Chandigarh, July 9
In a significant move, the Punjab Government has introduced a land purchase policy that allows the state to buy land for various projects from owners through a process of tender-based bidding.

The policy, a first of its kind in India, is called the Punjab Land Purchase Policy. To begin with, it is being implemented for setting up of an urban estate in Ludhiana.

Principal Secretary (Housing and Urban Development) Dr Sukhbir Singh Sandhu said though the policy is not intended to replace land acquisition, it is certainly aimed at bringing the landowner and the state government together for a mutually rewarding partnership where the owner can also benefit from the development plans of the government.

He said as part of the new policy, various urban development agencies of the state can buy land from the owners at the rate quoted by them if the rates suit the government. The policy, he added, has the nod of the Cabinet.

The policy involves the constitution of a district-level land purchase committees, which will put up proposals regarding the requirement of land for various government projects to an executive committee, which will approve and execute the land purchase for projects.

“The first such project is the setting up of urban estate in Ludhiana for which four sites have been broadly identified by the district committee yesterday. Their proposal has been sent to the executive committee for approval,” said Sandhu.

Once the executive committee approves the proposal, tender noticesfor buying of land in at these sites would be issued through advertisements. “Once we receive the bids, we will cross-check the claim of ownership of the land offered and then compare the cost of land for each of these tentative sites. The site where we get the land at the cheapest rates would be finalised,” added Sandhu. The district-level price fixation committee and a Cabinet sub-committee would also be involved in the process of finalisation of the bid.

Sources added that the need for the policy arose mainly because it had become difficult for the government to acquire land for most of its projects. Owners were generally not happy with the compensation decided for the land.

Also, the compensation had become a highly politicised issue, with local politicians promising to get the best deal to owners. A host of projects, including the setting up of over 10 urban estates, in various cities in Punjab have been held up for years as the government was unable to acquire land.