Chandigarh: The Haryana Cabinet, chaired by Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini, on Tuesday approved the Land Pooling Policy-2026 at its meeting on November 3, replacing the Land Pooling Policy-2022. The policy is aimed at planned urban and industrial development in which landowners participate voluntarily instead of facing compulsory acquisition.

Source: The Unmute

Under the new policy, landowners who pool their land will receive 50 per cent of the project's total saleable area back as developed plots, including commercial sites according to their entitlement, while the development agency retains the other 50 per cent. Under the 2022 policy, the landowner's entitlement was linked to the market value of the undeveloped land.

Source: The Realty Times

Landowners will also receive interim assistance of Rs 1 lakh per acre per year for four years, counted from the registration of the sale deed. If the developed plots are not transferred within 15 days of the sale-deed registration, the landowner will be paid simple interest at 9 per cent per annum for the period of delay, according to The Realty Times report.

The completion timeline has been tightened: project infrastructure must now be completed within four years of final project approval, down from five years earlier. If the agency fails to complete the project in time, the land will revert to the original owners along with additional compensation of Rs 5 lakh per acre; a one-year extension is possible if 75 per cent of the participating landowners agree, the report said.

Minimum plot sizes have been fixed at 100 square metres for residential, 250 square metres for industrial and 500 square metres for institutional use, and owners may opt for larger plots matching their share. Contributors of more than 2,000 square metres may qualify for commercial plots such as kiosks and booths, while those contributing less than 999 square metres will receive monetary compensation under the RFCTLARR Act, 2013, or the reserve price, whichever is higher. Land Entitlement Certificates can be combined so that owners can apply jointly for larger plots, and the agency's buy-back window for allotted plots has been extended from one year to three years.

On the process, the Haryana Shehri Vikas Pradhikaran (HSVP) and the Haryana State Industrial and Infrastructure Development Corporation (HSIIDC) will identify project sites, or landowners may offer land voluntarily through registered aggregators; registered land aggregators will receive remuneration of 0.5 per cent of the agricultural collector rate of the revenue estate, paid by the agency after the sale deeds. Land pooling through the e-Bhoomi portal is excluded under the new policy. After in-principle approval, the identified land, ownership and individual contributions will be published, land records will carry a restriction on transfers without the agency's prior approval, owners will have 30 days to convey their consent after shares are published, and sale deeds are to be executed in the agency's favour within 60 days of final approval.

The policy is positioned as a route to planned growth in high-demand urban and industrial areas, with Gurugram, Faridabad and Panchkula cited in analysis of the policy as regions where demand for developed land is strong.