The land acquisition debate: A review

Kanad Bagchi
16 August 2012
Land acquisition remains at the centre of many controversies and public policy p
aralysis in India. There are very few public policy issues in India that rival l
and acquisition in terms of its complexity, challenges and significance to count
ry s growth and transition to more urbanised and industrialised status. Currently,
the Union Government is mounting series of efforts to clear several hurdles wit
h 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 introduc
es the Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Bill, 2011 which is cur
rently pending before the parliament and deals with the main points of criticism
regarding the same. Part IV deals with the recommendations of the Standing comm
ittee on Rural Development. Part V provides the author s observations on the debat
e 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 tra
nsparency in the acquisition process, participation of communities whose land is
being acquired and virtually no rehabilitation and resettlement package. Furthe
r weak implementation and ineffective administration at the ground level has inc
reased the suffering and anguish of the people. Due to a lack of clear definitio
n of "public purpose", there has been considerable difference of opinion among v
arious judgments of the Supreme Court, finally resulting into granting very broa
d discretionary powers to the state in terms of deciding the contours of "public
purpose" under particular circumstances.I All these factors coupled with the ur
gent need to industrialize have put land acquisition at the heart of the debate
in India.
The Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Bill, 2011: A Critique
The proposed land acquisition bill 2011 has introduced a number of changes over
and above the existing 1894 law on land acquisition. The government realising th
at acquisition and rehabilitation and resettlement "are two sides of the same co
in" IIand taking into account the suggestions of the NACIII has combined acquisi
tion, compensation, rehabilitation and resettlement into one single bill. It man
dates a Social Impact Assessment of the proposed acquisition by an independent b
ody for all acquisitions. IV For projects undertaken by private companies or thr
ough public-private partnerships, the bill requires the consent of 80% of the af
fected people which will a long way in reducing forcible acquisitions. V It guar
antees 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 t
he defence of India or national security or for any emergencies arising out of n
atural calamities." VII The claim for compensation of "affected family" has been
endorsed by providing a broad definition to the term which includes sharecroppe
rs, agricultural labourers, tenants whose primary source of livelihood stands af
fected.VIII The bill also recognises the role of self-government institutions an
d Gram Sabhas and provides for consultation with the same at the time of prepari
ng the SIA and at the time of issuing the preliminary notification for acquisiti
on.IX It has been argued that the bill is certainly in the right direction; howe

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