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A land plot being dug for a construction project in Mumbai. Land acquistion issues are known to have direct and long-term impact on real estate prices

If you are to list the key challenges faced by the infrastructure industry, you will have land acquisition listed amongst the top five. Several infrastructure (and industrial) projects have been delayed, cancelled or shifted due to the land acquisition issue. I don't want to get in the details of these projects. Many are well known, whether it is the Narmada project in Gujarat, the Nano project in West Bengal or the recent Reliance SEZ project in Maharashtra.

In this light, it is important to note that the Government is likely to introduce the new land acquisition Bill in the forthcoming season of Parliament. The objective is to comprehensively tackle issues related to land acquisition for industrial purpose by ammending the Land Acquisition Act,1894* through the National Rehabilitation and Resettlement Policy (NRRP) 2007. If implemented the provision bill will allow private developers to acquire 70% of land for a proposed industrial project directly from farmers and land owners. The state government will have to acquire the remaining 30%.

The major hurdle that the ammendment will face will be from a key partner in the UPA government - Ms Mamata Banerjee, Union Minister of Railways. (The Ministry of Railways has recently taken a decision that there shall not be any forceful acquisition of land for the railway projects. The Ministry is currently reviewing its Land Acquisition policy to ensure that forceful acquisition of land, including agriculture land, is completely avoided. The aim is to facilitate transaction/purchase/acquisition of land directly from the land owner with complete transparency.

As a fair and conscientious media platform that caters to the interests of the infrastructure industry, Construction Week India completely supports any move that facilitates land acquisition by just and transparent means. However, we are aware that things are not as simple as they sound. The bottomline for us is that all developmental activities need to be inclusive.
We will be closely watching the action that unfolds on this front.

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COMMENT   The Article throws light on the current Land Acquisition scenario in India. My take on this is that acquiring land in a   1 Comments Read more comments »

More Information for your benefit

*Interestingly, the Land Acquisition Act, 1894 was enacted by the then British government. Adapted by virtue of The Indian independence (Adaptation of Central Acts and Ordinances) Order, 1948, it continues to exist as the law of land acquisition till today. It is noteworthy that the Law falls under the concurrent list for both the State Government as well as the Central Government who have amended it with time to meet local requirements. Land can be acquired for the purposes listed under state and central list respectively unless the central government delegates the task to the state government under Article 258(1) of the Constitution. Constitutionality of various sections of the Land Acquisition Act has been considered as being in violation of Article 19 and 31 of the constitution as being confiscatory in nature and it is sought to deprive appellants of their lands.)

Article 31(2) clearly mentions that a land can be acquired by the state only for Public Purpose. 'Public purpose' would generally include a purpose, in which the general interest of the community, as against a particular interest of the individual.

Section 3(f) of The Land Acquisition Act defines public purpose as the expression “public purpose” includes:

(i) the provision of village-sites, or the extension, planned development or improvement of existing village-sites;
(ii) the provision of land for town or rural planning;
(iii) the provision of land for planned development of land from public funds in pursuance of any scheme or policy of Government and subsequent disposal
thereof in whole or in part by lease, assignment or outright sale with the object of securing further development as planned;
(iv) the provision of land for a corporation owned or controlled by the State;
(v) the provision of land for residential purposes to the poor or landless or to persons residing in areas affected by natural calamities, or to persons displaced or
affected by reason of the implementation of any scheme undertaken by Government, any local authority or a corporation owned or controlled by the State;
(vi) the provision of land for carrying out any educational, housing, health or slum clearance scheme sponsored by Government or by any authority established
by Government for carrying out any such scheme, or with the prior approval of the appropriate Government, by a local authority, or a society registered under
the Societies Registration Act, 1860 (21 of 1860), or under any corresponding law for the time being in force in a state, or a co-operative society within the
meaning of any law relating to co-operative societies for the time being in force in any State;
(vii) the provision of land for any other scheme of development sponsored by Government or with the prior approval of the appropriate Government, by a local
authority;
(viii) the provision of any premises or building for locating a public office, but does not include acquisition of land for companies.