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The Bengal government is taking steps to modernize a 68-year-old law, The West Bengal Land Reforms Act 1955, to allow for commercial and industrial use of government land. In an effort to increase revenue for the state, the government is expected to introduce a bill in the state assembly during the budget session that would offer lifelong possession of land parcels to commercial entities, instead of the previous norm of 99-year leases.
This change in policy marks a significant shift for the Trinamool government, as the government had previously decided to offer land plots to industries on a 99-year lease. However, the proposed bill is expected to unlock government land for the industry, and many land parcels in Kolkata would also be offered to industries, with the exception of khas land (used for personal cultivation) and land under bargadari.
In order to bring this change into effect, the state government is considering amending section 3A of the 1955 act, which deals with the "right of the non-agricultural tenants and under-tenants in non-agricultural lands to vest in the state." The state will also need to amend and introduce new clauses in the 1955 act relating to the payment for the land. Currently, to obtain a land lease, 95% of the market price of the land must be paid in advance and 0.4% of the land price must be paid annually. To obtain freehold rights, an additional 10% of the land price must be paid.
Investors have been pushing for freehold land due to its bankability, and the government can earn more revenue by offering it as freehold instead of on lease. The government made an exception to its 2012 policy in 2017, when it granted 50 acres of land freehold to Infosys, with the condition that the company would use 51% of the plot for IT and ITeS services. In September 2022, the Housing Infrastructure Development Corporation invited applications for freehold transfer of a 10-acre government plot for residential and commercial use, but these actions were taken on a case-by-case basis, without a general policy guideline.
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