Bhubaneswar: The Bhubaneswar Development Authority (BDA) has converted 580 leasehold properties into freehold after it received 867 applications seeking the conversion. “The BDA has so far registered 580 conveyance deeds out of 867 applications submitted. Of these, as many as 462 applications were received online,” said a notification issued by the development authority. Significantly, applications for conversion of land can be submitted via BDA’s website https://bda.gov.in/. In the first phase of this initiative, 24 housing schemes have been included for conversion.
These schemes include Pokhariput phases I, II, and III, Prachi Enclave plotted scheme in Chandrasekharpur, Lumbini Vihar Housing Scheme in Chandrasekharpur, Udayagiri Vihar in Patrapada, and Lingaraj Vihar in Bhimpur. The development authority also plans to include other housing schemes in a phased manner. Conversion fee for residential land has been fixed at 3 per cent of the latest benchmark valuation of the homestead land, as determined by the registering authority of the state government (for the year 2024).
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BDA has clarified that if a plot is mortgaged to a financial institution, conversion will proceed only after obtaining a no-objection certificate from the institution. Applicants are also required to submit an affidavit stating that there are no ongoing civil disputes regarding the land. In case of any legal disputes, application for conversion will be reviewed only after the case is resolved and the court order is provided. Applicants who have encroached upon government land, public undertaking land, or BDA land within its jurisdiction are excluded from the scheme unless they first vacate the encroached land. An affidavit confirming the absence of any such encroachment must be submitted. Those who have made constructions on the allotted plot and are in possession of the plot for more than five years are eligible to apply for freehold status.
