Land Pooling is a form of land procurement where all land parcels in an area are pooled, converted into a layout, infrastructure developed, and a share of the land, in proportion to original ownership, returned as reconstituted parcels.
The LPS is currently employed in India for the implementation of master plans of various cities, such as Amaravati city in Andhra Pradesh (AP), Delhi, Dholera smart city in Gujarat, and Magarpatta township in Pune city
BENEFITS OF LAND POOLING
Better alternative to Land Acquisition:
- More democratic
- Owners need not part with the land
- Lower time and Cost for land Acquisition
- No additional burden on the Government
Benefits to the landowners:
- More Voluntary, Inclusive and humane in comparison to land acquisition wherein people become equal partners in development. (Participatory development.
- Increase In Value of land: change in the land use plan and improvement in the public infrastructure benefits the landowners in terms of higher land prices.
- Non-Displacing Strategy as landowners do not get displaced.
- Access to better infrastructure upon completion of project
Benefits to the Government:
- No upfront costs as the Government need not pay compensation
- Relatively less Conflict Ridden Process
- Higher tax base with increase in property prices
CHALLENGES
- Limited adoption by the state: Only few states such as Maharashtra, Gujarat, Delhi, Haryana, Punjab etc. have adopted the land pooling model.
- Problems with the current legal framework as it does not provide for discrepancies between plans for an area and its eventual development.
- Limited applicability:
- Most appropriate in urban/urban fringes with rising property prices.
- Difficult to implement in areas/projects where land prices are not expected to appreciate much especially in distant rural contexts
- Transparency and accountability:
- Lack of adequate information in Public domain about the project, current and future status/values of their property, period for return of reconstituted plots, risks involved, net benefits for a landowner etc.
- Absence of Grievance Redressal mechanismAbsence of institutional framework to monitor and evaluate the implementation of the pooling/development schemes.
- Equity and Justice: Even though the Land Pooling model is projected to be voluntary, land is often acquired forcibly. For example, in case of Amravati, land was acquired through coercion under the threat of land acquisition. No compensation for the disruption of the livelihood during the project
- Implementation Issues: Lack of contiguous land parcels for development (Ex: Delhi Land Pooling Policy).
| EXISTING PROBLEMS | LAND REFORMS 2.0 |
| Limited Success of Land Reforms barring few states such as West Bengal (Operation Barga), Kerala (Kudumbashree) etc. Landlessness among Rural households (56%- SECC 2011), SCs/STs | Create Land Pool from unutilised Govt. lands, Waste land, Surplus ceiling Lands, Bhoodan Lands etc.Distribute land among landless Rural households and SCs/STs. |
| Growing Feminization of Agriculture (30%) without adequate access to land ownership | Distribution of land to women from the land pool.Promote collective farming by women through land leasing (Kudumbashree Model) |
| Poor progress on modernization of land records leading to increased litigations, lack of access to credit and hinder development. | Complete Modernization of Land Records.Move from Presumptive Titling to Conclusive Titling. |
| Fragmented Lands and Restrictive Tenancy laws in states | Encourage states to adopt Model bill on Land Leasing. Set up Land Bank. |
| Increased demand for land accompanied by conflict prone Land Acquisition | Adopt newer models for infrastructure development such as Land Pooling Model |
| Land-State List; Acquisition and Requisition of Property- Concurrent listLack of Cooperation between Centre and States in effective management of land | Set up National Land Council on the lines of GST Council for Efficient management of land. |