Land Acquisition Bill: What Is Land Acquisition and Which Laws Govern It?

Land Acquisition Bill
The land Acquisition bill, that is The Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition,
Rehabilitation and Resettlement (Second Amendment) Bill, 2015 has been in news for both good and bad
reasons. It has emerged as a roadblock for proper functioning of Parliament as the opposition feels that it is antifarmer but on the other hand the bill also holds promises for speedy acquisitions leading to faster operations and
infrastructure asset building, which is the need of the hour for India. The Right to Fair Compensation and
Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement (Second Amendment) Bill, 2015 was introduced
in Lok Sabha by the Minister for Rural Development, Sh. Birender Singh on May 11, 2015. The Bill replaces the
Right to Fair Compensation and transparency in Land acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement (Amendment)
Ordinance, 2015 which was to lapse on June 4, 2015.The Bill was to be deemed to have come into force on
December 31, 2014.
What is Land Acquisition and which laws govern it?

Land acquisition is the process by which land owned by private persons is compulsorily acquired. It is different
from the purchase of land, which is a contract between a willing seller and a willing buyer on mutually acceptable
terms. Acquisition is where the land owner has no choice and is forced to relinquish his property. Therefore, the
process of acquisition overrides the property rights of the private land owner.
This can be justified only if the
acquisition is made with an egalitarian view i.e with a welfare approach.

In India, land acquisition is a concurrent subject (schedule 7 of Constitution of India), and is governed by
central and state laws. The main central Act governing land acquisition is the Right to Fair Compensation and
Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act 2013 (2013 Act).
It replaced the Land
Acquisition Act, 1894 (1894 Act). Many states have also enacted laws to regulate land acquisition.
The 2013 Act differed from the 1894 Act in several ways. It narrowed the definition of public purpose i.e. the
types of projects for which land could be acquired. It required the consent of land owners if the project was for a
public private partnership (PPP) or a private company. Compensation was set at two to four times of prevailing
market rates and minimum norms for rehabilitation and resettlement of affected persons were prescribed. The Act
also required a Social Impact Assessment (SIA) to be conducted to determine whether the potential benefits of the
project would outweigh the social costs.
In December 2014, an Ordinance was promulgated to amend the 2013 Act. The Ordinance was repromulgated in
a modified form in April 2015, and again in May 2015 (third time).
The Right to Fair Compensation and
Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement (Second Amendment) Bill, 2015 was introduced
in Lok Sabha on May 11, 2015 to replace the April Ordinance and was referred to a Joint Parliamentary Committee
for detailed examination.
Basic Features of the Bill

This Bill amends the principal Act passed in 2013
Under the 2013 Act, land can be acquired only for projects that have a public purpose, which has been defined in
the Act. Each of these projects will require a social impact assessment (SIA) to determine whether the potential
benefits of the project outweigh the social costs. If the land being acquired is multi-cropped agricultural land, then
the total area of such land acquired should be below a limit to be set by the state government. Further, any land
acquired for public private projects (PPPs) and private companies will require consent of 70% and 80% of the land
owners, respectively.
Exemption to projects
The Bill enables the government to exempt five categories of projects from the requirements of: (i) social impact
assessment, (ii) restrictions on acquisition of multi-cropped land, and (iii) consent for private projects and public
private partnerships (PPPs) projects.
The five categories of projects are: (i) defence, (ii) rural infrastructure, (iii) affordable housing, (iv) industrial
corridors, and (v) infrastructure including PPPs where government owns the land.
The Act would apply retrospectively, if an award had been made five years earlier and compensation had not been
paid or possession not taken. The Bill exempts any period when a court has given a stay on the acquisition while
computing the five year period.
The Act deemed the head of a government department guilty for an offence by the department. The Bill removes
this, and adds the requirement of prior sanction to prosecute a government employee.
Provisions of Consent
The 2013 Act requires consent of 70% land owners in case of PPP projects and 80% land owners in case of private
entities.
No consent is required for government projects.
The Bill exempts five types of projects from the
requirement of obtaining the consent of land owners.

There is a basic issue with the concept of requiring consent from land owners before acquiring land. Acquisition is
different from purchase.
A transaction between a willing buyer and a willing seller results in a purchase on
mutually acceptable terms. Land is acquired when the land owner is unwilling to part with the land. In such a
scenario, it may be impractical to expect him to give consent for the land to be acquired.
However, the requirement for consent when land is acquired may be justified in cases where a majority of land
owners are willing to part with the land, but the project is held up by a few land owners.
An alternative
mechanism was suggested in the Land Acquisition (Amendment) Bill, 2007 which lapsed. It provided that if 70% of
the required land was purchased through negotiations, then the remaining part of the land could be acquired.
The compensation for acquired land would be benchmarked to the prices of the purchased land. This mechanism
enables the compensation for the land acquired to be linked to market prices (determined through negotiations
with land owners who sold their parcels of land).
Other important Provisions

The Bill brings provisions for compensation, rehabilitation, and resettlement under other related Acts such as the
National Highways Act and the Railways Act in consonance with the LARR Act.
The Bill changes acquisition of land for private companies mentioned in LARR Act, 2013 to acquisition for private
entities. A private entity could include companies, corporations and nonprofit organizations. Effectively expanding
the class of entities which can acquire land.
Status of unutilized land: The Act requires that if land which is acquired under it remains unutilized for five years,
it is returned to the original owners or the land bank. The Bill states that the period after which unutilized land will
need to be returned will be the later of: (i) five years; or (ii) any period specified at the time of setting up the
project. Hence there is a provision of return of land to the original owners If the land is not used for the purpose
for which it was acquired for.
Actions by the government representatives: The Act states that if an offence was committed by the government,
the head of the department will be deemed guilty unless he can show that the offence was committed without his
knowledge, or that he had exercised due diligence to prevent the offence. The Bill removes this provision. It
requires that the prior sanction of the government be obtained before prosecuting a public servant. This provision
was criticized on the grounds that the bureaucracy would be sheltered by the government in case there is misuse
of power for land acquisition.
Current Status
The Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement
(Amendment) Bill, 2015, popularly known as Land bill, was adopted and subsequently passed by the Lok Sabha i.e
the lower house of parliament on 10 March 2015. BJP was unable to get the bill passed in Rajya Sabha i.e the
upper house of parliament, where it is not in majority and thus the bill got stalled. After continuous attacks by the
opposition and consequent adjournments of parliament, the bill was referred to a Joint Parliamentary Committee
on May 12, 2015.
The Committee was expected to submit its report by the first week of Monsoon Session, 2015. The parliamentary
committee is still examining the NDA version of the Bill and had asked for time till the Winter Session of
Parliament to do the same. In an interview to The Hindu, Roads and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari had said that
it was on the advice of Chief Ministers that the decision not to re-promulgate the land ordinance was taken, after
stiff resistance from the opposition Congress and some members of the Sangh Parivar.
The Land Acquisition ordinance of the NDA government was allowed to lapse on 28 August 2015 with the
government issuing executive orders to extend the provisions of compensation, rehabilitation and resettlement as
mentioned in the 2013 version of the Act to 13 Central Acts like the National Highways Act and the Railways Act. It
might be reintroduced in winter session of Parliament.

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Land Acquisition Bill

What is Land Acquisition and which laws govern it?

This can be justified only if the

acquisition is made with an egalitarian view i.e with a welfare approach.

It replaced the Land

The Right to Fair Compensation and

Basic Features of the Bill

No consent is required for government projects.

The Bill exempts five types of projects from the

requirement of obtaining the consent of land owners.

A transaction between a willing buyer and a willing seller results in a purchase on

Other important Provisions

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