AC approves land pooling, TDR policy for planned dev In J&K

SRINAGAR, JULY 27: The Administrative Council (AC) of Jammu and Kashmir has approved two significant policies aimed at boosting the real estate sector in the region: the Land Pooling Policy and the Transferable Development Rights (TDR) Policy. The meeting was chaired by Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha and attended by Advisor R.R. Bhatnagar, Chief Secretary Atal Dulloo, and Principal Secretary to the LG Mandeep Bhandari.
Under the new land pooling policy, developers and private landowners can pool their land for development. Urban governance agencies will ensure that sufficient land is allocated for infrastructure, wide roads, parks, open spaces, and other amenities. The remaining land will be returned to the landowners, who will share it proportionately. This policy aims to enhance the value of the land for owners and facilitate better infrastructure development. The policy will apply to notified land parcels of 50 hectares or more.
The AC also approved the policy for Grant and Utilization of Transferable Development Rights (TDR). This scheme grants non-financial compensation in the form of TDR certificates to landowners or developers who surrender land for public purposes, such as road widening, public passage, conservation, heritage, and other infrastructure developments. These certificates specify the Built-Up Area (BUA) or Floor Area Ratio (FAR) that the landowner or developer can use elsewhere or sell to other developers. The TDR policy aims to accelerate the implementation of Master Plan proposals and will initially be implemented in the Jammu Development Authority (JDA) and Srinagar Development Authority (SDA) jurisdictions.
In another development, the AC approved a proposal by the Housing Department to engage the National Building Construction Corporation (NBCC) for the rapid development of the Srinagar Satellite Township at Rakh Gund Aksha Bemina. The Srinagar Development Authority (SDA) will utilize 3,290 kanals of land for residential plots, group housing apartments, and the construction of 3,200 affordable housing flats. The township will feature commercial spaces, government offices, green spaces, sports facilities, and a 200-key five-star hotel. The project will be completed in phases over five years, with NBCC serving as the consultancy and executing agency to expedite the work. The High Court complex and Medicity are also being developed in the vicinity of the township.