Cabinet nod to scrap Land Ceiling Act

The state Cabinet on Thursday decided to abolish the Urban Land Ceiling Act.

The Council of Ministers headed by Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh  also decided to bring in legislation to this effect if possible in the current session and if not in the monsoon session of the State Legislature.

The Cabinet has also given its nod to the bank guarantee of Rs. 450 crore to the Ratnagiri Gas and Power Private Limited for early revival of the project.

It may be noted that the Central Government had been pressing the state government to abolish this act immediately so that huge amount of land in government’s possession could be freed for the housing sector.

The Centre has also clarified that abolition of this act was a quid pro quo for releasing the much-awaited financial assistance from the Centre for state’s infrastructure projects.

However, the Chief Minister strongly opposed this because he was of the view that the abolition of the Act will only benefit handful of bigwigs who have huge landholdings in Mumbai-like big cities.