Urban News

In the upcoming Airport City in Mohali, the first residential urban estate to be developed by the Greater Mohali Area Development Authority (GMADA), 31 per cent of the plots will be reserved under various categories.

For this second urban estate in Mohali — the first one was developed by the Punjab Urban Planning and Development Authority (PUDA) in Sector 76-80 almost a decade ago — GMADA has carved out 3,950 plots of seven different sizes. These plots will be allotted through a draw of lots, a senior GMADA official disclosed.

Of these plots, 1,225 (31 per cent) will be under the reserved category — 15 per cent for scheduled castes/scheduled tribes; 4 per cent plots for serving and retired personnel of the defence and paramilitary forces, including war widows; 3 per cent for physically handicapped/blind; 2 per cent each for freedom fighters, gallantry award winners, legal heirs of personnel of defence/armed forces killed in action and international medal-winner sportspersons; and 1 per cent for completely disabled soldiers of Punjab.

But if plots are left in the reserved category, they will be offered under the general category. Those who own any residential site allotted by any government agency in Mohali will not be eligible to apply.

These plots will be handed over to the allottees after the development work completes, which has to be done in less than two-and-a-half-years, failing which the GMADA will pay 10 per cent interest on the deposited amount. Work orders will be issued after the pre-bid meeting with the contractors on April 18,” GMADA Chief Administrator (CA) Vivek Partap Singh said.

Soon after the announcement of the land acquisition award, expected very shortly, applications will be invited.

In the urban estate, around 800 plots will be of 200 square yards each, 700 of 300 and 125 square yards each, 650 of 500 square yards, 550 of 150 square yards, 500 of 250 square yards and 50 plots of 400 square yards each. These plots will be allotted at Rs 12,000 per square yard (Rs 3 lakh per marla).

Applicants will be required to deposit 10 per cent of the plot amount as earnest money with the application form.

The urban estate will come up on 771.34 acres of land along both sides of the 200-feet-wide road from Sector 66-66-A to Chhat village, up to National Highway-64.

GMADA will have to pay cash compensation to 90 per cent farmers
GMADA has received a poor response from land owners to the Land Pooling Scheme (LPS) — under the scheme an owner will get a residential and a commercial plot in the estate.

“So far only 10 per cent farmers owning around 80 acres have expressed interest in the LPS,” an official said.

Now, around 90 per cent of the owners will have to be given cash compensation. At the tentative award of Rs 1.5 crore per acre, the total compensation will amount to over Rs 1,000 crore, the official said.