The Urban Land (Ceiling and Regulation) Act of 1976 imposed limits on how much vacant urban land a person could hold, allowing the state to acquire and redistribute the surplus to curb speculation and provide for housing. In practice it generated extensive litigation and exemptions, froze land in legal limbo and is widely blamed for choking the supply of developable land and inflating prices. It was repealed at the central level in 1999, though some states retained versions. Its failure became a stock argument in debates over land-market reform.
Its rise and repeal exemplify the failure of supply-side land controls and the turn toward market-oriented land reform in Indian cities.
See it on the timeline →