Earn a side income from your land with minimal construction effort

 

Here is a look at how you can earn profit from land with 

little to no construction on it

Land is the primary asset in the real estate industry, for obvious reasons.  However, if the asset is kept unattended, it could soon be a liability.  One of the main reasons that land is kept vacant is because the owner doesn’t have the finances required to build on it, and thus loses out on potential returns.
But, what if you can earn a decent return from your vacant land?  Here is a look at how you can do that with minimum construction efforts.

Agro-tourism or farming

Several professionals are turning into urban farmers, and are making it either their side hustle or their main income source.  “Agro tourism is gaining popularity; thus if you like farming, you can consider cultivating crops.  The income from the sale of the produce is one way to earn money, the other is by entertaining visitors as a part of agro-tourism.  Harvesting rate or seasonal crops is an option as they are in demand in local as well as international markets.  Starting a poultry or dairy business can give you good yields as well.  If migratory or unique birds or animals are visiting the farm, then you can entertain photographers and give them a chance to click a few nice pictures”.  However, do keep in mind that to offer agro-tourism on your agricultural land, you would require a commercial license.

If you do not have space for a full-fledged form but only a small patch of land, consider organic farming.

You might be wondering whether a non-agricultural (NA) plot can be turned into an agricultural plot or not.  “Agricultural plot can be converted into an NA plot, but one NA plot can be converted into another NA plot through land conversion procedures of respective states”.

Further explaining the same, “Under normal circumstances, non-agricultural land is not generally converted to agricultural one.  Further, no land assessed for one non-agricultural purpose shall be used for any other non-agricultural purpose without the permission of the district collector.  However, no such permission is required for conversion of any agricultural land for the personal bona fide residential purpose in a non-urban area”.

Special events

If you have your land at a picturesque location, you can rent it out for various events.  Depending on the size of the land, it can be utilized for special events such as fairs, birthdays, weddings, educational conferences, product launches, political rallies, and large events.  This will help generate a regular income from the land.  But you will have to spend a bit to ensure that the land has basic infrastructure in place to facilitate such events.

“Destination weddings are very much in trend.  If your land is near a waterbody or mountain, you can rent it out for family functions and wedding ceremonies.  You might need some basic infrastructure like stay options, washrooms, drinking water facilities, etc.  However, if it’s agricultural land, you may have to rezone it for different purposes.  You may also need necessary conditional licenses and rent agreement (between you and the events' organisers), as well as NOCs from the local authorities”.

 Camping sites or tourism

Owning a piece of land at a beautiful location amidst nature, like near a water body can attract tourists.  You can use your land for camping or tourism.  Locations such as Karjat, Alibaug, Goa, Shimla, Mussoorie, Nainital, Kasauli, and Dehradun are gaining interest among tourist for camping purposes.  You just have to set up some tents and provide basic amenities like a hygenic environment, bedding, clean washrooms, food, drinking water, etc.  You can also hire locals who have experience in setting up the camping business and are well aware of the local terrain.

 About the legalities involved in the same, “At the central level, the Ministry of Tourism, Government of India has set out guidelines wherein, project approval and classification of operational tented accommodation have to be adhered to, to set up a campsite on the open plot of land.  Then, the Hotel and Restaurant Approval and Classification Committee (HRACC) would inspect and assess the tented accommodation based on the facilities and services offered.  Project approvals would also be given to two categories (standard or deluxe) at the project implementation stage.  Classified tented accommodation/approved projects may be eligible for various concessions and facilities that may be announced by the government from time to time besides getting world-wide publicity through the tourism offices located in India and abroad.  There could be certain state-specific guidelines as well, which need to be followed”.

“I started camping facility of our land in Alibaug last year.  Being a local and having researched other camping sites around, I curated the camping site myself with the help of some locals.  We have found that people just want all the basic amenities along with good food”.