PMRDA Town Planning Scheme

A Town Planning Scheme (TPS) can completely change how a land parcel looks, connects and develops in the future.

For landowners and investors, the most important concept is simple:

Your existing land becomes an Original Plot (OP), and after town planning you are allotted a reconstituted Final Plot (FP).

What is a PMRDA Town Planning Scheme?

A Town Planning Scheme is a land-pooling and land-reconstitution mechanism under the Maharashtra Regional and Town Planning Act, 1966.

Instead of acquiring separate strips of private land for every road, garden or public facility, the planning authority reorganises a larger area as one planned development.

Land is provided for:

• Roads

• Gardens and open spaces

• Public amenities

• EWS housing

• Utilities

• Public infrastructure

• Other planning requirements

The remaining land is reorganised and allotted back to landowners as Final Plots.

A simple 10,000 sq ft example

Suppose you currently own:

Original Plot (OP): 10,000 sq ft

Your land may presently be agricultural, irregular in shape or have limited road access.

Under TPS, the process broadly becomes:

10,000 sq ft Original Plot

↓

Land pooling & town planning

↓

Roads + Open Spaces + Amenities + Utilities

↓

Plot reconstitution

↓

Final Plot (FP)

Your Final Plot could, for example, be around 5,000–6,000 sq ft.

But this is only an illustration.

There is no universal rule that exactly 50% of every individual plot will be deducted.

The actual Original Plot and Final Plot areas have to be checked from the specific TPS documents.

Where does the deducted land go?

The land contributed through the planning process helps create infrastructure such as roads, open spaces, amenities, EWS housing and public facilities.

So the basic exchange is:

Larger raw land → Smaller planned Final Plot

The Final Plot may benefit from better roads, infrastructure and development potential.

Will my Final Plot remain at the same location?

Not necessarily.

The planning authority generally attempts to keep the Final Plot within or near the Original Plot as far as possible.

However, the Final Plot can have a different:

• Area

• Shape

• Boundary

• Location

• Road frontage

This makes the location of the Final Plot extremely important.

A smaller Final Plot on an 18 m, 24 m or 30 m road could potentially have stronger development potential than a larger plot with poor access.

What happens to FSI?

Physical land area is only one part of the TPS equation.

Development potential can also change.

For example, PMRDA’s Mahalunge-Maan TPS-1 specifies:

FSI = Original Plot Area ÷ Final Plot Area × 1.25

If:

Original Plot = 10,000 sq ft

and

Final Plot = 5,000 sq ft

then:

FSI = 10,000 ÷ 5,000 × 1.25 = 2.50

This illustrates how a reduction in physical plot area can potentially be accompanied by higher development potential.

FSI rules are scheme-specific. The Mahalunge-Maan formula should not automatically be applied to every PMRDA TPS.

Buying land inside a TPS?

If somebody tells you:

“20 Guntha land available.”

That information alone isn’t enough.

Before evaluating the investment, check:

• Original Plot Number

• Original Plot Area

• Proposed / Final Plot Number

• Final Plot Area

• Final Plot Location

• Proposed Road Width

• Road Frontage

• Reservations and amenities

• Applicable FSI

• Current TPS stage

For a TPS property, Final Plot location can sometimes matter more than the percentage of land deduction.

The stage of TPS matters

Town Planning Schemes move through statutory stages.

Broadly, you may see:

Draft Scheme → Sanction → Preliminary Scheme → Final Scheme

At an early stage, the proposed Final Plot should not automatically be treated as the final outcome.

Investors should always check the latest officially available plan and scheme documents before making a decision.

Smart Purandar Takeaway

When evaluating land in an emerging development corridor, don’t ask only:

“What is today’s price per acre?”

Also ask:

“What will my land become after town planning?”

A large agricultural parcel today could eventually become a smaller but strategically located Final Plot with planned road access and development potential.

Likewise, cheap land may not necessarily be a good investment if its proposed Final Plot location, road access or planning impact is weak.

In a Town Planning Scheme, don’t evaluate only today’s Original Plot. Study tomorrow’s Final Plot.

Source: PMRDA Town Planning Scheme documents and Maharashtra Regional and Town Planning Act, 1966.

Disclaimer: This article is for general information and educational purposes. Final Plot allocation, land contribution, FSI, zoning and development permissions are scheme-specific and subject to statutory approvals. Verify the latest official PMRDA and Town Planning documents before making any land or investment decision.