The Land Summit 2017

The proceedings were a global conference on land economics, infrastructure development and finance.

The Economic Times, in partnership with AUM LAI, has brought the Land Summit 2017 for the first time to India. The conference, powered by Gazenia Shelters, was a global conference on land economics, infrastructure development and finance, organised to contribute to the ecosystem for holistic land-use development. The summit also highlighted ‘the land question’ and discussed in depth about the contemporary social concerns such as problems of housing affordability and environmental quality. Land being the most basic of all economic resources, its use is crucial in shaping effective functioning of cities, determining the degree of economic inequality and possibility of ecological sustainability.

The global conference hosted a list of prominent speakers who deliberated on affordable housing for all, challenges for rapid develop¡ment of India, FDI structuring & intellectual property, maximising returns from rural lands and other such interesting topics which would help India make optimum use of their land.

Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis was present at the event to felicitate prominent industrial players with the Dr Homer Hoyt Awards. The other speakers and personalities present at the event were Deepak Kesarkar (Minister of State, Minister for Planning and Finance), Subhash Desai (Minister of Industries, Government of Maharashtra), Leslie Pollock, Principal Urban Planner, LAI Global Chapter Chair, Ramesh Nair, CEO & Country Head, JLL India and Niranjan Hiranandani, Indian Entrepreneur, Co-founder & Managing Director of Hiranandani Group.

Speaking about the conference, Deepak Lamba, President, Times Strategic Solutions Limited, said, ‘The Land Summit 2017 was a great concept brought to life by the Times Group in partnership with the Land Economics Society, USA. The event witnessed some of the thought leaders and key decision makers of the infrastructure and finance industry who deliberated on important and pressing issues of the sectors. We at the Times Group have tracked, followed and evangelised the positive growth across sectors that will help India realise the dream of a country which has (a) place for all.

We have received an encouraging response that reassures us that we are together in optimizing the use of land as a resource in urban as well as rural India.’

CM Fadnavis said,’Maharashtra has achieved up to 50 per cent urbanisation and the biggest challenge before any government is to manage urbanisation. While this urbanisation was happening, we didn’t manage it, which resulted in unsustainable urbanisation. (Around) 65 per cent of our GDP comes from our cities, which makes them engines of growth. If we can leverage this capacity of cities in a sustainable way, we can accelerate their development in a way that benefits all. We need to manage urbanisation through initiatives like the Smart Cities Mission, planned in a sustainable manner.’

The Dr Homer Hoyt Awards held on 11th March, 2017 acknowledged the contribution of industry players like Renaissance Indus Infra, Manavlok Social Work College, Indian Coast Guard, Hiranandani Communities and Gazenia Shelters for their contribution to sustainable land development in urban and rural India.