MP: Chief Secretary Anurag Jain Directs Department To Adopt Land Pooling System To Recover Infrastructure Development Cost

Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): Chief Secretary Anurag Jain has instructed that master plans for all cities, including Bhopal, be completed within a set timeframe. Jain issued the direction while reviewing preparations for Master Plans, Land Pooling system, and Simhastha here on Friday.

The officials of Town and Country Planning informed that the Bhopal master plan is almost ready and they expect to publish the new draft of the master plan within a month after receiving approval from the government. Notably, the previous draft of the Bhopal master plan was scrapped following objections from some ministers. 

The Chief Secretary also has emphasized that all departments should go for the land pooling system to recover infrastructure development cost as it would save them from land acquisition exercise. A senior official said that CS wants that all work pertaining to Master Plans is completed promptly and the plans are rolled out in a time-bound manner.  

The official further said that once the new draft of Bhopal master plan is released, claims and objections will be invited and thereafter the draft will be sent to the government for approval. Once the master plan draft is ready then it would take seven to eight months for publication, he added.

“We have done enough work and on getting government nod, we will publish the master plan draft,” the officer said. Before the issuance of the draft of the Bhopal master plan, another round of meeting will be convened at government level. Sources said that meeting was attended by officers of Public Works Department, Industry and some other departments.  

Land pooling system

The land pooling is akin to Town Planning Scheme (TPS), It’s a readjustment mechanism that allows the city to appropriate land from private landowners for public purposes such as roads, open spaces, low income houses, underlying utility infrastructure and other services.

Under land pooling, 50 % developed land is returned to the land owner. The 5 % land is left for open space, 5 % for public amenities and the remaining 20 % plot land is sold to take out infrastructure cost.