City's salt pan land gets freed up for real estate
Rajesh Unnikrishnan MUMBAI

    HUGE tracts of privately-owned salt pan land would be made available for
redevelopment in Mumbai if last week's Bombay High Court order is any
indication. The court has set aside three legal suits filed by the Union
government against Lok Housing and Suresh J Thanawala over 175 acres of salt
pan land in Turbhe, Navi Mumbai, which was sold by Mr Thanawala to Lok
Housing. Mr Thanawala, the original land owner of the salt pan, sold the
land to Lok Housing in 1994.

    The Union government had earlier opposed the use of salt pan land for
real estate development. The court has now cleared the way for redevelopment
and asked the Union government not to create any legal obstructions for the
developer.

    It is estimated that Mumbai has over 2,000 acres of privately-owned salt
pans that are owned by developers and industrial houses like the Godrej
group, the Ajmera group and Lok Housing.

    "Since the court has allowed Lok Housing to carry out the redevelopment
of land, they are now settling various other issues with the commerce
ministry," said industry sources. However, legal experts feel that
redevelopment of salt pan land depends upon the kind of land and its
location. "If it is land leased from the government, the private developer
can't do anything and it all depends upon the Centre. In the case of
privately-owned land, the developer can redevelop it if the court permits.
But in Mumbai, privately-owned salt pan land is negligible," Divyakant
Mehta, advocate, Divyakant Mehta and Associates, said.

    With land prices in Mumbai getting dearer by the day, more and more
people are looking at salt pans, which are considered by developers and
builders as the answer to the city's housing problems. Mumbai and its
suburbs have over 6,000 acres of salt land - both privately-owned and
lease-held - under litigation. Various cases are pending with the high court
and the Supreme Court on the issue. If the Thanawala case sets a precedent,
huge tracts of privately-owned land will be available for redevelopment,
industry officials said.

    Senior officials with Knight Frank India said there are 3-4 kinds of
salt pan agreements in Mumbai, involving the developers, the state and the
Union government. Salt pan housing may need private help

    "REDEVELOPMENT of the land would depend on the kind of agreement they
have entered into with the government," they said.

    Last month, the prime minister had cleared the redevelopment of the
government-owned salt pans in Mumbai to rehabilitate slum dwellers. It is
likely that more land will come up for redevelopment.

    However, it is not yet clear how the land will be allocated or who will
develop it. "The methodology is not stated. There has to be some
participation from private developers in construction," said an official
from Hiranandani Constructions.

    While the development of unused salt pan land is viewed as an answer to
the city's housing problem, the project will require massive funding. Real
estate dealers feel that the redevelopment could get delayed unless the
private sector is allowed to participate.


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