The focus of the new version of the Land Acquisition Bill, to be tabled in Parliament in the monsoon session next month, would be on compensation and transparency in acquisition. Hence, the rural development ministry has proposed a new name, the Right to Fair Compensation, Resettlement, Rehabilitation and Transparency in Land Acquisition Bill.
In a note on the proposed course of action on the Bill in the wake of the recommendations of the standing committee of MPs which had examined it, the ministry says the new name reflects the “government’s commitment towards securing a legal guarantee’’ for the rights of acquisition-affected people and “strengthening the rights-based approach that has been a key element of the UPA government’s legislative agenda”.
Of the eight categories of land acquisition for public purposes proposed in the Bill by the ministry, the latter has partially accepted the reservations expressed by the standing committee on acquisition of land for private companies and for public-private partnerships (PPPs).
| NEW ADDITIONS IN LAND BILL |
|
The ministry has made the acquisition of land for PPP and private companies conditional on the consent of 80 per cent of Project Affected Families. All other compensation stipulations would also apply in these cases.
| ILLUSTRATIVE SLIDING SCALE This multiplier factor will gradually rise from 2 to 4 as we move away from urban locations into rural areas. | |
| Radial Distance from urban area (km) |
Multiplier
factor* |
| 0-10 | 1 |
|
10-20
| 1.2 |
| 20-30 | 1.4 |
| 30-40 | 1.8 |
| 40-50 | 2 |
| Multiplier factor is the multiple of the market value as fixed on the basis of the average registered sale transactions in the last 3 years The sliding scale has been suggested as a means of determining the land compensation for land by the rural development ministry. This is meant to tilt the balance in favour of rural areas, which are now percieved to be vulnerable to exploitation and displace | |
The standing committee had also recommended that the Land Bill prescriptions for compensation and other terms apply to 16 Central laws which the Bill had sought to exempt. The ministry has partially accepted the suggestion and now wants the Special Economic Zones Act, the Works of Defence Act and Cantonments Act to be outside the list of exempted laws. It has also modified its position to suggest amendments in the remaining Acts within two years, so that these comply with the Land Bill.
The ministry has also agreed to the panel’s suggestions to link the relief and rehabilitation (R&R) package to the consumer price index, to be revised every three years. It has also agreed to the suggestion of double compensation for double displacement. In the case of urbanisation, it has agreed to provide 20 per cent of developed land to the original owner-families, for equivalent compensation.
The ministry has also given its nod to the suggestion that states should determine the threshold for land purchase in rural and urban areas, after which private buyers would be liable for R&R payment. It had proposed R&R for sale or purchase of more than 100 acres in rural areas and more than 50 acres in urban areas.
The ministry has also agreed to the recommendation that land not used by a buyer be returned if it remains unused for five years. The Bill had originally suggested a period of 10 years.
Also, compensation for acquired land is to get higher the further one is from urban areas, unlike the present system. It is to be two times the market rate (including solatium ) in urban areas and two to four times (including solatium) in rural areas. The precise slabs will be left to the respective state governments. The calculation would be based on a sliding scale developed by the ministry. The Bill would not impose any value to the sliding scale but leave it to state governments or the State Land Pricing Commission/Authority.
Ministry sources said the idea came from Mihir Shah, member of the Planning Commission and the National Advisory Council, and minister Jairam Ramesh. The present policy, they felt, left villages vulnerable to exploitation and displacement, besides pushing urban prices to prohibitive levels.
