Seminar: Public lands for public needs: how we can optimize returns from a dormant asset for national needs, Tuesday, February 28, 11:00 am

[Barun]

---------- Forwarded message ----------

From: Arijit Das <ad...@idfresearch.org>

Date: 20 February 2017 at 15:16

Subject: Invitation: Policy Series seminar@IDF on Land

To: Iqbal <isha...@idfresearch.org>

 

Public lands for public needs: how we can optimize returns from a dormant asset for national needs

Tuesday, February 28, 11:00 am, Viceregal, 2nd floor, The Claridges, 12, Dr APJ Abdul Kalam Road, New Delhi, 110011

 

On behalf of India Development Foundation (IDF) I am delighted to invite you to our next Policy Series seminar@IDF, followed by lunch, on Tuesday, February 28 at 11 am.

Reforming management of public lands is crucial for developing smart cities and dealing with the next set of governance challenges for a rapidly urbanising India. Solutions for improving land management lie at the heart of the next phase of the India story. How government can use lands it controls more creatively to create  new value  and solve development challenges is a key challenge for policymakers. This is essential not just for managing the challenges of urbanization and industrialization but also has huge political and social implications with large numbers of rural workers moving out of farming into big cities as migrants.

This seminar examines how government currently deals with surplus government lands in Indian cities, how this compares with other democracies (such as US, UK, Canada, Australia etc) and suggests optimal solutions for India. It also examines the vexed question of land acquisition and how our processes can be optimized for the greatest economic and social benefit for  the country.

 

Presenter: Shubhashis Gangopadhyay (Research Director, IDF and member, Ministry of Defence committee on land utilisation)

 

Discussant: Sumit Bose (Chairman, Ministry of Defence committee on land  utilization and  former Finance Secretary) 

 

Moderator: Nalin Mehta (Senior Fellow, IDF)

 

Program:

1100-1215: Presentation and panel discussion

1215-1245: Q and A with panel

1245: Lunch

 

Since seating is limited, we kindly request you to RSVP to this email at your earliest convenience. 

I would be grateful if you could confirm your participation to Iqbal Shariff at isha...@idfresearch.org 

 

I look forward to seeing you there.

 

Thanks and regards,

 

Shanthi

Director

INDIA DEVELOPMENT FOUNDATION

4101, DLF Phase IV, 

Near Vipul Square Building,

Sushant Lok B Block

Gurgaon -122002 INDIA

Phone : 91 11 4381691 to 4381694 Fax : 91 11 4381695  

Mobile : 91 9445162166

Email :dire...@idfresearch.org

Website : idfresearch.org

[Barun]

Dr Shubhashis Gangopadhyay's presentation providing a global perspective and possibilities of reforming public land management, was based on the following paper.

Barun 

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India’s Public Lands: Responsive, Transparent, and Fiscally Responsible Asset Management

Patricia Clarke Annez and Shubhashis Gangopadhyay

(Editors’ Note)

1. Introduction

India’s public land holdings are vast and valuable

India’s public land holdings are one of government’s most significant tangible assets, whether in the hands of central ministries, state governments, or local bodies. They occupy substantial acreage in

high value urban areas and around major ports. A pilot inventory of public lands in the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation indicates that 32 per cent of all developed and developable land—that is, excluding the road network, water bodies, and railway lines—is public land with the Corporation. The Union Government departments and organizations are the largest landowners in the country. There is no definitive publicly available inventory of central land holdings, but a study of published sources indicates that these holdings are very large and potentially underutilized.3 The 13 Major Port Trusts hold around 100,000 hectares of land in all. The Airports Authority of India controls 20,400 hectares of high-value land surrounding major airports. Indian Railways has identified 43,000 hectares of its massive landholdings as unnecessary for railway service, and estimated the value of this excess land at some US$40 billion. The Ministry of Defence is India’s largest landowner. Its holdings amount to over 700,000 acres, of which about 0.7 lakh acres are out of cantonments—many of them in prime urban areas. A pilot public land inventory for Ahmedabad estimates that the relatively small but very well located Ahmedabad cantonment occupies about 7 per cent of total developed and developable land in the city. 

Valuing all of India’s public lands is a difficult task given (i) the absence of publicly available information on public land holdings; (ii) incomplete public information regarding existing leasing transactions; and (iii) the paucity of public land transactions through an open and competitive market mechanism that would reflect the actual market values of these lands. Wherever such competitive transactions have taken place, the valuation has been very significant indeed. For instance, in 2006 and 2007, the Metropolitan Mumbai Regional Development Authority (MMRDA) leased out 13 hectares of land in the Bandra Kurla complex in Mumbai for about Rs. 5000 crores, or roughly ten times the MMRDA annual infrastructure budget and five times the Mumbai Municipal Corporation budget!

... ... ...

The original paper (2013) is available here. 

http://idfresearch.org/race/special-issue-india-s-public-lands-responsive-transparent-and-fiscally-responsible-asset-management.html