Realtors on Wednesday welcomed the West Bengal BJP’s stated support for repealing the Urban Land Ceiling (ULC) Act and enabling easier land aggregation for industry, saying the move could help attract large-scale investments to the state.
Industry players have long argued that fragmented land holdings and regulatory hurdles have discouraged major industrial and real estate projects in Bengal.
“Industry estimates suggest that repealing the ULC Act could unlock over Rs 20,000 crore in fresh investments from private equity firms, institutional funds and developers for land development, housing and commercial projects,” Emami Realty MD and CEO Nitesh Kumar told PTI.
Kumar said the move could also boost state revenues through higher stamp duty and GST collections, while increasing housing supply and improving affordability.
The reactions came after state BJP president Samik Bhattacharya said the party favoured dismantling the Urban Land Ceiling framework and supported government intervention to create viable land banks for industrialisation.
“We have to bring large industries to Bengal to secure a better future for the state. The previous government had no comprehensive land policy. Since land parcels in Bengal are highly fragmented, government intervention is necessary to attract large industries,” Bhattacharya said during an interaction with a business chamber.
The BJP’s stance marks a departure from the policy followed by the Mamata Banerjee-led government, which maintained that private companies should procure land directly from willing owners without state acquisition.
Under the existing law, individuals can hold up to 500 square metres of urban land in category-A cities such as Calcutta, while the ceiling extends to 2,000 square metres in category-D areas like Asansol, Burnpur and Durgapur.
The Trinamul government had opposed repealing the Act, arguing that scrapping it would enable land sharks to corner plots in and around Calcutta, pushing poorer residents out of the city.
Real estate groups, however, had for years urged the Trinamul dispensation to relax or remove land ceiling restrictions, particularly in urban areas, but the government consistently refused to amend the Left-era legislation.
Reacting to the BJP’s position, CREDAI West Bengal president Sushil Mohta said the Urban Land Ceiling framework had become outdated and was now hindering planned urbanisation and industrial expansion.
“The challenge before West Bengal today is no longer land hoarding. The challenge is the lack of large, contiguous and developable land parcels required for modern infrastructure and organised growth,” Mohta told PTI.
He said projects such as IT parks, industrial estates, logistics hubs, hospitals and integrated townships require large-scale planned land assembly, which becomes difficult under restrictive ceiling norms.
According to Mohta, developers are often forced to create multiple entities to hold fragmented parcels for a single project, increasing legal complexity, compliance costs and project delays.
He also noted that several major states — including Maharashtra, Gujarat, Karnataka, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu — had already moved away from the Urban Land Ceiling regime and subsequently attracted investments in industrial parks, IT corridors and integrated townships.
Purti Realty Managing Director Mahesh Agarwal described the BJP’s position as “progressive and pragmatic”, arguing that the 1976 legislation no longer aligns with the requirements of a rapidly industrialising economy.
“Instead of unlocking land for development, it created procedural bottlenecks, deterred investment and led to delays because of litigation and regulatory complexity,” Agarwal said.
“It is encouraging to see the current government taking a forward-looking approach by revisiting such outdated frameworks. This reflects a commitment to ease of doing business, transparency and sustainable development,” he added.
Industry stakeholders believe that easier land aggregation and a simplified approval process could improve investor confidence at a time when Bengal is seeking fresh investments in manufacturing, logistics and commercial real estate.