People in rush to convert farms into realty projects

There is a huge rush for the conversion of agriculture land to non-agriculture land for commercial and residential purposes.

The demand is high in areas surrounding the new district headquarters. Approvals have been issued for conversion of 600 acres after the new districts were announced and applications for conversion of another 800 acre are pending.

Amid complaints of corruption in local bodies to grant approvals, the government has constituted a state-level technical committee comprising senior IAS officers to accord approvals.

The government had kept land use conversion applications pending for the last one year after huge irregularities came to light in according approvals in HMDA limits.

The government had ordered an inquiry into all land use conversion approvals which revealed that irregularities had taken place not only under HMDA limits but also in municipal corporations, municipalities.

However, with the creation of 21 new districts, the demand for land use conversion has increased with realtors trying to cash in on the realty boom in new district headquarters. The committee recently met and examined these applications. After thorough scrutiny, it found that only 95 applications out of nearly 200 were eligible for approval.

Many of the applications pertained to construction of malls, schools, hospitals, showrooms etc.

Farm land parcels sought for non-agriculture uses range from five acres to 10 acres. Applicants sought to use only 20 per cent of space for commercial purposes and 80 per cent for residential.

APPROVALS have been issued for conversion of 600 acres after the new districts were announced and applications for conversion of another 800 acre are pending.