Land classes
What kind of land is it, and who says so
Land here gets sorted into classes, and the class decides what can lawfully happen to it. The trouble is that the Dholera planning documents use one vocabulary and the Gujarat revenue office uses another, and people mix the two together.
Tenure is just the legal terms on which somebody holds land, and in Gujarat the two you hear most are old tenure, juni sharat, which can be sold freely, and new tenure, navi sharat, which cannot be sold or converted without the collector's permission and usually a payment.
Here is the honest finding of this page. Neither of the two datasets behind this site mentions old tenure, new tenure or restricted tenure even once. Not as a definition, not in passing. The planning documents simply do not work in that vocabulary.
What they do define is the town planning vocabulary: the plot you had, the plot you get back, the shares taken for roads and public use, and a short list of land that is left alone. Those ten classes are set out below, each one quoted from the document that carries it. The missing ones are listed too, because a gap you can see is more useful than a definition somebody wrote from memory.
The ten classes these documents do define
Each row names a class, says in one line what the rule behind it establishes, and links to the exact sentence. Nothing here is paraphrased into existence: if a class is listed, a document defines it.
| Class | What the provision establishes | Provision | Tag |
|---|---|---|---|
| Original plot | The parcel as it stood before the scheme. The Act allows a draft scheme to alter its boundaries, transfer adjoining land into it, or allot a final plot to an owner dispossessed in furtherance of the scheme. | Section 45(2) - Reconstitution of plotsgtpuda.pdf p.34 | OFFICIAL |
| Final plot | The parcel formed by reconstituting an original plot. This is the unit an owner ends up holding, and the Development Plan states its size is in proportion to the original plot and its location as close to it as possible. | Section 45(2) - Reconstitution of plotsgtpuda.pdf p.34 | OFFICIAL |
| Land allotted for roads | Fifteen per cent of the total area covered under the scheme, allotted away from the pool of original plots. | Section 40(3)(jj)(a)[clause (jj) inserted by Guj. 2 of 1999, s. 12; words in para (iii) substituted by Guj. 11 of 2014, s. 13(2)(c)] · gtpuda.pdf p.32 | OFFICIAL |
| Land allotted for parks and open space | Five per cent of the total area covered under the scheme, for parks, play grounds, gardens and open space. | Section 40(3)(jj)(a)[clause (jj) inserted by Guj. 2 of 1999, s. 12; words in para (iii) substituted by Guj. 11 of 2014, s. 13(2)(c)] · gtpuda.pdf p.32 | OFFICIAL |
| Land allotted for social infrastructure | Five per cent, for schools, dispensary, fire brigade and public utility place as earmarked in the draft scheme, and for industrial development. | Section 40(3)(jj)(a)[clause (jj) inserted by Guj. 2 of 1999, s. 12; words in para (iii) substituted by Guj. 11 of 2014, s. 13(2)(c)] · gtpuda.pdf p.32 | OFFICIAL |
| Land allotted for sale by the authority | Fifteen per cent, sold by the appropriate authority for residential, commercial or industrial use, with the proceeds applied to infrastructure. | Section 40(3)(jj)(a)[clause (jj) inserted by Guj. 2 of 1999, s. 12; words in para (iii) substituted by Guj. 11 of 2014, s. 13(2)(c)] · gtpuda.pdf p.32 | OFFICIAL |
| Land reserved for backward class housing | Ten per cent of the total area covered under the scheme, or as near to it as possible, reserved for housing accommodation for socially and economically backward classes. | Section 40(3)(j)[words added by Guj. 11 of 2014, s. 13(2)(b)] · gtpuda.pdf p.31 | OFFICIAL |
| Land excepted from deduction | Gauchar land, water bodies, religious places, burial ground, kabrastan, crematorium and samshan, named as exceptions to the average fifty per cent deduction directed for scheme 3. | SCHEDULE, item 5notif_dtps3.pdf p.2 | OFFICIAL |
| A parcel excepted by name | Survey number 182/P, the pond of village Otariya, directed to be verified and reconstituted without deduction. | SCHEDULE, item 6notif_dtps3.pdf p.2 | OFFICIAL |
| Land retained for public purposes | The parcels the authority keeps after reconstitution, described by the Development Plan as used for public purposes. | Section 10.5 The Proposed Strategy for DSIRdp_report1.pdf p.182 | OFFICIAL |
The plot you had, and the plot you get back
Everything else follows from one distinction. The original plot is the piece of land as it stood before the scheme. The final plot is the piece you are given once the scheme has redrawn the boundaries. The Act sets this out in section 45.
For the purposes of sub-section (1), the draft scheme may contain proposals- (a) to form a final plot by the reconstitution of an original plot by the alteration of its boundaries, if necessary; (b) to form a final plot from an original plot by the transfer of any adjoining lands; ... (d) to allot a final plot to any owner dispossessed of land in furtherance of the scheme;
Gujarat Town Planning and Urban Development Act, 1976, Section 45(2) - Reconstitution of plots, gtpuda.pdf p.34, printed p.27, verbatim, partial quotation OFFICIAL
The Development Plan describes what happens in between.
Under this model, the development authority brings together a group of landowners for the purpose of planning and a Town Planning Scheme for the area is prepared, laying out the roads and plots for public and social amenities. The remaining land is reconstituted into final plots for the original owners, with the size of the final plot in proportion to the size of the original plot, and its location as close as possible to the original plot. Infrastructure costs are recovered by levying a betterment charge on the landowners based on the cost of the infrastructure.
Final Development Plan - DSIRDA, Report - 1, sanctioned by Apex Authority (GIDB) on 10 September 2012, Section 10.4.3 Town Planning Schemes, dp_report1.pdf p.181, printed p.159, verbatim OFFICIAL
What is taken, and what it is taken for
Four allotments and one reservation are the reason a final plot is smaller than the original one. Land goes to roads, to parks and open space, to schools and other public facilities, to a pool the authority may sell to pay for the infrastructure, and to housing for socially and economically backward classes.
Both rules are quoted in full below rather than summarised, for two reasons. The percentages inside them are the entire point. And the copy of the Act we hold has a text layer of such poor quality that it corrupts exactly these numerals, so each one was read again from a picture of the page.
[(jj) (a) allotment of land from the total area covered under the scheme, to the extent of,- (i) fifteen per cent. for roads, (ii) five per cent. for parks, play grounds, gardens and open space, (iii) five per cent. for social infrastructure such as schools, dispensary, fire brigade, public utility place as earmarked in the [Draft Town Planning Scheme and also for industrial development, and] (iv) fifteen per cent. for sale by appropriate authority for residential, commercial or industrial use depending upon the nature of development: Provided that the percentage of the allotment of land specified in paragraphs (i) to (iii) may be altered depending upon the nature of development and for the reasons to be recorded in writing; (b) the proceeds from the sale of land referred to in para (iv) of sub-clause (a) shall be used for the purpose of providing infrastructural facilities; (c) the land allotted for the purposes referred to in paragraphs (ii) and (iii) of sub-clause (a) shall not be changed by variation of schemes for the purpose other than public purpose;]]
Gujarat Town Planning and Urban Development Act, 1976 (President's Act No. 27 of 1976), Section 40(3)(jj)(a) [clause (jj) inserted by Guj. 2 of 1999, s. 12; words in para (iii) substituted by Guj. 11 of 2014, s. 13(2)(c)], gtpuda.pdf p.32, printed p.25, verbatim OFFICIAL
(j) the reservation of land to the extent of ten per cent. or such percentage as near thereto as possible of the total area covered under the scheme, for the purpose of providing housing accommodation to the members of socially and economically backward classes of people [and of such other class of people as may be determined by the State Government];
Gujarat Town Planning and Urban Development Act, 1976, Section 40(3)(j) [words added by Guj. 11 of 2014, s. 13(2)(b)], gtpuda.pdf p.31, printed p.24, verbatim OFFICIAL
| Class | Per cent | The Act's own words |
|---|---|---|
| roads | 15 | fifteen per cent. for roads |
| parks, play grounds, gardens and open space | 5 | five per cent. for parks, play grounds, gardens and open space |
| social infrastructure (schools, dispensary, fire brigade, public utility place as earmarked in the Draft Town Planning Scheme and also for industrial development) | 5 | five per cent. for social infrastructure such as schools, dispensary, fire brigade, public utility place as earmarked in the [Draft Town Planning Scheme and also for industrial development, and] |
| sale by appropriate authority for residential, commercial or industrial use | 15 | fifteen per cent. for sale by appropriate authority for residential, commercial or industrial use depending upon the nature of development |
| housing for socially and economically backward classes | 10 | the reservation of land to the extent of ten per cent. or such percentage as near thereto as possible of the total area covered under the scheme |
These percentages are not fixed for ever. The Act allows the first three to be changed depending on the nature of the development, provided the reasons are written down. The land set aside for parks and for public facilities is treated more strictly: once allotted, it cannot later be changed by altering the scheme except for a public purpose.
The land that is left alone
Not everything inside a scheme gets a share taken out of it. The sanction for scheme 3 names a short list of things that are exempt: grazing land, water bodies, places of worship, burial grounds and cremation grounds.
Maintain average 50% deduction except gauchar land, water bodies, religious places, burial ground, kabrastan, crematorium and samshan.
Apex Authority (GIDB) Notification No. SIRAA/06/2013/439 dated 24-10-2013 sanctioning Dholera Draft Town Planning Scheme No. 3, SCHEDULE, item 5, notif_dtps3.pdf p.2, verbatim OFFICIAL
Average deduction across the scheme is 50 per cent. Gauchar (village grazing) land, water bodies, religious places, burial ground, kabrastan, crematorium and samshan are excepted from that deduction.
One piece of land is singled out by name. A pond in the village of Otariya, held under survey number 182/P, is directed to be checked and given back without any deduction at all.
Verify and reconstitute the survey number 182/P (Pond) of village Otariya without deduction.
Apex Authority (GIDB) Notification No. SIRAA/06/2013/439 dated 24-10-2013, SCHEDULE, item 6, notif_dtps3.pdf p.2, verbatim OFFICIAL
That is the only individual parcel anywhere in our documents that gets its own instruction. It belongs to Otariya, one of the eight villages named on scheme 3. The full list of exemptions, and what each one means, is on the exempt land page.
The words these documents never use
Old tenure and new tenure, juni sharat and navi sharat, restricted tenure, agricultural and non agricultural land. These are the words that usually decide whether a piece of land can be sold to you at all, and whether a premium has to be paid to free it up.
Not one of them appears anywhere in either dataset behind this site. That is a strong claim, so it is checked by machine rather than asserted. Every time this page is generated, the build searches the raw text of both data files for each word and prints the number of times it finds it. The table below is that search result.
| Word | What it would tell you | Found in tp-schemes.json | Found in villages-canonical.json | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| old tenure | juni sharat, unrestricted holding | 0 | 0 | not in source set |
| juni sharat | old tenure, the Gujarati term | 0 | 0 | not in source set |
| new tenure | navi sharat, restricted holding | 0 | 0 | not in source set |
| navi sharat | new tenure, the Gujarati term | 0 | 0 | not in source set |
| restricted tenure | a holding whose transfer needs permission | 0 | 0 | not in source set |
| agricultural land | land held for cultivation | 0 | 0 | not in source set |
| non-agricultural | land permitted for building use | 0 | 0 | not in source set |
| premium | the sum payable to release a restriction | 0 | 0 | not in source set |
| gauchar | grazing land reserved to a village | 2 | 0 | present |
| original plot | the parcel as it stood before the scheme | 15 | 0 | present |
| final plot | the parcel allotted back after the scheme | 17 | 0 | present |
| reconstitut | the act of reshaping a plot under the scheme | 7 | 0 | present |
| deduction | land taken from the plot under the scheme | 21 | 0 | present |
| betterment | the contribution levied on the increment in value | 7 | 0 | present |
Gauchar is the one in-between case. It is named, in the list of land exempt from the deduction in scheme 3, and the data glosses it as village grazing land. But it is never actually defined. Nothing we hold says who owns gauchar, how it is recorded, or what may lawfully be done with it.
We are not going to write the missing definitions from memory. A legal class stated without its Act, its section and its page is worthless to anyone making a decision, and a confident invention would be worse than an admitted gap. If a document carrying these classes ever reaches this record, these rows will fill in. Until then, ask the revenue office, not a website.
Every document we do hold is listed on the documents page, and the complete list of what is missing is on the method page. Plain definitions of every other word on these sheets are on the words page.