The state plans to grant residential development rights on no-development zones and agricultural plots — considered to be ecologically sensitive areas — at a premium of 5% of the plot’s ready reckoner rate in all D class municipal corporations. These include Solapur, Kolhapur, Ahmednagar, Aurangabad, Jalgaon, Dhule, Amravati, Chandrapur, Latur, Malegaon, Parbhani, Akola, Sangli-Miraj and Nanded-Vaghela.

However, residential development rights on such plots will be given only for projects undertaken under the ‘housing for all’ mission, formulated under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY). The state urban development department has published a draft notification, inviting suggestions and objections to the proposal.

The government permits restrictive development — with a floor space index (FSI) of 0.2 to 0.4 — for services such as golf clubs, amusement parks, shooting ranges, wayside highway amenities, educational institutions, research and development institutions and agricultural education. FSI refers to the ratio of the built-up area to the plot area.

Since it came to power in 2014, the BJP-led state government has taken several measures to unlock agricultural land for industries across the state. The government has also been pushing to free no-development zones and salt-pan lands, especially in Mumbai, for low-cost housing. It has backed up its argument by saying these areas are not called “never development zones” and were originally set aside for future development.