Be transparent on urban land, Reddy tells states
20 Dec 2010
The central government on Friday asked the states to follow a transparent system for disposal of land for development of urban infrastructure, including housing.
"The state governments must take steps for transparent disposal of land for urban purpose ... how can land in Delhi and Mumbai be more expensive than Manhattan?" union urban development minister S Jaipal Reddy said at a function in New Delhi.
Reddy said he would take up this issue with chief ministers in a meeting of sub-committee of the National Development Council (NDC) scheduled for next month.
The minister said the high cost of land is an obstruction for development of affordable urban infrastructure.
"If farmers are willing to sell land, then state governments should play a role of facilitator in those land deals ... farmers don't know exact prices of lands," Reddy said.
Taking a dig at the real estate developers developing luxury projects, Reddy said, "When there was boom, everyone was building fancy apartments with Italian marble. I don't know - if the Taj Mahal can be built with Indian marble, why can't they build houses with Indian marble?"
