Finally, UPA's promised land bill is in public domain

The Draft National Land Acquisition and Rehabilitation & Resettlement Bill, 2011 is in the public domain. Here’s what Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh says on the new bill: • There is asymmetry of power and information between those wanting to acquire the land and those whose lands are being acquired. • Rehabilitation and resettlement must always, in each instance, necessarily follow upon acquisition of land. Not combining the two within one law, risks neglect of the former. • It is painfully evident that the Land Acquisition Act of 1894, despite several amendments, has become archaic. [caption id=“attachment_50873” align=“alignleft” width=“380” caption=“The archaic Land Acquisition Act of 1894, the source of all land conflicts across the country, set to get buried. Reuters”]  [/caption] The highlights: • The government will not acquire land for private companies for private purpose. • Under no circumstances should multi-cropped, irrigated land be acquired. • The public purpose once stated cannot be changed. • Consent of 80 percent of the project-affected families is mandatory if the government acquires land for use by private companies for public purpose or public-private partnership projects other than that for national highway. • Government can invoke “urgency clause” to acquire land in the cases of national defence and security purposes, rehabilitation and resettlement (R&R) needs in the event of emergencies or natural calamities and in any “rarest of rare” cases. • Land records will also be updated and digitised to induce transparency. What’s there for land losers: • In case of urban areas, the award amount would be not less than twice the market value. • In rural areas, it would be not less that six times the original market value. • It entails subsistence allowance at Rs 3,000 per month per family for 12 months and Rs 2,000 per family as annuity for 20 years, with appropriate index for inflation. • It’s mandatory to provide employment to one member of family or Rs two lakh if a job is not offered and other incentives. • If it’s an irrigation project, land owners get one acre of land in the command area (of the project) per family. • In case of land acquisition for urbanisation, 20 per cent of developed land will be reserved and offered to the owners in proportion to the land taken. • If a tribal’s land is acquired, one acre of land should be given to each Scheduled Tribes’ family in every project. • One time financial assistance of Rs 50,000 should also be given to the ST families, whose land is taken. Implications: • Government to no more play midwife in land deals involving land owners and private players. • Misuse of the ‘urgency clause’, which facilitates acquisition of land without proper hearing and compensation, sought to be restricted. • Most of land in Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal and Bihar remains out of bound for acquisition. • Rehabilitation and resettlement made part of the land acquisition process. • The nexus between bureaucrats, politicians and real estate developers likely to take a hit. • The archaic Land Acquisition Act of 1894, the source of all land conflicts across the country, set to get buried. With inputs from PTI