Here is some good news for owners of private open plots. The state urban development department (UDD) has hinted that the ban on construction in over 1,100 open plots covering 72 lakh square meters, which fell in green belt area, will be lifted. An official intimation in this respect will be made to the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) in the coming few days, according to state urban development department sources. Many see this as an election move.

However, a noncommittal Ahmedabad municipal commissioner Guruprasad Mohapatra said, “I am yet to receive an official intimation on lifting of the ban on green belt plots from the urban development department. That’s all I can say.” The development plan of 2002 had in all put 1,400 private plots under the ‘green zone’ which restricted owners from construct anything on the plot. A large portion of these plots lay in the new west zone, claim officials.

Real estate developers in the city are eagerly waiting for a notification as it will open a huge land bank for residential development. “For gardens and open space, the minimum amount of land was to be 800 square meters as per prevailing laws. But all these private plots were 600 sq mt, 250 sq mt and 300 sq mt in area. This was because many of these green belt plots saw private construction and people were coming forward to pay impact fees for occupying a portion of these plots,” said a senior AMC official.

It was in 2009 that a requisition was sent to the urban development department to de-reserve 1,400 plots, out of which the UDD is said to have approved the applications from owners of 1,100 plots. “There is a lot of pressure on the city in terms of urban housing. With satellite towns fast developing into industrial hubs, such as Sanand, this policy will help solving the problem of affordable housing,” added the official.