Guj to amend Land Act; to do away with social impact clause

The BJP government in Gujarat is planning to amend Land Acquisition Act 2013 by bringing a bill in the current session of Legislative Assembly wherein it proposes to water down the stringent provisions of the central law, including clauses of social impact assessment and consent of landlords for land acquisition for public purpose.
Once passed, the "Right to fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement (Gujarat Amendment) Bill 2016" will enable government to directly give its nod for land acquisition sans any SIA study.
The government does not intend to follow the current provision on the consent clause for land acquisition for public purpose, but to keep it restricted to industrial purpose.

To speed up land acquisition process for setting up public amenities in Gujarat, the state government has decided to bring in a bill in Assembly session, which started today, to amend the 2013 Land Acquisition Act, according to officials in the Chief Minister's Office.
The "Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement (Gujarat Amendment) Bill 2016" proposes at least four changes in the current Central law.
After coming to power in 2014, the Narendra Modi government brought in amendments to 2013 Land Acquisition Act.

The NDA version, however, failed to pass the muster of Rajya Sabha as the BJP and allies lacked numbers in the Upper House.

The Union government then dropped the idea of passage of bill in Rajya Sabha and instead asked states to amend the law suiting them.
The officials said as the Central Land Act is in the 'concurrent' list, state governments can bring amendments in it.
"Being a concurrent act, states can modify provisions of this Act of 2013. However, these amendments must not contradict the original provisions. Our aim is to expedite the process of land acquisition. We will send the bill for Presidential assent after it passes here," said a top official in the CMO.
The bill seeks to either amend or insert some new provisions in the original Act.

"Under the existing Act, it is necessary to carry out SIA
study in the case of acquisition of land for both private entities as well as for public purpose. With this Bill, we are eliminating the provision of SIA study for public amenities as it consumes time and money," said the official.
The government is of the view that SIA study will always show positive feedback in the case of public amenity such as land being acquired for building a government school.
"If the feedback of SIA has to come positive, as the amenities is ultimately for public good, then there is no need to go for SIA study. Thus, the state government will directly give its nod for land to be acquired and bypass the process of SIA study," the official said, adding the bill will not touch the provision of SIA for land acquired for industries.

Another amendment proposed is related to the provision of consent of affected parties. As per the Act, at least 70 per cent of land owners must give their nod for acquisition of land.
As per the upcoming Bill, this provision will not be followed if the land is acquired for public purpose. However, it will remain in place for acquisition related to industrial development, stated the official.
Another amendment on the anvil is related to the provision of "consultation" with related local bodies in acquisition of land in their region.
As per the existing Act, local bodies, such as village panchayats, should be consulted while acquiring land possessed by them.

"As per our amendment, state government will not consult them or take their opinion if land is acquired for public purpose. This will save a lot of time. There is no need to take opinion (especially) if it's bound to come positive when a school or hospital is coming up in their area," said the official.
One of the key amendments suggested is related to booking of government officers by police who commit mistakes in the land acquisition process.
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Elaborating on this, he said the government is of the view that officers may not work fast and sit on a particular file for years, fearing that they may get punished for errors committed by their juniors.

"As per our amendment, we will book officers only if they are found guilty of committing such mistake out of any malicious intention. Permission to book them under the law will be given only after they are found guilty during a departmental inquiry first," he added.
The bill also seeks to amend a provision of the Act for acquisition of land during natural calamity or in emergency situation.
"In the original Act, government cannot acquire land before the process is over. As per our amendment, government can acquire land anytime in case of any emergency or (if it is) needed to cope with natural calamity," said the official.

The bill also makes a new provision in case someone wants to hand over the land voluntarily.
"There is no clarity in the existing Act about what procedures should be followed if someone wants to give away his land voluntarily. This Bill authorises the district collector concerned to complete procedures in such cases," the official said.