AHMEDABAD, INDIA – June 2, 2025 – The Gujarat state government is on the verge of introducing a landmark redevelopment and Transferable Development Rights (TDR) policy, a strategic move anticipated to fundamentally alter the urban planning landscape. This ambitious new framework, hailed as a first of its kind in India, aims to establish a unified regional development rights market across the state, offering innovative and financially sustainable solutions to long-standing urban challenges.
At the heart of the proposed policy is a revolutionary inter-city TDR mechanism, which will permit the unprecedented cross-city transfer of development rights. This means that a developer in a bustling metropolis like Ahmedabad could potentially acquire and utilize TDR certificates generated from land in another major urban center such as Surat, effectively creating a seamless market for development rights that spans across Ahmedabad, Surat, Vadodara, Rajkot, and other key urban areas.
“Historically, TDR systems have been confined to individual municipal boundaries,” a senior official from the Urban Development and Urban Housing Department (UDD) confirmed. “The unique inter-city framework of this new policy signifies a paradigm shift, enabling a developer in Ahmedabad to leverage TDR certificates originating from land in Surat. This marks the creation of a regional development rights market for the very first time.”
Currently, TDR certificates empower developers to construct beyond the standard permissible Floor Space Index (FSI) by purchasing unused development rights from other properties or vacant land. The expanded scope of this new policy is designed to address critical urban issues, including the complex process of slum redevelopment, the revitalization and repurposing of defunct industrial factories, optimizing the land use around vital transport hubs, and converting underutilized government land into productive assets.
Officials emphasize that a key objective of the policy is to significantly alleviate the government’s financial burden by providing strong incentives for private developers to undertake these crucial redevelopment projects. “The policy is strategically crafted to reduce the government’s financial outlay by encouraging private sector participation in redevelopment initiatives. We are committed to utilizing advanced data analytics to pinpoint optimal redevelopment opportunities, ensuring efficient resource allocation,” another UDD official elaborated, underscoring the data-driven approach to urban revitalization.
To ensure seamless implementation and robust oversight, the policy mandates the establishment of dedicated city-specific committees. These committees will be responsible for streamlining and expediting approval processes, while also actively monitoring the policy’s execution to ensure transparency and measurable progress. The senior UDD official further clarified, “The policy will delineate specific TDR rules tailored to each type of redevelopment. It will precisely define eligible areas, establish clear valuation methodologies, and lay down comprehensive guidelines for the issuance and utilization of TDR. A strong monitoring framework will be in place to guarantee transparency and track tangible progress.”
Furthermore, the policy will incorporate specialized implementation guides, drawing valuable insights and lessons from successful TDR models in other Indian states, notably Maharashtra. In Maharashtra, TDR has proven highly effective in cities like Kolhapur for preserving heritage buildings. Owners of such properties, whose redevelopment is restricted, receive TDR as compensation. This TDR can then be sold to developers, allowing heritage property owners to monetize their development rights without compromising the historical integrity of their sites.
The Gujarat government’s bold and progressive new TDR policy represents a proactive and innovative step towards fostering sustainable urban growth. It promises to unlock significant new development potential, attract private investment, and provide much-needed solutions to long-standing housing and infrastructure challenges across the state, setting a precedent for urban planning nationwide.
