KOCHI: State govt is unlikely to amend rules regarding land pooling for the proposed Phase III campus of Infopark and Greater Cochin Development Authority (GCDA) will resume land pooling procedures soon.
Earlier, GCDA, which was appointed the agency for pooling land, had approached state govt demanding amendments to land pooling rules notified by govt. However, in a meeting convened on Tuesday, principal secretary informed GCDA that govt cannot take any initiative to amend the rule soon and acquisition procedures cannot be delayed for amendment procedures.
The township model Phase III campus is going to be developed on more than 300 acres in Kunnathunad constituency. Govt decided to implement the project through land pooling and notified rules of land pooling for land acquisition procedures.
GCDA demanded inclusion of rules as part of Kerala Town and Country Planning Act, 2016. In land pooling method, owner gets back 60% of original land after project implementation and land value will be three to four times more than the original value.
“Though existing rules have many conditions which may create difficulties in future, we will resume procedures soon,” said a GCDA source.
As Infopark expansion is the first project in the state through land pooling, GCDA had organized a workshop to discuss the method in detail. In the event, several experts from other states, which already experimented with the method, cited lack of clarity in the notified rules. They had emphasized the need for modifications in land pooling steps. Experts had suggested incorporating these rules into town planning act to prevent potential legal complications in future.
