HMDA invites proposals for Land Pooling and Area Development, with an eye on investments

The Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority (HMDA) has started the ground work for local area development and land pooling policy, by inviting proposals for carrying out the same through open tenders on Friday.

A request for proposals (RFP) was notified by the urban development body, through which proposals were sought from experienced consultants for Land Pooling and Area Development (LADP).

The RFP document has admitted to lacunae in implementation of master plans in the HMDA jurisdiction, particularly with respect to major, arterial and sub-arterial roads, many of which remain unexecuted, resulting in landlocked parcels that are inaccessible for development in a phased manner, the RFP document said.

As a consequence, development in many parts of the Hyderabad Metropolitan Region (HMR) has been unstructured, unregulated, and often unauthorised, lacking access to roads, utilities, and essential public services. Due to this, HMDA is often compelled to ‘retrofit’ the infrastructure in response to unplanned growth, which is inefficient and costly, and also undermines the long-term vision of equitable and sustainable urbanisation.

With regard to land pooling, the existing legal framework suffers from limited implementability, lacking the robustness required to support ‘large-scale, integrated, participatory and inclusive’ urban development initiatives, the RFP document said, listing the concerns HMDA seeks to address through LPAD, put forth as a ‘transformative planning and implementation strategy’.

It is modelled after successful town planning schemes in Gujarat and Bhubaneswar, and enables equitable reconstitution of land, bundling of trunk infrastructure, and structured release of developable plots, it said.

“This participatory approach ensures that both landowners and the public sector benefit from coordinated urban expansion. A critical objective is to democratise road access across the metropolitan region, ensuring that no parcel remains isolated or excluded from development opportunities. LPAD will also serve as a powerful tool for Master Plan implementation, especially along proposed growth corridors such as Regional Ring Road (RRR) and Radial roads, where Government of Telangana envisions the development of theme-based satellite townships and transit-oriented zones,” the document read.

The consultant agency is expected to provide end-to-end support in the rollout of LPAD, including legal, regulatory & implementation framework to function within. The agency should identify at least 10 potential sites of around 5,000 acres each in consultation with HMDA based on the Master Plan, and prepare a concept report for each of these sites. Based on the concept reports, HMDA will shortlist two projects, and the agency should conduct pre-feasibility studies for both the projects.

The agency will conduct a reconnaissance survey to assess conditions of the sites, evaluate the sites based on existing land use patterns and permissible activities, conduct proximity analysis to understand the potential for monetising surplus land assets, and estimate the cost of development of infrastructure. It will also undertake a land valuation analysis, and projected post-scheme development values, besides preparing a preliminary financial viability analysis covering projected returns, phasing and risk factors. A market survey to gauge investor sentiment and expectations, and formulation of strategies to attract private investment too are part of the agreement to be signed with the agency.

Based on the analytics, HMDA will choose one site out of the two, where the consultant agency will have to conduct a pilot project.