The Maharashtra government is planning to repeal the Urban Land Ceiling (Regulation) Act (Ulcra) on Thursday if the legislature’s functioning is not stalled.
MUMBAI/NAGPUR: The Maharashtra government is planning to repeal the Urban Land Ceiling (Regulation) Act (Ulcra) on Thursday if the legislature’s functioning is not stalled. But that’s a big “if”. Even if the ruling Congress-NCP is ready for Ulcra’s last rites, the moot point is whether it is ready to antagonise the Shiv Sena. The Sena’s ally, the BJP, is fine with Ulcra’s repeal.
State parliamentary affairs minister Harshavardhan Patil said on Wednesday: “Repeal of Ulcra is the most important item on the agenda that remains to be accomplished in the winter session. Chief minister Vilasrao Deshmukh has given a commitment to the centre about repealing the Act.”
Without repealing the Act, the state cannot access funds from the Rs11,000 crore Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM). The centre has set a March 2008 deadline.
Sensing the government’s positive mood, pressure has been building from within for delaying the inevitable till March 2008. In fact, the Sena has been pressuring the government not to rush the repeal at least in this session.
According to a minister, “the mood within (the government) is to pass the Act even if the Sena creates chaos as long as we have the support of Congress, NCP and BJP members in the house.”
A Shiv Sena leader said: “Our protest is not against the Ulcra per se. But we feel cheated as the government has not taken us into confidence before committing itself to the centre about scrapping the Act by 2007-end.” The Sena, he added, would go the extra mile to prevent the Act being passed.
The state government has always used the lack of political consensus as the reason for delaying the Act’s repeal. But observers say the real reason is that it wants to retain some form of political control on surplus lands.
BJP MLA Devendra Fadnavis alleges that the government’s inaction on Ulcra is benefiting builders more than anyone else. “Once the Act is repealed, and land is free for development, the government should put a condition that 50% of it should be reserved for low-cost housing.”
According to a report of the urban development department, the state requires Rs 40,000 crore for transforming Mumbai into a world class city. Non-compliance with JNNURM could lead to delays in major projects, namely the Mumbai Trans Harbour Link (Rs 3,500 crore), the Mumbai Metro (Rs 20,000 crore), the Bandra-Worli-Nariman Point SeaLink (Rs 4,200 crore), and the Mumbai Urban Transport Project-II (Rs 3,600 crore).
Officials also argue that prices of houses will come down in the post-Ulcra era. This is a claim even well-known developer Niranjan Hiranandani, who has been fighting for the Act’s repeal since 1999, makes. But this remains to be seen.
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
)
)
)
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}