Amendments in Land Acquisition Policy

Today environmental and land acquisition issues are the two biggest sources of delay in infrastructure projects. In the Indian context where farmers are reluctant about the dispossession of their ancestral land with a little compensation is still better than the situation prevalent in China where farmers do not have land ownership rights. According to NSSO (National Sample Survey Organisation) data 2004-04 only 10% of the country’s population has control over 55% of the land and 60% of the population has right over only 5% of country’s land. In this blog some reforms done in the land acquisition policy has been discussed which brought long term private participation in various infrastructure projects.

1)  Land Acquisition Act of 1984 is being replaced with the Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation & Resettlement (LARR) 2011.

The state government was empowered to acquire land for any public purpose project by deciding the value of land based on the following :-

·         Government approved rates.

·         Capitalized value of average annual income from the land which means that the present worth of the land expected to earn in future by using appropriate discount rates.

·          Existing market rate based on land transactions data.

Now the proposed LARR bill 2011 (under revision) puts forward the following amendments :-

·         The land rates in rural and urban areas will be 4 times and 2 times the prevailing market rates respectively.

·         If the land acquired is not used for the purpose within 5 years then the same is restored back to the owners.

·         Consent of atleast 80% of the project affected families is obtained then government can acquire the remaining land for the benefit of public.

In India “Right to property” has been moved from fundamental right to constitutional right under 44^th Amendment Act of 1978. So I think that objective of policy like LARR 2011 are in line to support public welfare and protesting eminent domain

     
2)  Punjab Pre-emption Act of 1913

At the time when DLF was initiating an idea to build a world class city at the foot of the Aravalis in Haryana obtaining clearances for the land was a major concern. But eventually it acquired thousands of acres of land in Gurgaon by repealing Punjab Pre-emption Act of 1913. The existing Act gave the right to any family member to lay claim on sold property to its new owner.

Reference - Mega Projects in India : Environmental and Land Acquisition Issues in the Road Sector