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The land acquisition debate: A reviewKanad Bagchi16 August 2012

Land acquisition remains at the centre of many controversies and public policy paralysis in India. There are very few public policy issues in India that rival land acquisition in terms of its complexity, challenges and significance to countrys growth and transition to more urbanised and industrialised status. Currently, the Union Government is mounting series of efforts to clear several hurdles with regard to the existing land law which dates back to 1894.

This analysis captures evolution of various strands on land acquisition as yet.The paper is divided into the following sections. Part II provides an account of the present Land acquisition Act, 1894 and its short comings. Part III introduces the Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Bill, 2011 which is currently pending before the parliament and deals with the main points of criticism regarding the same. Part IV deals with the recommendations of the Standing committee on Rural Development. Part V provides the authors observations on the debate so far and the road ahead.

Land Acquisition Act, 1894 and its problems

Ever since its enactment, the Land Acquisition Act, 1894 ("LA") has been subject to controversies and fierce debate. Notwithstanding rounds of amendments, inclu

ding the 1984 changes, it has failed to address some important issues associated with land acquisition particularly forcible acquisitions, definition of "public purpose" , widespread misuse the of "urgency clause", compensation, lack of transparency in the acquisition process, participation of communities whose land is being acquired and virtually no rehabilitation and resettlement package. Further weak implementation and ineffective administration at the ground level has increased the suffering and anguish of the people. Due to a lack of clear definition of "public purpose", there has been considerable difference of opinion among various judgments of the Supreme Court, finally resulting into granting very broad discretionary powers to the state in terms of deciding the contours of "public purpose" under particular circumstances.I All these factors coupled with the urgent need to industrialize have put land acquisition at the heart of the debatein India.

The Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Bill, 2011: A Critique

The proposed land acquisition bill 2011 has introduced a number of changes overand above the existing 1894 law on land acquisition. The government realising that acquisition and rehabilitation and resettlement "are two sides of the same coin" IIand taking into account the suggestions of the NACIII has combined acquisition, compensation, rehabilitation and resettlement into one single bill. It mandates a Social Impact Assessment of the proposed acquisition by an independent body for all acquisitions. IV For projects undertaken by private companies or through public-private partnerships, the bill requires the consent of 80% of the affected people which will a long way in reducing forcible acquisitions. V It guarantees higher compensation to the land losers and adopts the market value method

 to compute compensation.VI The possibility of abuse of the "urgency clause" has been considerably reduced by limiting its application to the requirement "for the defence of India or national security or for any emergencies arising out of natural calamities." VII The claim for compensation of "affected family" has been endorsed by providing a broad definition to the term which includes sharecroppers, agricultural labourers, tenants whose primary source of livelihood stands affected.VIII The bill also recognises the role of self-government institutions and Gram Sabhas and provides for consultation with the same at the time of preparing the SIA and at the time of issuing the preliminary notification for acquisition.IX It has been argued that the bill is certainly in the right direction; howe

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ver, it fails to address some of the critical issues which have been highlighted in the next section.