GMADA's Eco City-3 stalled, CM seeks land details

13 Oct 2023 CW Team

For Urban Estate Eco City-3 in New Chandigarh, GMADA was supposed to buy land. The CM's approval was required before the authority could purchase 720 acres for the project.

The project file was forwarded to the CM office to request clearance for the acquisition of land, according to a senior GMADA officer. However, the file was returned with a note stating GMADA must provide the "Khasra Numbers" (revenue numbers) of the land to be bought.

According to the officer, compiling the land according to the Khasra Number is a tedious task that will take some time. The process of acquiring land will be delayed till then. The government has previously abandoned the project's land acquisition.

As part of the project, 720 acres were purchased from six villages: Rajgarh, Takipur, Kartarpur, Kansala, and Hoshiarpur. These acres would be developed with residential, commercial, and institutional structures.

The land was to be purchased in accordance with the land pooling policy, which stipulates that instead of monetary compensation, landowners will receive 200 square yards of built commercial space and 1,100 square yards of industrial space for every acre of land acquired.

In July 2020, GMADA was forced to scrap the acquisition process owing to shortage of funds, and poor response to its land pooling scheme. Only 118 of 450 landowners had come forward at the time.

Following GMADA's choice to postpone the project, a few private parties swooped in and purchased roughly 150 acres in the same region, leading the development authority to enact prohibitive measures. Sarvjit Singh, who was the department's additional chief secretary at the time, had directed that no builder would be granted a change-of-land-use (CLU) certificate or license in the vicinity of Eco City-3 or Medicity, another GMADA project.

Aerotropolis, GMADA's eighth independent township, would be built over 1,653 acres near the Shaheed Bhagat Singh International Airport on both sides of the Banur-Zirakpur on Patiala highway. This is in addition to what has already been mentioned. The administration hopes to start the construction work in the final week of January and finish it in six months.

Greater Mohali Area Development Authority's (GMADA) Urban Estate Eco City-3 project has encountered difficulties since the Punjab government has requested information on the land that will be purchased in accordance with the Khasra number. Since 2016, the project has been on hold. For Urban Estate Eco City-3 in New Chandigarh, GMADA was supposed to buy land. The CM's approval was required before the authority could purchase 720 acres for the project. The project file was forwarded to the CM office to request clearance for the acquisition of land, according to a senior GMADA officer. However, the file was returned with a note stating GMADA must provide the Khasra Numbers (revenue numbers) of the land to be bought. According to the officer, compiling the land according to the Khasra Number is a tedious task that will take some time. The process of acquiring land will be delayed till then. The government has previously abandoned the project's land acquisition. As part of the project, 720 acres were purchased from six villages: Rajgarh, Takipur, Kartarpur, Kansala, and Hoshiarpur. These acres would be developed with residential, commercial, and institutional structures. The land was to be purchased in accordance with the land pooling policy, which stipulates that instead of monetary compensation, landowners will receive 200 square yards of built commercial space and 1,100 square yards of industrial space for every acre of land acquired. In July 2020, GMADA was forced to scrap the acquisition process owing to shortage of funds, and poor response to its land pooling scheme. Only 118 of 450 landowners had come forward at the time. Following GMADA's choice to postpone the project, a few private parties swooped in and purchased roughly 150 acres in the same region, leading the development authority to enact prohibitive measures. Sarvjit Singh, who was the department's additional chief secretary at the time, had directed that no builder would be granted a change-of-land-use (CLU) certificate or license in the vicinity of Eco City-3 or Medicity, another GMADA project. Aerotropolis, GMADA's eighth independent township, would be built over 1,653 acres near the Shaheed Bhagat Singh International Airport on both sides of the Banur-Zirakpur on Patiala highway. This is in addition to what has already been mentioned. The administration hopes to start the construction work in the final week of January and finish it in six months.