Centre rejects Maharashtra's plea to exempt from land Act

The state will acquire land via consent route; Make in Maharashtra to take a beating

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government’s ‘Make in Maharashtra’ project is likely to be hit, as the Centre has turned down its plea to exempt the Maharashtra Industrial Development Act (MID Act) from the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement (LAAR) Act, 2013. The decision comes at a time when the BJP-led government is struggling to get approval for the land Bill in the Rajya Sabha.

Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis in January had made a strong pitch for exemption, arguing it was quite essential to enable the government to continue land acquisition without affecting land owners and project-affected persons.

A senior official from the state industry department told Business Standard: “The Centre in its recent communication has expressed its inability to accept state government’s request to exempt MID Act from the LAAR Act, 2013. This is a big negative for the state. Right now, the state has 15,000 hectares in its possession. However, in view of the state’s pre-eminence in attracting investments, more land is required for the upcoming projects.”

The official informed that the government is left with three options -- acquire land as per the provisions of LAAR Act, notify MID Act after the approval of state legislature and seek presidential assent and acquire land only through consent or negotiated route.

The official said, ''The government is not keen to acquire land under LARR Act, which is applicable for acquisition under compulsion.  Provisions of LAAR Act with regard to social impact assessment and consent clause would lead to procedural delays adversely impacting the Make in Maharashtra project. Notifying the MID Act is a long drawn process and it is therefore ruled out. The government, therefore,  will acquire land through consent route and for which exemption under LARR Act is not required. Compensation for PAPs has never been an issue for the state undertaking Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation (MIDC) which is responsible for industrial development .''