Land Pooling: How It Works and What Landowners Get Back

Under land pooling, you hand your land to a development authority voluntarily and get back a smaller, serviced plot in the same area, often with cash support while it is developed. Under acquisition, the government takes the land and pays cash compensation. What you get back, and when, depends entirely on the state’s scheme.

Key facts

Pooling vs acquisition

Under the 2013 Act, the Collector adds a solatium equal to 100% of the compensation amount. Pooling instead bets on the developed plot being worth more than the raw land. That bet depends on the authority actually building roads, drains and services.

What owners typically receive

You rarely get the same area back. Part of the pooled land goes to roads, parks, schools and other public uses, and part may be sold by the authority to fund development. In return, the plot you receive has infrastructure, a planned layout and usually a higher permitted use.

Delhi

DDA’s FAQ says a maximum of 60% of the pooled land in a sector stays with the Developer Entity or consortium. Of that 60%, 53% is for gross residential use, 5% for city-level commercial use and 2% for city-level public facilities. The other 40% is surrendered to DDA and service agencies for city infrastructure.

• A Developer Entity must pool at least 2 hectares, alone or with other owners.
• An owner with less than 2 hectares who is not part of a Developer Entity gets built space, not a separate plot.
• A sector becomes eligible only when at least 70% of its developable area is pooled, contiguous and bounded by a road of at least 30 metres.
• Developer Entities pay External Development Charges on the whole pooled land: 20% before the final development licence, and the rest within 90 days or in 8 six-monthly instalments.

Amaravati

The Andhra Pradesh Capital Region Land Pooling Scheme Rules, 2025 (G.O.Ms.No.118, 1 July 2025) set the return for each acre surrendered. For patta land:

Assigned lands get smaller returns, by category. Landless poor families get a pension of ₹5,000 a month for 10 years. On 7 July 2026, CRDA approved an annuity of ₹40,000 an acre for farmers who joined from 12 June 2024, as reported by The Hindu. Check the current rate with CRDA, as the rules and the later decision differ.

Punjab

Punjab’s current framework in the GMADA area is the Land Pooling Policy 2020, notified on 5 January 2021 and amended on 21 November 2025 and 6 July 2026. The July 2026 amendment added:

• Tradable “Special LOIs” for owners whose holding is not an exact multiple of the standard plot entitlement.
• A Sahuliyat Certificate, valid for 4 years, giving either no stamp duty on the conveyance deed of the allotted plot or a stamp duty exemption on buying other land in Punjab, up to the collector-rate value of the land taken.
• Priority for one tubewell electricity connection.
• All plots, including preferential-location plots, go into the draw of lots.

The Economic Times reported, from the state’s briefing, that owners get 1,000 sq yd residential and 200 sq yd commercial per acre, with the commercial plot raised to 210 sq yd. The notification’s plot table is an image, so confirm the figures with GMADA.

The separate Land Pooling Policy 2025, which faced farmer protests, was stayed by the Punjab and Haryana High Court and withdrawn by the state in August 2025.

Consent and voluntary participation

Delhi’s policy is open to any owner in the notified villages, with land of any size. You join by filing an expression of willingness in an application window on DDA’s online single window system. The consortium’s implementation plan, which shares out plots or built space, needs the consent of all its landowners.

Voluntary does not always mean risk-free. In Amaravati, the state has said it will start acquisition for a road project if the remaining owners do not join pooling by the deadline, according to The Hindu. Ask the authority what happens to your land if you stay out.

Delhi, Punjab and Amaravati: current status

In Delhi, the Master Plan for Delhi 2047 was gazetted in August 2026. According to The New Indian Express, it keeps land pooling in the urban extension areas and adds town planning schemes of at least 20 hectares. DDA reported over 7,615 applications, over 7,885 hectares registered or pooled, and about 16 sectors past the 70% threshold by July 2026. Punjab’s amended 2020 policy applies in the GMADA area from 6 July 2026, and Amaravati’s second phase runs under the 2025 rules.

Risks and what to check before signing

1. Read the notified policy or rules, not a summary. Note the plot entitlement per acre and whether it is fixed.
2. Check your title and record of rights are clean. Pooling agreements need clear ownership; our property legal due diligence checklist covers the documents.
3. Ask when the plot will be handed over, and what you receive in the meantime (annuity, rent or nothing).
4. Find out the charges you pay, such as development charges in Delhi, and who bears stamp duty on the final deed.
5. Check whether the letter of intent or entitlement can be sold, and at what point.
6. For a consortium, read the agreement on how plots are shared among members.
7. Compare the likely plot value with the cash you would get under acquisition, using circle rates; see circle rate vs market rate.

Pooling agreements are long and hard to exit, so have a property lawyer read yours before you sign.

Tax treatment

Only Amaravati has a specific income tax exemption. Section 10(37A) of the Income-tax Act, 1961 exempted capital gains for individuals and HUFs who owned the land on 2 June 2014 and transferred it under the Amaravati scheme. It also covered the reconstituted plot if sold within two years from the end of the financial year of possession.

The Income-tax Act, 2025 dropped this exemption. The Finance Act, 2026 put it back from tax year 2026-27, for reconstituted plots or land received on or before 31 March 2031, according to RSM India. Conditions apply.

Pooling elsewhere has no equivalent specific exemption. How the exchange and a later sale are taxed depends on the facts, so check with a chartered accountant. Our pages on capital gains on property and capital gains exemptions set out the general rules.

Frequently asked questions

What is land pooling?

A method where owners give land to an authority voluntarily and get back a smaller developed plot in the same area, instead of cash.

How much land is returned under Delhi’s land pooling policy?

Up to 60% of the pooled land in a sector stays with the owners’ consortium for development. The other 40% goes to DDA for city infrastructure.

Can a small landowner join DDA land pooling?

Yes, land of any size can be pooled. An owner with under 2 hectares who is not in a Developer Entity gets built space instead of a separate plot.

What do Amaravati farmers get per acre?

For patta land, 1,000 sq yd residential plus 250 sq yd commercial for dry land or 450 sq yd for jareebu land, plus a yearly annuity.

Was Punjab’s land pooling policy withdrawn?

The Land Pooling Policy 2025 was withdrawn in August 2025. The older Land Pooling Policy 2020 for the GMADA area remains and was amended in July 2026.

Is land pooling compensation taxable?

Amaravati has a specific capital gains exemption, restored under the Income-tax Act, 2025 until 31 March 2031. Other schemes have no specific exemption, so take tax advice.

Sources

• About Land Pooling — Delhi Development Authority (checked 16 Sep 2026)
• FAQs on Land Policy and Regulations — Delhi Development Authority (checked 16 Sep 2026)
• Land pooling notices — Delhi Development Authority (checked 16 Sep 2026)
• G.O.Ms.No.118: AP Capital Region Land Pooling Scheme Rules, 2025 — APCRDA (checked 16 Sep 2026)
• Punjab Gazette notification of 6 July 2026 amending the Land Pooling Policy — Department of Housing and Urban Development, Punjab (copy hosted by Avantis) (checked 16 Sep 2026)
• Section 30, Right to Fair Compensation Act, 2013 — Indian Kanoon (checked 16 Sep 2026)
• Section 10(37A), Income-tax Act, 1961 — Indian Kanoon (checked 16 Sep 2026)
• Key amendments in the Finance Act, 2026 — RSM India (checked 16 Sep 2026)
• APCRDA approves better benefits for land pooling farmers — The Hindu (checked 16 Sep 2026)
• Punjab Cabinet withdraws land pooling policy 2025 — The Hindu (checked 16 Sep 2026)
• Punjab cabinet amends land pooling policy — Economic Times (checked 16 Sep 2026)
• Land pooling gets boost in master plan — The New Indian Express (checked 16 Sep 2026)