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| Nitin Gadkari |
The recent announcement by Rural Development Minister Nitin
Gadkari in the lower house of Parliament has indicated that the new government
is inclined to do certain modifications in the Land Acquisition Act, which got
the assent from President of India last year to become a law.
The government’s move is necessitated due to wholesome
opposition from states over certain clauses in the Act, which has become the
reason for the inordinate delay in several infrastructure projects worth
billions of rupees.
However, experts believe that while making amendments in the
Act, the government may dilute certain 'landowners-friendly' clauses to
expedite the acquisition process for major PPPs and government-funded projects
across various states.
While addressing the Lok Sabha, the minister indicated
government’s willingness to review certain provisions of the Land Acquisition
Act, which was projected as one of the landmark laws brought out by the
previous UPA regime. The Act has faced criticism from various quarters
including states and stakeholders.
"We can review the Land Acquisition Act... if there is
co-operation from your side,"
Gadkari said, adding that certain provisions could be
re-considered.
While replying to the discussion on Demands for Grants for
Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, Gadkari, who also holds that
portfolio, however, emphasised that the whole effort (making changes) should
not result in delaying the road projects.
To ally fear about the compromise in offering compensation
to landowners or farmers, the Minister said, there would be no compromise on
the compensation amount to be given to people displaced by land acquisition.
Recently, the Rural Development Ministry suggested a number
of amendments to the Land Acquisition Act, which would water down pro-farmer
provisions like mandatory consent of at least 70 per cent land owners for
acquiring land for PPP projects and 80 per cent for acquiring land for private
projects.
The Act enacted during the UPA government is likely to go
undergo drastic changes if Prime Minister Narendra Modi gives nod for the
Ministry's proposals, which also include dilution of a key clause of Social
Impact Assessment study criticized by states as time consuming for industrialisation
process.
"The Consent Clause should be re-examined as ownership
of land vests with the Government in PPP projects. The consent clause should be
removed from PPP
projects. Alternatively, consent requirement may be brought
down to 50 per cent," the Ministry had said in its note sent to the PMO.
The Ministry's suggestions for drastic changes in the Act
came after most of the states recently came out openly against the new Act,
complaining that it had hurt the process of
acquiring land for infrastructure projects.
At a recent meeting of State Revenue Ministers chaired by
Gadkari, the states including Congress-ruled Haryana objected to provisions for
mandatory consent and Social Impact
Assessment study.
The Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in LandAcquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Bill, 2013, which was earlier
passed by both the houses of Parliament, was letter received the assent of the
President to become a law.
The legislation was made to provide ‘just and fair’ compensation
to farmers while ensuring that no land could be acquired forcibly.
The new Act replaced the archaic Act of 1894, which had various
shortcomings including silence on the issue of resettlement and rehabilitation
of those displaced by acquisition of land.
