| Abstract: | Summary For more than seven decades, several Indian states have used the plot reconstitution technique in managing urban land development. Recently, Kerala, a small southern state, has experimented with this technique for the first time in a scheme in Trichur. The Trichur experience is unique in that it incorporates significant innovations over a somewhat similar method of land readjustment which is widely practiced in the Asian‐Pacific region. Formulated for complete cost‐recovery, the Trichur project incorporates the active cooperation of the landowners and officials, and is a time‐bound programme to complete all land development and building construction works within six years of the finalization of the scheme proposals. This paper attempts to explore the use of this innovative means of land development in Trichur with a view to assessing the potentiality and constraints in its use, and identifying critical areas where further refinements would be desirable. Based on fieldwork in the state and intensive interviews, the paper finds the Trichur experience to be of great importance as a viable strategy of urban land development and management. The paper concludes with some recommendations on legal and institutional aspects, and stresses the need for refinements in the scheme preparation and information dissemination for transferability and wider application of the technique. |
