5 years late, Maharashtra to scrap land ceiling law

Five years after the Maharashtra government said it would do away with the Urban Land Ceiling and Regulation Act, it’s all set to issue an ordinance to this effect. The proposed ordinance, to be discussed in the Cabinet next week, is likely to be in force from July 1 and will not apply to Mumbai, Thane and Pune immediately. The Act will be repealed in these cities in a phased manner.

All states except Maharashtra and West Bengal have scrapped the Act.

The Act of 1976 imposes a ceiling on holding land in urban areas beyond a certain limit—500 square metres in Mumbai city.

According to officials, the land rendered excess under the Act in the entire State is 8,978 hectares. Of this, 6,334 hectares have been acquired by the government.

The Centre made the repeal a pre-condition for eligibility for funds under the urban renewal mission which aims to upgrade infrastructure in 63 cities.