The Uttar Pradesh government has given the green signal to development authorities in different parts of the state. to grant approval independently for the conversion of agricultural lands into residential areas for projects carried out under the Chief Minister’s Urban Expansion Scheme. The officials informed that the decision will be instrumental in cutting the approval timelines to a great extent. It will also usher in a smooth flow of the process where there will not be any procedural bottlenecks that have been causing delays in large-scale projects for a long time.
The new rule has been added in Section 13 of the UP Urban Planning and Development Act, 1973, which deals with changes in the master plan and the zonal development plan. The power to grant the change of land use from agricultural to residential has been with the state government only, which has resulted in delays that have taken longer than expected due to the checking of the files by different levels of the hierarchy.
According to officials, the housing and urban planning department issued a formal communication on December 10, authorising the boards of development authorities to approve land-use conversions for projects specifically undertaken under the Chief Minister’s Urban Expansion Scheme. The communication was signed by P Guruprasad, principal secretary, housing and urban planning department.
Officials said the objective behind decentralising the approval process is to ensure that urban expansion projects move swiftly from the planning stage to on-ground execution. “The land identified for most urban expansion projects is agricultural in nature and must be converted before any development can begin. Allowing local development authorities to approve these changes will cut down delays and help meet project timelines,” an official said as per HT.
Relief for Ghaziabad Development Authority
It is quite apparent that the change of policy in Ghaziabad will influence the Ghaziabad Development Authority (GDA) to a large extent, in general, the Harnandipuram residential area project, which, up to now, is the biggest scheme for a new residential area in the district.
GDA Vice-chairperson Nand Kishor Kalal stated that the change of power would be instrumental in speeding up the project completion process.“Earlier, the land use conversion authority was with the state government. However, now the boards of these development authorities can approve such changes to speed up projects. In Ghaziabad, this will benefit the GDA’s upcoming Harnandipuram housing project,” Kalal said.
The Harnandipuram project covering 521 hectares is planned in the vicinity of Raj Nagar Extension whose development has accelerated in recent years. The local administration said that the site designated for the development is presently zoned as an agricultural area, Consequently, changing the land use will be necessary before any building and roadwork can be done.
Faster clearances, quicker execution
The Harnandipuram project, sprawling over 521 hectares, is planned near Raj Nagar Extension, which is a locality that has experienced fast urbanisation in the last couple of years. An official statement mentioned that the area designated for the project is presently considered as a farming zone, hence changing the land-use will be the obligatory very first step before any building or infrastructure work can be initiated.
GDA officials shared that under the older system, getting the green light for land-use changes was usually a lengthy process that involved a lot of letters between the local administration and the state government, which in turn, caused the delay of the project schedules and increased the costs.
Rudresh Shukla, the GDA media coordinator, said that the new system would give the way for the authorities to coordinate land acquisition, planning approvals and construction work more smoothly.
“Earlier, such conversions required state government’s approvals, which often consumed time. Now, the development authorities, GDA in Ghaziabad’s case, will be able to fast-track the land use conversion process and expedite the ground-level works for the Harnandipuram project,” Shukla said.
He also mentioned that quicker approvals would allow local officials to prepare infrastructure facilities like roads, water supply, and sewerage systems more efficiently as they would not have to deal with the uncertainty of land-use status.
The Greater Development Authority (GDA) intends to start the initial phase of the Harnandipuram project within five months, officials said. This, however, would depend on the completion of land acquisition and other formalities related to conversion of land. The first phase of the area expansion is going to be a 100 to 120 hectares land acquisition drive from village households, the authority has set the target to get approximately that much land.
Urban planning experts said the decision could have a broader influence across the whole of Uttar Pradesh. They specified that effect might be most noticeable in rapidly developing urban areas like Noida, Greater Noida, Lucknow, Kanpur, and Prayagraj where the demand for housing keeps on increasing.
The government favors the system of decentralizing decision-making while simultaneously retaining the approval function within the statutory development authority boards as a means of achieving a balance between the efficiency and the regulatory oversight.
Officials have said that even in the presence of such changes, they will still be in agreement with master plans and zoning development norms that have been approved.
“The intent is not to bypass planning regulations but to make the process more responsive and time-bound,” an official said, adding that the state government would continue to monitor projects approved under the scheme to ensure compliance with planning and environmental norms.
The move, officials believe, will help accelerate planned urbanisation, improve housing supply, and support infrastructure-led growth across the state.
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