Buddha says 'no' to scrap ULCA

KOLKATA: The West Bengal government would not scrap the Urban Land Ceiling Act (ULCA) as suggested by the Centre, Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee said here on Friday.

"We might relax the existing Land Ceiling Act, but it will never be removed. There must be government control or promoters would grab all the land," Bhattacharjee told reporters, adding that this has been communicated to Union Urban Development minister S Jaipal Reddy on many occasions.

Allocation under Urban Renewal Mission for many state projects were even stalled by the Centre which had to be resolved through negotiation, he added. The state government was also planning to reconstitute the Land Use Board and introduce a perspective plan for land use, he said.