(Above and below) A new town planning model is set to be adopted in the new areas for housing projects in Bhubaneswar. Telegraph pictures

Bhubaneswar, Oct. 21: The housing and urban development department now plans to adopt a “town planning scheme’’ (TPS) in the new areas for housing projects to ensure holistic and uniform development benefits to all, as real-estate developers are seeking land with adequate infrastructure on the city outskirts.

Adopted as per the model developed by the Gujarat government, the scheme has become a success story and now people in Gujarat are coming up to the state administration to include areas of their locality under TPS.

As per the model, the land required for development of infrastructure such as roads, drainage outlets and community centres would be taken out from the entire plot available in a unit plan area so that no one can lose their land.

“The Bhubaneswar Development Authority (BDA) is planning to have this model and have already started examining it,’’ said housing and urban development secretary Sourabh Garg on the sidelines of the inaugural session of the four-day property expo organised by the Confederation of Real Estate Developers Association of India, (CREDAI), Orissa branch.

Earlier, members of the real-estate body had expressed that land openings are becoming restricted considering the housing pressure in the city. It has resulted in construction activity in restricted zones like low-lying and flood-hit areas. Explaining the model adopted by Gujarat, a senior BDA official said: “With the new model, an area will be developed by taking out land for infrastructure so that all land owner will contribute their share. In a normal development process, if a 100-ft road passes through a certain area, one person has to lose a piece of land, while another gets the benefit of development as the new road increases the potential land price of the latter. But with TPS, as the land for infrastructure is taken from all landowners proportionately, no one loses anything. Every piece of land is resized again so that it has equal access to the available infrastructure.’’

“In the beginning, the model will be tried at satellite townships such as South City and upcoming areas on the city outskirts such as Pahala and Johala,’’ the BDA official said.

Interestingly, the TPS is already present under Chapter VI of the Orissa Development Act, 1982. But, while the scheme has already become popular in Gujarat, it is yet to kick-start in Orissa.

However, the pilot project is likely to start on the city outskirts, as rescheduling of the land is only possible in the upcoming localities. Rescheduling of land is not possible in the core city area where the construction activity is at its peak and there is no scope to change the concrete structures. CREDAI national president Lalit Jain said: “After having the a comprehensive development plan for so many years, if Bhubaneswar cannot have adequate land with infrastructure then real-estate development is going to suffer. There should also be incentive for builders to get concession on floor area ratio (FAR) if they help build the infrastructure of a particular area. FAR calculates the height of a building in proportion to the adjacent road near a multi-storeyed structure.’’