" project.

 Land can be acquired for "public purpose" only, where public purpose refers to a number of development projects: mining, infrastructure, defence, roads, railways, ports etc.

 This is an improvement upon the original act, since if the majority of the landowners do not agree to the project to be established on their land, a majority of them can unite and oppose the project by not giving their consent.  The other big achievement is that the definition of "public purpose" is much clearer and is related to development unlike in the past, where the government could acquire land on any pretext while terming it "public purpose". 

 There are some major lacunae even in the kind of provisions put up. For one, a large amount of land is acquired even today by public sector units like NTPC, BHEL or others. Yet, no public consent is required by public sector units in acquiring land, be it for mining, for power projects, for highway building or for any other purpose.

In the next part see other salient features like the notice period, compensation,  rehabilitation and resettlement etc. An understanding of the topic of the ACT will make sure that you will never be bogged down by the doubts and dilemmas about any of it. AAMANI SPACES a big name in the DHOLERA SMART CITY DEVLOPMENT is in the constant process of making the mass aware about the land acquiring and owning properties.

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