Realtors Endorse BJP's Proposal to Scrap Urban Land Ceiling Act for Enhanced Investment in West Bengal

West Bengal BJP's Stance on Urban Land Ceiling Act Draws Praise from Realtors

The West Bengal BJP's stated position in favour of revoking the Urban Land Ceiling (ULC) Act has been welcomed by realtors, who believe the move could help attract large-ticket investments to the state. The BJP's stance, announced by state president Samik Bhattacharya, aims to facilitate land aggregation for industry and ease regulatory hurdles that have long deterred major projects in the state.

According to industry estimates, repealing the ULC Act could unlock over Rs 20,000 crore in new investments from private equity, institutional funds, and developers for land development, housing, and commercial projects. This would boost state revenues through higher stamp duty, GST collections, and related economic activity, while improving housing affordability via increased supply.

The ULC Act has been criticized for creating fragmented land holdings and regulatory hurdles that deter major projects. Nitesh Kumar, MD and CEO of Emami Realty, described the proposals as "game-changing" for the real estate sector. He noted that the Act had become outdated and was now acting as a bottleneck for planned urbanisation and industrial growth.

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The BJP's position contrasts with the policy followed by the government led by Mamata Banerjee, which has maintained that land for industry should be procured directly by private companies from willing owners without state acquisition. However, industry stakeholders believe that easier aggregation of land parcels and simplified approval systems could improve investor confidence at a time when the state is seeking fresh industrial investments across manufacturing, logistics, and commercial real estate sectors.

Comparison of States' Approaches to Urban Land Ceiling Regime

Industry stakeholders, including Sushil Mohta, president of CREDAI West Bengal, and Mahesh Agarwal, Managing Director of Purti Realty, have welcomed the BJP's stance, describing it as "progressive and pragmatic". They noted that the 1976 legislation no longer aligned with the needs of a rapidly industrialising economy and created procedural bottlenecks, deterred investment, and led to significant delays due to litigation and regulatory complexity.

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