Plot acquisition for self-build housing : Problems in Bhubaneswar City, India

The process of plot acquisition, development and construction of house is very complex in the private unserviced land market due to lack of information, high dependence on land brokers and inadequate institutional arrangements for land development and plot sales. The case of Bhubaneswar City in Eastern India is used to highlight the issues connected with plot acquisition and house building and to explain the factors required to be strengthened in the overall context of planned development. Specifically the pattern of ownership, process of land subdivision, transaction, transfer, development and final use for house construction are looked at. The study suggests curbing land prices, and intensifying infrastructure and service facilities, and indicates the need for the revision of the existing planning regulations to streamline the control mechanism.