Government of Maharashtra says that builders do not need to give excess land – SC Approves.

By Abhay Shah, Realty Quarter

Under the new defunct Urban Land (Ceilings and Regulation) Act (ULCRA), builders will no longer have to surrender surplus land for public housing. On Tuesday, the Supreme Court approved the consent terms which was signed between the state government and the builder’s body, Maharashtra Chamber of Housing Industry.

The agreement says that builders can now only pay the state a one-time fee to the government to maintain the surplus land rather than hand them over for public housing. Whilst ULCRA was abolished in 2007, the State government ruled that builders who had not surrendered their land at the time of legislation were still responsible to do so.

In 2014, the Maharashtra Government had been ruled by the Bombay High Court, asserting that builders can’t avoid this liability. The HC had granted the state to retrieve the surplus land for public housing from private property owners for infringement of the now-defeated Act. The builders (MCHI) questioned the SC judgment but concluded a deal with the state.

“The Supreme Court’s acceptance of the conditions indicates that ULCRA has been eventually buried,” said Nayan Shah, MCHI President. The Trade Union Joint Action Committee, comprising 40 major trade unions in the state and Nivara Abhiyan opposed the consent terms within the SC, arguing that the state favoured landowners.