NCR real estate may get costlierThe draft Land Acquisition and Resettlement and Rehabilitation Bill, 2011 will have a direct impact on real estate prices in Delhi and neighbouring Gurgaon, Faridabad and Noida — if it becomes law. The bill’s proposals that no irrigated and multi-crop land can be acquired and compensation must be much higher than present will impact land prices in Noida, Gurgaon and Faridabad, making it more expensive.

A Noida authority source said, “Since most of the land in this belt is irrigated, if this draft becomes law, there will be scarcity of land for housing and other commercial projects.” Since the government will have to pay a minimum two times the market price for any land to be acquired, this will also have a domino effect on land bought by private builders.

There is already a dispute in the Greater Noida area over compensation, which has put several thousand housing units in limbo. Gurgaon and other Haryana towns are likely to be less affected. The state government has already kept itself away from any acquisition for private projects. The builders deal with the farmers directly. But if the bill becomes law, increased compensation — and a likely shortage in Noida — could hike prices here as well.

In Delhi, senior Delhi Development Authority (DDA) officials said they have a sufficient land bank for development projects. DDA sources said Delhi Masterplan 2021 envisaged the creation of a land pool by builders themselves for all future housing projects. But former DDA officials pointed out that the authority will have to work out a plan to get one-third of land required for roads, social infrastructure like police stations and physical infrastructure like waterline, drainage and solid waste management.