Mangaluru City Corporation (MCC) Proposes to Increase Transferable Development Rights (TDR) for Owners Surrendering Land for Road Widening and other development works
Mangaluru: Earlier when landowners gave away their land for road widening or other development works of MCC, they used to get peanuts as Transferable Development Rights (TDR). Now, in a bid to help property owners, especially those who possess small pieces of land in the city, the Mangaluru City Corporation (MCC) has proposed to increase the quantum of transferable development rights (TDR) for the land they surrender for road widening and development works. At present, all property owners who surrender their land for development works, are eligible to receive a TDR of two times the quantum of land surrendered.
Transferable Development Rights or TDR can be considered an important raw material in the real estate industry as it allows the developer to build over and above the permissible Floor Space Index (FSI) under the prevalent rules of the respective locations. On the back of growing urbanization and lack of availability of space, TDR assumes greater importance, especially in the suburban areas of the cities.
When the Government undertakes compulsory acquisition of individual land parcels for creating infrastructural projects, it is required to compensate the land owners. The compensation provided by the Government is usually lower than the market rate, and hence they introduced the concept of Transferable Development Rights. These rights are obtained in the form of certificates, which the owner can use for himself or trade in the market for cash.
The MCC has proposed to increase the TDR for owners by 2.5 times if 15-25% of the total land is acquired; three times if more than 25% of land is acquired; and by four times if an owner is not able to use the remaining piece of land after acquisition. The MCC will be sending a proposal in this regard to the government for necessary amendments to the rules.
Chief whip of the MCC council Premanand Shetty from the BJP said that most of the roads in the city are narrow, and widening the same will help boost the economic and social activities in the city. The rule book says, “As per the TDR Rules 2016, owners are given TDR of two times the quantum of land acquired. Those who surrender a small percentage of their land benefit most through the TDR, as the value of the land will increase when the nearby road is developed. However, those who surrender a major portion of the land may find it difficult to use the remaining land for the construction of buildings. Hence, as per a discussion held with mayor Sudheer Shetty Kannur, the new proposal has been submitted, and the same was approved by the council too,” he said.
The state government will have to make necessary amendments to the TDR rules to implement the proposal in MCC, he added. However, the move has not gone down well with the Congress in the opposition. Corporator AC Vinayaraj from Congress asked as to how the government can amend TDR rules only for one city corporation. “The Mangaluru City Corporation council has decided without considering the legal aspects. It is difficult for the government to make amendments to the TDR rules for one city corporation in the state,” he stated.
