As the Prime Minister starts the second year of his term, Raghav Bahl expands on his 5 big ideas for Narendra Modi to focus on. Is there any quick solution to ensure that land availability is not a bottleneck?
Watch Raghav’s Take.
Big Idea 4: Quick Solution for the Land Bottleneck
There is much ruckus around the Land Acquisition Bill. Is there an alternative which can come quickly into play, even as politicians take their time to agree on a fair new law? Yes there is. The government is easily the biggest owner of land in India. So it could transfer this surplus land, whether owned by the Railways, Army, Textile Mills etc etc, into a National Land Bank. This land could then be used to kick start major manufacturing and urbanisation projects, including the creation of new cities, twin cities etc. The government could also double the Floor Space Index, or FSI, in cities — this would multiply the amount of construction on each plot of land; also, stamp duty for very small apartments could be eliminated; agricultural land could be automatically converted into residential land in peri-urban and peri-metropolitan areas; in fact, the Prime Minister can order several such small and quick steps in his second year to ensure that land availability is not a bottleneck, even as the debate around the bill continues to rage.