Managing Land as a Resource for Empowering Urban Local Bod

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Managing Land as a Resource ?for Empowering Urban Local Bodies?

???????????????????????????????????????????????????? ?????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????* Jit Kumar Gupta

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Introduction;

Known as generators of employment and economy, cities are reckoned to be engines of ?physical, social, economic growth and development. ?If cities are engines of development, then infrastructures have been reckoned to be the wheels of the said engine. Efficiency of the cities as engines of economic growth, largely depends upon the extent and quality of infrastructure ?and services made available, and the manner in which they are maintained, operated and financed. Financing urban development and making?? provision of basic?? amenities, remains the great?challenge at the local level, due to high initial cost and enormous resources required to provide these amenities pan-city. Considering the fact that cities are always evolving, devolving, never static and never finite, cities need resources on continued basis, not only for funding the provision of infrastructures in the green field development but also ?maintaining the ?operational efficiency of services provided in brown field ?area. Majority of ULBs remain resource stressed with expenditure outpacing the income. Accordingly, cities are finding it difficult to provide basic amenities? to majority of its ?population, who perpetually face deprivation. Looking holistically, majority of urban ills have genesis in the non- availability of financial resources at the local levelmain the major determinant and backbone of the operational efficiency and performance, yet majority of urban local bodies in the country, remain resource stressed, plagued with acute shortage of financial resources. Despite? having? operational domain pan-city, ULB remain perpetually in financial stress. ?Looking holistically, cities remain rich but ULBs are ranked poor. However, perpetual poverty of ULBs ?has genesis in their operational inefficiency; lack of understanding and lack of ?capacity , capability and willingness to understand, analyze, explore?? and optimize the available resources. Power to regulate, control and manage ?urban land, which remains the most vibrant and productive resource, has neither been fully understood nor appreciated and utilized by ULBs for raising resources and making them self-reliant in financial domain. Looking at the vast and varied uses to which land can be put in the urban context, potential of land can be used innovatively for generating financial resources and providing state of art basic infrastructures & services, without any implications on the part of local bodies. In search for appropriate options for generating ?adequate financial resources and making local bodies self-reliant, paper? looks at the options of promoting planned development; undertaking town ?schemes involving land pooling and land distribution;? involving private sector? in land ?assembly, development and providing basic services; granting permission for change of land use;? using? mechanism of salable and tradeable floor area ; rationalizing advertisement rights; leveraging property tax, ?using? options ?of? accommodation reservation and transfer of development rights.

Key Words; land, legal framework, tradable Floor area ratio, advertisement rights

Introduction;

Known as generators of employment and economy, cities are reckoned to be engines of ?physical, social, economic growth and development. ?If cities are engines of development, then infrastructures have been reckoned to be the wheels of the said engine. Efficiency of the cities as engines of economic growth, largely depends upon the extent and quality of infrastructure ?and services made available, and the manner in which they are maintained, operated and financed. Financing urban development and making?? provision of basic?? amenities, remains the great

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?challenge at the local level, due to high initial cost and enormous resources required to provide these amenities pan-city. Considering the fact that cities are always evolving, devolving, never static and never finite, cities need resources on continued basis, not only for funding the provision of infrastructures in the green field development but also ?maintaining the ?operational efficiency of services provided in brown field ?area. Majority of ULBs remain resource stressed with expenditure outpacing the income. Accordingly, cities are finding it difficult to provide basic amenities? to majority of its ?population, who perpetually face deprivation. Looking holistically, majority of urban ills have genesis in the non- availability of financial resources at the local levelf art basic infrastructures & services, without any implications on the part of local bodies. In search for appropriate options for generating ?adequate financial resources and making local bodies self-reliant, paper? looks at the options of promoting planned development; undertaking town ?schemes involving land pooling and land distribution;? involving private sector? in land ?assembly, development and providing basic services; granting permission for change of land use;? using? mechanism of salable and tradeable floor area ; rationalizing advertisement rights; leveraging property tax, ?using? options ?of? accommodation reservation and transfer of development rights.

Key Words; land, legal framework, tradable Floor area ratio, advertisement rights

Introduction;

Known as generators of employment and economy, cities are reckoned to be engines of ?physical, social, economic growth and development. ?If cities are engines of development, then infrastructures have been reckoned to be the wheels of the said engine. Efficiency of the cities as engines of economic growth, largely depends upon the extent and quality of infrastructure ?and services made available, and the manner in which they are maintained, operated and financed. Financing urban development and making?? provision of basic?? amenities, remains the great

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?challenge at the local level, due to high initial cost and enormous resources required to provide these amenities pan-city. Considering the fact that cities are always evolving, devolving, never static and never finite, cities need resources on continued basis, not only for funding the provision of infrastructures in the green field development but also ?maintaining the ?operational efficiency of services provided in brown field ?area. Majority of ULBs remain resource stressed with expenditure outpacing the income. Accordingly, cities are finding it difficult to provide basic amenities? to majority of its ?population, who perpetually face deprivation. Looking holistically, majority of urban ills have genesis in the non- availability of financial resources at the local level

Considering the need for raising and securing large financial resources, urban local bodies have been innovating and experimenting number of options to become self-reliant financially. Numerous studies carried out by various Expert Committees, set up from time to time, ?have suggested, using various options of; exploring the potential of imposing new and higher taxes; levying fees for various services provided and rendered in the urban domain; putting in operation user charges and imposing tolls, for raising resources at the local level. However, looking at the entire operational domain of urban local bodies, land? offers one of best option for raising financial resources for the urban local bodies, provided the inherent potential of land, as a valuable resource, is appropriately understood, appreciated, analyzed, explored and leveraged.

Working Group on Urban Development for the Twelfth Five-Year Plan has also recognized role, importance and potential of land based fiscal tools as a promising avenue of augmenting financial resources for urban infrastructure financing. Ministry of Urban Development, Government of India Report on ‘Study of Land Based Fiscal Tools and Practices for Generating Additional Financial Resources’, prepared under the aegis of Capacity Building for Urban Development Project (CBUD), has recommended equivocally, the need of exploring the untapped potential of urban development and context of land for making ULBs financially self-reliant. This paper accordingly looks at and makes an attempt to define few of those options.

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Land as a Resource;

Land as a natural resource and gift of nature has enormous role, relevance and importance in the realm of urban development for promoting planned development, providing basic amenities of life, creating state of art infrastructures etc., besides generating valuable resources for local agencies and development authorities, engaged in managing and regulating land and its usages in the public domain. Accordingly, land as a resource, would need to be dealt on different footing, when ?compared to other resources because land remains most critical and essential to the very living/ growth/survival/development of mankind. The issue assumes all the more importance for India as a nation , because it ?houses more than 17,7% of the population while holding merely 2.4% of the global ?land.? In this scenario, it will be critical to understand the adverse implications of inadequate availability of developed land in the context of development planning. Due to limited ?access to affordable serviced land , about one-fourth of entire urban population is estimated to be living a degraded life in slums or slum like conditions. Limited availability of developed land has also implications in terms of speculative increase in land prices and resultant distortions of urban land market. Artificial and speculative high prices of urban land, push majority of urban dwellers out of the market, forcing them to look for options which are based on informal and often illegal methods, adversely impacting the economy, efficiency and quality of life in urban settlements besides imposing financial cost on urban local bodies, to make? provisions of basic services in these areas, as a measure of larger public interest.

Considering the fact that land is limited in area, inelastic in nature and cannot be manufactured, ?created or enlarged, it becomes critical that land resource is managed with utmost efficiency and prudence. This would be? vital for the survival of the mankind because land provides the platform on which all human activities are performed. Looking at the criticality of land and its future demand based on increased population, meeting basic human needs of living, working, care of body and spirit besides circulation, it becomes important that land is not only treated as the most valuable resource but also its inherent strength, as a prime resource and gift of nature, is used for promoting larger public interest of making cities better places to live

Non-availability of adequate financial resources has been found to be at the root of?? majority of urban development and infrastructure projects put on shelf, leading to inadequacy of basic amenities and services. Experience has shown that these financial constraints have genesis in our inability to look beyond traditional ways of financing projects and our inability to innovate on alternatives which can bring resources for implementing projects. In this context urban land ?and land based taxes, fees, levies etc. are fast emerging as major ?resources for promoting the planned development of urban centres.

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Options for Leveraging Land

Using land as the basis for raising financial resources, has roots in the understanding that, planned land commands premium over unplanned land; land with infrastructure is priced higher when compared to land having no infrastructure; granting planning permission ?increases value of land and ?value of land ?in urban market is dictated by the use to which land is permitted? by the local authorities. Based on these minimal principles, various options? which can be used ?for generating financial resources for urban local bodies, by leveraging urban land, ?can be enumerated in terms of ;

·?????? Promoting Planned Development

·?????? Undertaking Town Planning/Land Pooling Schemes

·?????? Involving Private Sector

·?????? Rationalizing Property tax

·?????? Taxing Vacant lands

·?????? Leveraging Advertisement Rights

·?????? Levying Betterment Charges.

·?????? Levying Charges for Change of ?Land use?

·?????? Levying Development Charges - Internal & External Charges

·?????? ?Charging fee for? Building Plans approval

·?????? Generating Revenue from? Air ?Space.

·?????? Trading Floor Area Ratio

·?????? Leveraging ?Accommodation Reservation

·?????? Using Transfer of Development Rights (TDR)

·?????? Leveraging Amenity space/Infrastructure TDR

·?????? Optimum Utilization of Vacant Government Lands (OUVGL)

·?????? Leveraging Technologies

·?????? Involving Physical Planners

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·?????? Promoting Planned Development;

?Valuing and respecting land as a gift of nature for promoting? larger public interest; making communities and urban local bodies self-reliant; achieving sustainability of planet earth and making value addition to environment, remains most critical for all the planners engaged in the art and science of physical planning. Urban planning essentially involving sub-division of land, defining land-usage and fixing the quantum of space that can be built on the sub-divided land parcels. Globally, planned development has been valued as the best land-based option to raise financial resources, because urban development is known to create enormous wealth for? development agencies and remains self-financing. Corbusier, the great urbanist, gave the dictum, ‘urbanism makes money and good urbanism makes more money’. Planned development not only helps in making?? provision of basic amenities and services on defined norms and standards but also generates wealth by increasing land values, due to provision of better amenities, services besides creating space for residential, commercial, industrial and institutional development. In addition, planned development helps in levying internal and external development charges?? for funding both hard and soft, internal and external infrastructures in ?the city. Chandigarh, Gandhinagar and ?Bhubaneshwar have already demonstrated the potential of ?promoting planned urban development, not only for providing basic amenities but also putting urban local bodies? on sound financial ?footing. Accordingly, looking at the spirit of 74th Constitutional Amendment Act, 1992, urban local bodies need to be empowered ?by not only? vesting ?functions related to urban planning but also providing ???appropriate level of ?financial resources and trained? manpower to undertake the planned development of cities, in a rational and realistic manner.

·?????? Undertaking Town Planning Schemes

Town Planning Scheme involves pooling of land owned by different owners; re-planning the so called pooled land, based on the pre-defined planning norms; creating appropriate level of road network,? amenities and services? essential for meeting the needs of the people, going to live in that area. The entire process is completed, involving all land owners as co-parceners. The scheme is finalized and final plots are distributed to the land owners by charging betterment levy from those who have gain by the reconstruction of plots and by paying compensation to those who lost land. In the process, land marked for public purpose is transferred to public authority free from all encumbrances. Town Planning Scheme is major option of land development, without resorting to the compulsory acquisition of land. Development charges? for providing essential infrastructure/services/amenities are provided by the landowners and the scheme is self- financing. Local body is able to promote planned development of the city, without acquiring any land or payment of development cost. In addition, it gets land for public amenities, which are essential for promoting quality living in the urban centres. The scheme has been widely used in states of Gujrat and Maharashtra? yielding? enormous dividends,? in the shape of speeding up development of new areas with the state of art planning, development and quality living, without any financial implications. Scheme? is known for? its distinct? advantages of creating win-win situation for both owners, ULBs, communities and cities.

·?????? Involving Private Sector in Urban Development Process by Licensing Colonies

?India, as a nation is urbanizing rapidly and accordingly urban areas are growing rapidly, both in physical space ?and ?number of human beings. In this race, Indian cities are facing enormous? challenge? of meeting? rationally and logically, the needs of urban ?development ,leading to emergence of large gaps in supply and demand of urban infrastructures/services besides making available appropriate spaces for constructing? houses, institutions and ?providing area for trade and commerce etc on prescribed norms. This has led to mushroom, ?unauthorized and haphazard ?development, which ?has created a perpetual liability both for the urban local bodies and the cities. Considering the limited capacity and capability of ?urban local bodies, to meet these developmental challenges, it becomes necessary to involve and encourage the private sector on large-scale, in the domain of ?assembly and supply of developed land to supplement the efforts of public agencies.? State of Haryana ?has emerged as a role model in? the domain of private development, by involving numerous reputed developers. Besides promoting state of art planned development, process has generated enormous ?financial resources for urban local bodies and development authorities, by ?making contribution in the shape of fees ?and external development charges. ?Haryana model of ?planned development, involving private sector, ?can be replicated ?in all urban centers including?? small and medium towns.

·?????? Rationalizing Property tax;

Property tax remains the most vibrant and effective source of funding urban local bodies. However, the potential of property tax ?has not been appropriately utilized. Despite numerous reforms made over the years, still large leakages in the tax base remains. Reasons for the low collection of property tax can be attributed to, absence of ?accurate data base of ?all the properties constructed; cumbersome procedures of levying/defining the tax; lack of qualified manpower and manual driven approach for levying and collection; poor maintenances of record, ambiguity of?? rates etc. In order to? make the levying and collection of the tax more effective and efficient, it will be appropriate to have a well-defined policy framework and simplified process for levying/collecting the property tax. Property owners should be encouraged , enabled and incentivized to? calculate and deposit?? the tax within the defined time. ULBs should? map/freeze all existing properties in terms of? covered area, usage and ?defining clearly? rates? at which property is to be taxed, for ensuring correct assessment. Once the information is put on the ULBs portal, owner should be incentivized to deposit the tax through a simplified system of online payment. Delay in depositing the tax needs to be embedded with penalties and fine so as to encourage compliance. Dates of depositing tax must be ?notified well ?in advance for ensuring better compliance. In addition, all new construction and additions/alterations made to existing buildings should be appropriately monitored /mapped for ensuring that these properties also pay the prescribed property tax. Involving communities, using simplified system of levying/collecting property tax; connecting digitally, addressing grievances of property owners ?and ?interacting with community on regular basis, shall be useful for the ULBs to improve better? compliance and raising more resources. Efficient models put up by Ahmedabad and Chandigarh can be used as examples in the domain of levying/collecting property tax.????

·?????? Taxing Vacant Lands

Speculation in land , as a phenomenon, has gained enormous currency in recent years, due to substantial gain accruing to the land owners on account of ever-rising land prices propelled by growing shortage of ?developed land in the urban areas. This process has led to putting under lock, large quantity of potential serviced urban land ?and its exclusion from the urban market.? In certain cities ,land to the tune of 25-35%? remains unused/vacant for obvious reasons. Vacant land is known to make land market both expensive and inefficient besides making city development irrational and lopsided. In order to bring this land into the urban ?market and to minimize land speculation, it would be desirable to levy tax on such vacant land. Taxing vacant urban land would serve dual purpose, of not only bringing vacant land into the urban market for meeting the needs of the city but ?will also help in ?generating financial resource, which can be utilized for funding the urban infrastructure. ULBs should map all vacant lands, ?existing within urban limits, on regular basis and impose tax on such vacant lands, which can help in not only ?strengthening its financial base but also go a long way in ?making city ?growth and development, more compact and rational.

·?????? Leveraging Advertisement Rights

Considering the fact that current world is the world of advertisement, accordingly potential of ?granting advertisement rights, along the major road network and at public places in the city , can be used ?effectively and efficiently, for raising financial resources for the ULBs. Unfortunately, this most vibrant source of raising revenue has not been innovatively explored by urban local bodies. Granting advertisement rights can fetch enormous revenue for ULBs to make ?them ?cash rich. All open spaces and roundabouts in the cities can be planned, developed and maintained by the private sector by granting? right to advertise. Cities like Delhi have ensured the construction of all bus stops and creation of dumping yard for collecting waste, simply by giving right to advertise to private advertisers besides receiving money for granting such rights. Street- light poles can also be ??used for generating revenue by giving advertisement rights. Similarly, tree plantation? and landscaping? open spaces and developing parks in urban spaces ?can be ?made possible ?by granting advertisement ?rights to private developers , without any financial liabilities on the part of ULBs. Traffic? rotaries in Chandīgarh, known for its beauty, have been financed through granting advertisement rights to corporates and institutions. The entire length of ?approach road to Mumbai airport was funded by grant of such advertisement rights. This source of ?revenue can be leveraged to generate sufficient money and promote development as was also done in Ahmedabad to widen and develop one of their major streets. Exploring the potential of this resource, would require identifying appropriate spaces for advertisement, mapping all the sites for advertisement, specifying rational rates and allotting spaces through? transparent bidding process, which can help in raising large revenue for urban local bodies. Local bodies would need to hire the services of consultants/experts for identifying such ?spaces and evaluating their potential, for strengthening the revenue base.

·?????? Levying Betterment Charges

Levying betterment charges, has its genesis in the establishment of ?Improvement Trusts in the early twentieth century ,when it was felt that private properties, ?falling close to the infrastructures?? developed by the Trusts, gain enormously in land values. Considering the fact that such increase in land/property value has genesis in the development undertaken by the local agencies, accordingly, Trusts have the? right to share part of the increase in land values from each owner, depending upon the extent of benefit accrued and increase in the land values. Despite forming part of municipal legal framework, Betterment charges have not been levied/charged due to? ?lack of ?capacity, capability,? well defined operational framework and political will, on the part of parastatal agencies. If levied/used logically and rationally, Betterment charges can emerge as one of most powerful option to leverage financial resources in ?the urban areas.

·?????? Levying charges for Change in Land Use

In the urban context, land values and land price essentially revolve around and are ?determined by the use to which the land is permitted, as per the provisions of Master Plans/Development Plans/Zonal Plans/Local Area Plans. Since change of land use leads to increase in land prices, accordingly these charges are levied when promoters apply for permission to develop the agricultural land into residential/commercial/ industrial use or for institutional development. Land use has emerged as one of the most productive taxes in the recent years and has yielded large dividends for the parastatal agencies. However, the resource remains ?largely confined to state authorities .? The domain of change of land use within the urban limits need to be vested with the local authorities, considering its context and implications on the development of cities/towns. Accordingly, all change in land use permitted within the urban limits must be allocated to ULBs along with the revenue generated from granting such permission. However, determining this tax would require the detailed study, analysis and understanding of the dynamics of the urban land market. For putting into operation this mechanism, effectively and efficiently, legal framework made applicable to ULBs need to be? reviewed, revised and ?redefined. In addition, ULBs should also be empowered to ?prepare Development Plans to have a basis on which charges are to be levied. Further, the charges have to be rational and commensurate with the market conditions. Specifying irrational charges ?invariably leads to non-compliance of the law promoting unplanned/illegal development and loss of revenue for the parastatal agencies,

·?????? Levying Development Charges

Making ?provision of the basic amenities/services essential for human living and ensuring appropriate quality of life,forms integral part of? duties and responsibilities of ULBs,. Accordingly, physical services related to roads, water supply, sewerage, sanitation, solid waste ?are to be provides by ULBs within the urban areas besides social infrastructures related to healthcare, education, fire, open spaces, community centres etc. Making provision of these essential services and its maintenance and operations at local/community/ city levels entails lot of financial implications. Accordingly, ULBs have to reinvent and innovates systems, which should help in not only raising resources for making provision of such services but also maintaining its operational efficiency. In addition, ULBs also need to innovate, if these services can be provided without any financial implications on the part of ULBs. As already defined , promoting planned development ?can help in providing ?requisite infrastructures on prescribed norms as part of the development process. ?In addition, ?potential of planned development can also be leveraged for? funding? external infrastructures. In this context role of development authorities become very critical to promote planned development within the municipal areas and eliminate any possibility of unplanned development.

??For achieving the objectives of planned development, the mechanism evolved by the Haryana state can be ?considered as a valuable model, where the development plan for the city and controlled area is prepared for a span of 20 years; services/infrastructures to be provided at the local/city levels are worked out and quantified, based on the pre-defined norm and standards. These requirements are then converted into cost based on detailed estimated etc. These charges are then specified as Internal Development Charges and External Development Charges. While Internal Development Charges include ?charges involving ?cost of ?making provision of water supply, sewerage, road network, storm, water drainage, electricity etc. ?within the planned area besides social infrastructure required to sustain the population which is going to inhibit the area. External Development Charges include charges for providing city level infrastructures , service network and amenities. External Development ?charges are then recovered on pro-rata area basis from the developers/promoters at the time of approval/sanctioning of the development. In approved colonies/urban development projects, internal development works are carried out by the Promoter/Developers, in accordance with the sanctioned plan whereas the cost of External Development (city level services) is deposited with the Competent Authority. These costs are ultimately loaded by the? developers/promoters, on to the plot holder/allottee, as part of the cost of ?the plot. In this manner the entire cost of? physical and social? infrastructures ?development, at local and city level, is funded? without any financial obligations on the apart of ?urban local body.

·?????? Charging Fee for Approval of Building Plans

Construction, renovation, additions/alterations by individuals /communities?? /society/institutions/ industry, remains integral part of the city growth and development. All the urban laws provide for approval of the building plans, before starting the construction and permit ULBs to charge a fee for the approval of the building plans. The fee can be charged for the sanction of the building plans, and ?obtaining revised sanction of the plans, in case any changes ?are made in the approved plans, before/during the construction. Considering the level of construction going on in cities, this can be made as one of the productive resources of revenue for ULBs. This fee called, Plan Scrutiny Fee/Building Permit Fee, , is charged by all the local bodies while granting approvals of building plans before the construction is started by the plot holders. The fee is charges based on the use of buildings and also the covered area on? pro-rata basis . The cost of such approval varies for residential area, commercial, industrial and institutional areas. In case of revision of plans, plot holders are required to pay additional ?50% of the charges defined for the original sanction. Building Plan approval fee is one of the most vibrant sources of income depending upon how much vigilant local bodies are. However, for exploring the full potential of the source, ?the process of plan approvals would require simplification and ??made free from the malpractices and delay, in order to bring plot- holders to the local bodies for approvals. In addition, construction being done at site also needs to be monitored ?effectively and efficiently for overcoming the challenge of unauthorized construction. Obtaining completion certificate and occupation certificate should be made mandatory/compulsory so that all buildings remain within the legal framework of approved plans. This will also help ULBs to generate data regarding the actual construction made on the plot for levying various charges and also of the ?total covered area ?of the building, for realistic assessment of the property tax.

·?????? Leveraging Revenue from Air Space

Example of railways using the air space rights in Navi Mumbai, as the mechanism for? optimization of land resource can be used as a role model? by ULBs at the local level ?for not only ?generating revenue ?but also ?creating state of art infrastructure and services in the city. In addition,? mechanism cab help in ?construction of offices and commercial spaces, for generating revenue on perpetual basis. Accordingly, mechanism of using ?air space rights can also be innovatively used and ?leveraged? for optimization ?its land resource by the ULBs, to generate resources and promote development/funding of urban infrastructure.

·?????? Tradable Floor Area Ratio

Floor area ratio, as a concept , approach and mechanism of urban development and optimization of use of? land , has been used extensively in the cities/urban development, in order to determine the permissible built area which can be created over a given piece of land.? FAR holds distinct advantage in terms of increasing the built space without any addition to the area of the land. Accordingly, higher the FAR, more is the permissible built area. Increasing the FAR helps in generating more revenue from a given area and accordingly FAR, has globally emerged as a major instrument in determining the intensity of development and increasing the value of land. Cities, where demand for ?built space ?remains high and where supply of developed land remains scarce, FAR can be effectively used for overcoming the shortage of land and increasing the supply of built space. FAR, as an instrument and option, remains valuable in all urban context for generating revenue from the available? ?urban land ?and has been found to be highly effective in cities where supply of land remains limited. Mumbai has already shown the strength and potential of generating large land-based resources through the mechanism of permitting higher FAR. In India, potential of FAR has been used in a ?limited way, where maximum FAR has been placed at 3 or 4, whereas in the developed countries it has been rated as high as 20 in the large metropolises. FAR has its own implication in terms of parking, services, congestion and changing the typologies of buildings and according has to be used with care and caution while leveraging resources for ULBs. In addition, concept of tradable FAR can also be introduced, which allows developers to buy additional space in the existing buildings by paying premium for additional space demanded. Regulations can be innovatively made, under which certain additional floor space can be purchased by the landowner from the FSI Bank created by the local body. The price of FSI can be determined by auction rather than on a pre-fixed mechanism. This would help? local body in using the potential of urban land for generating more finances ,by ?levying ?appropriate charging? for the additional FSI being ?allowed to a developer.

·?????? Accommodation Reservation.

Accommodation Reservation, is a land-based concept made applicable in number of cities. In this mechanism, owners are allowed to use the full potential of the construction on the? remaining land, as per the defined FSI, excluding the land? which is surrendered to the local body for public use. In this mechanism local body gets access to the land for public purposes , without paying any cost for the land whereas the owner does not lose the entire land and enjoys the full FSI on the remaining land.

·?????? Transfer of Development Rights

In this concept, development rights and ?right to land are considered two separate entities. Concept involves? that ?even when land owner ?loses the right to ?land, ?still he enjoys the ?right to?? built-up ?space which is permitted on the given parcel of ?land. This mechanism has been used by the local authorities for sourcing land for making provision of? infrastructures and services without paying cost of the land. In this process, land required for public purpose is taken over by the local body whereas the owner is given the right to use the full potential of the land ,in the shape of FSI. However, if the owner of the land does not want to use the FSI, he has the right to sell the same in the open ?market, to any other developer, for use in specified areas. TDR can be traded like shares and sold at a premium ?to anyone who wishes to use it. The use of TDR is an innovative tool not only for acquisition of land but also for getting public works executed against the grant of TDR. The concept has limitation, that? it? remains ?valuable ?in only those cities where ?land cost is very high ?besides ?availability of land remains? low for creating? public infrastructures? and? services.

·?????? Amenity Space/Infrastructure TDR

There also exist concepts, based on using land as a resource on the pattern of TDR, for creating appropriate urban infrastructure/amenities . In this mechanism space required for a public amenity is exchanged for FSI potential of land surrendered, which can be used on the remaining land. The public amenity in the shape of market, hospital, dispensary or police station created in the scheme more than compensate the cost of land surrounded by the land owner. Accordingly, Infrastructure TDR is another land-based mechanism to fund any public project which are capital intensive but do not yield sufficient dividends. Infrastructure TDR can provide large funds because they do not remain related to the infrastructure sites, but could be spread across the city. Best option to leverage the potential of infrastructure TDR would be the Competitive bidding under which any developer quoting lowest infrastructure TDR, could be awarded the contract.

·?????? Optimum Utilization of Vacant government Land

Lot of valuable municipal land remains unused/misused/abused and locked in inefficient uses in the urban areas. In order to make optimum use of ?available land resource, it will be essential that this land is brought into urban market and used for meeting the requirements of community’/city, depending upon its location, area, extent, approach. This option will help the ULBs in unlocking the hidden potential of? urban lands besides generating large revenue for ULBs. State of Punjab has already launched a scheme called, ‘Optimum Utilization of Vacant Government Lands (OUVGL)’, under which all unused and under-used potential public lands are identified, planned, developed and disposed of , for housing/commercial purposes. This has not only ?helped in generating resources? for infrastructure development but has also brought in considerable amount of ?unused/underused land into the urban market. Scheme can also be effectively used by ULBs for making value addition to financial resources, while looking at the context of the municipal land available in cities.

·?????? ?Widening Financial Base by Creating a Local Taxation List

Looking at the entire context ?of operation and functioning of? urban local bodies, despite the fact ULBs have been given the rank and? status of third tier of? government at the local level, ?by the Constitution of India through the Constitution Amendment Act , 1992, still it can be visualized that these institutions are being treated as line departments? by the state governments without providing much? autonomy. For enabling urban local bodies to function as government in their own right, it will be essential that ULBs are made financially vibrant and self-reliant, so that they can discharge their? defined functions, role, responsibility and authority ,enshrined in the twelfth schedule,? effectively and efficiency. In fact, vesting of functions and resources have to be gelled together. Divorce between the responsibility, authority and financial resources has largely been responsible for dilution of effectiveness and efficiency of urban local bodies. In the present setup, in the absence of adequate resources, majority of urban local bodies face dilution in the ?status and? authority, always looking towards the state government for financial support. State governments on their part have been trying to marginalize the local bodies to the position of a state department rather than empowering them to become governments? in their own right. 74th Constitutional Amendment Act, 1992, despite all positivity, appears to be highly deficient when it fails to specifically address the issue of financial autonomy of local bodies. It would have been fair and logical, if the constitutional amendment would have also included the subjects on which urban local bodies would have been given exclusive right to levy, collect and spend the fee, rates, taxes and levies imposed, like state and central governments. This calls for inserting a local government list in the constitution itself for financially empowering urban local bodies. In order to rationalize the entire process of taxation by the urban local bodies, it will be essential to create a State Regulatory Authority, which will act as a watchdog to look at the rationality of imposing taxes , their rates and the manner in which money collected is spent by the local bodies, which will make urban bodies more economically self-sufficient , ?accountable and responsible.

·?????? Leveraging Technology

In order to make optimum use of? urban? land? and land related resources, ULBs must make optimum use of available technologies like GIS, IT , ITES and Artificial Intelligence for mapping the urban land. Technology can be? effectively leveraged to map? the entire land falling within municipal limits in terms of its location, area, usage, ?quality, status, built-up area, ?existing ownership details, physical encumbrances, status of mortgage,? year of construction, status of building construction, property tax, zone in which land falls etc. This would help in not only? bringing? transparency in land ownership at local level? but would also help in? accurately assessing the buildings in terms of property tax and other? municipal fees and levies. GIS based master plan, now being prepared for various cities, are going to be game changers for the ULBs? if they are appropriately made use of.? Technology? can also be leveraged effectively for approving the building plans , revised plans, plans involving additions and alterations in existing buildings and granting completion and occupation permits on completion of buildings . Technology can also be used for deciding applications related to ?granting permissions for land use besides checking? unauthorized? additions and alterations in? existing and new ?buildings. ?

·?????? Involving Physical Planners

Considering? the fact that physical? planners are more skilled and better placed in terms of? their understanding of? various dimensions of land and its? usage, accordingly it will be? valuable that knowledge, skill, expertise and understanding available with physical planners? must be appropriately? used for making optimum use and for generating maximum revenue out of? urban land. Accordingly, all ULBs must create a dedicated cadre of town planners at the local level for providing necessary ?assistance, guidance and expertise regarding planning, development, management of ?cities and? its land resource. If? physical planners are given the opportunity and? appointed as the Executive officer at the local level, ULBs would? be better managed,? become more vibrant in terms of planned development,? provide? better infrastructures and services besides generating more resources for improving the quality of life for the urban residents.

?CONCLUSION

Land, as a resource, holds enormous potential in rationalizing urban development; ?promoting planned development, providing basic amenities of life and creating state of art infrastructures besides empowering? urban local bodies in the financial domain by ?generating valuable resources. For optimizing the potential of the land as a resource, land-based issues would require rational decision making, based on well laid down policy framework. Accordingly, ULBs will have to rework their options and strategies which would permit optimum utilization of ?the urban land as a resource. While using urban land as a resource, balance between environment and development have to be maintained in order to ensure cities do not become congested and citizens don’t get unduly taxed. Cities need to innovate and reinvent its strategies and options, using? available state of art technologies? in terms of? GIS, urban mapping, digitization of land/building record; mapping the growth and development of the city; documenting? new construction; connecting with stakeholders/communities for leveraging land-based resources. Objective ?of making rational? use of land resource should be, to promote larger public interest, make? urban development? more rational? and? cities more? livable, safe, resilient, inclusive and sustainable (as mandated by UNO in the SDG11), offering assured quality of life to all the urban residents, both present and future ,

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Bibliography;

·?????? Government of India ;Ministry of? Housing and Urban Development, & The World Bank; Land Based Fiscal Tools and Practices for Generating Additional Financial Resources; August, 2013

·?????? UNDP; Sustainable Development Goal 11; Making Cities and Communities, Safe, Resilient, Inclusive and Resilient.

·?????? ?Government of Punjab;? Punjab Town Improvement Act 1922

·?????? Government of India ;Ministry of? Housing and Urban Development; 74th Constitutional? Amendment Act,1992.

·?????? Government of Punjab;? Punjab Municipal Act 1911.

·?????? Gupta JK & Chaddha SK; Strategies for Promoting Good Urban Governance at Local level; published paper, NITTTER, Chandigarh

·?????? Gupta J K & Patel? N K; Sourcing Land for Urban Development; Published Book

·?????? Gupta J K; Making Cities Great Places to Live; book published by JK Cement; August 2022

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**Jit Kumar Gupta????????????????????????????????????????????????????????

?Former Advisor, Town Planning,

Punjab Urban Development Authority

#344, Sector 40-A; Chandigarh- 160036;

?jit.,[email protected]?????????????????????????????????????

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