UP township developers have land bank of over 11,650 hectares

Total private investments touch Rs 8,400 crore

Private developers have amassed total land bank of over 11,650 hectares in Uttar Pradesh for the hi-tech and integrated townships underdevelopment in urban centres.

While, 8,172 hectares had been acquired/assembled by the developers for hi-tech townships, 3,481 hectares had been amassed for the integrated townships.

As per the budget document of the state housing and urban planning department tabled in the UP assembly today, the private developers had made total investment of almost Rs 8,400 crore in these ongoing projects.

These townships are being developed under the respective Hi-tech Township Policy of 2003 and Integrated Township Policy of 2005. The two policies were primarily aimed at attracting private investment in housing projects in the urban areas, given the constraints of government funds in meeting the explosive demand for houses.

Earlier, the state had cleared proposals for 13 hi-tech township projects. Of these, Detailed Project Report (DPR) were subsequently approved for 10 projects and actual work could begun in 5 projects located at Lucknow, Allahabad, Ghaziabad and Bulandshahr.

These hi-tech townships had collectively constructed about 8,400 dwelling units, of which 850 pertained to the economically weaker sections (WES) and low income groups (LIG).

Under the Hi-tech Township Policy, a private developer is mandated to develop hi-tech township equipped with modern amenities conforming to international standard by investing at least Rs 1,000 crore over 1,500 acres of land.

Besides creating dwelling spaces with the help of private funds, these townships were supposed to create jobs and attract private investment in other segments as tourism and IT.

Under the Integrated Township Policy, the total housing demand had been pegged at 1.6 million units during the previous 11th Five Year Plan (2007-12). A private developers could develop townships spread over 25 acres to a maximum of 500 acres in urban areas. So far, 31 developers had been issued licenses and DPR approved in 15 cases.