{"id":1331,"date":"2014-08-14T18:16:36","date_gmt":"2014-08-14T18:16:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/developmentdebate.in\/2014\/08\/15\/rajasthan-land-acquisition-bill-2014-2\/"},"modified":"2025-07-15T08:31:49","modified_gmt":"2025-07-15T08:31:49","slug":"rajasthan-land-acquisition-bill-2014-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/developmentdebate.in\/?p=1331","title":{"rendered":"Rajasthan Land Acquisition Bill 2014: Taking Away People’s Right"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\nNesar Ahmad<\/span><\/div>\n
\n
<\/span><\/div>\n
\nAfter amending four central labour laws<\/a> to make them more
\nbusiness friendly, the Vasundhra Raje government in Rajasthan has now come up
\nwith draft Rajasthan Land Acquisition Bill, 2014<\/a>, which, if passed and
\nimplemented, will repeal the central act called \u2018Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency and Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013<\/a>\u2019 in the state of
\nRajasthan. <\/span><\/div>\n
\n
<\/span><\/div>\n
\nThe proposed bill, uploaded on the Revenue Department\u2019s
\nwebsite, on which the state government has invited comments\/feed back from the stakeholder within 10 days, takes away most of the positive provisions of the 2013 act. The bill
\nhas no provision of Social Impact Assessment (SIA) of the projects before going
\nfor the acquisition and displacement, has reduced the rehabilitation to an
\nadditional 10 percent of the compensation amount, has decreased the
\ncompensation for the urban areas from 2 times of the market value of the land
\nto the equal to the value of the land and in rural areas also the compensation
\namount will be only 1.25 times to 2.5 times of the value of the land within 5
\nkm radius of the urban municipal limit instead of 4 times as the central act
\nprovides for. <\/span><\/div>\n
\n
<\/span><\/div>\n
\nOne of the most important provisions of the Right to Fair
\nCompensation and Transparency and Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013 is
\ntaking prior consent of the people before acquisition in the scheduled areas for
\nany land acquisition through the gram sabha or the panchayat bodies or other
\nlocal bodies and consent of the 80% of the affected population in case of land
\nacquisition for private projects and 70% of the affected population in case of
\nthe public private partnership (PPP) projects in non-scheduled areas.  The Rajasthan Land Acquisition bill gets away
\nwith the provision of taking prior consent of the Gram Sabha or the panchayat
\nin the scheduled areas and dilutes the provision of the taking consent of the 70%
\nof the affected population and brings it down to 60% in case of taking land for
\nthe PPP projects. <\/span><\/div>\n
\n
<\/span><\/div>\n
\nAnother important provision, which is a hallmark of the
\nRight to Fair Compensation and Transparency and Rehabilitation and Resettlement
\nAct, 2013, is provision of mandatory rehabilitation and resettlement of the
\naffected people. Before this act there was no law in the country, which would
\ncompel the displacing agencies to rehabilitate the displaced population. This
\nact for the first time combined the rehabilitation and resettlement of the
\ndisplaced and affected population with the land acquisition and displacement
\nfor any development project. This act provides for rehabilitation and
\nresettlement of the affected population (including the landless people) and
\nproviding them with facilities like road, safe drinking water, sanitation
\nfacilities, grazing land and water for cattle, panchayat building, post office,
\nanaganwadi etc. on the rehabilitation site. <\/span><\/div>\n
\n
<\/span><\/div>\n
\nThe Rajasthan Land Acquisition Bill on its part has
\nprovision of providing 10% (in case of infrastructure projects) of the total
\ncompensation amount and 30% (in case of other projects) of the total
\ncompensation amount as rehabilitation and resettlement cost. The definition of
\nthe infrastructure projects is such that most of the projects can be
\ncategorized as the infrastructure project. The Bill does say, however, that if
\nthe whole village or a number of villages are displaced, \u201cthe State Government
\nshall endeavor, in the alternative, to resettle such village or villages, as
\nthe case may be, if the project affected persons so desire and it is possible
\nto do so\u201d (Chapter III). <\/span><\/div>\n
\n
<\/span><\/div>\n
\nIn case of land acquired for a private company the Bill
\ngives this alternative to the land owners to take a lump sum amount (30% of the
\ntotal compensation amount) as rehabilitation and resettlement cost or choose to
\nreceive an annuity of Rs. 3000 per month for twenty years or one time
\nsettlement of Rs. 7.5 lakhs. <\/span><\/div>\n
\n
<\/span><\/div>\n
\nThe Rajasthan Bill also has provision for a creating a Land
\nAcquisition Authority, which will have powers of civil courts but which will
\n\u201cnot be bound by the procedure laid down in the Code of Civil Procedure 1908
\nbut will be guided by the principals of natural justice and subject to the
\nother provisions of this Act and any rules made under this Act\u201d. Any dispute
\nrelated to land acquisition under this Act (if passed and implemented) will
\nonly be heard by this Authority and can be challenged only in the High Court. <\/span><\/div>\n
\n
<\/span><\/div>\n
\nMoreover, the bill, perhaps for the first time, makes any
\nopposition to the land acquisition a punishable offence. The Bill has provision
\nof imprisonment for 3 to 6 months and a fine of Rs. 10,000 to Rs. 3 lakhs or
\nboth to whoever \u201cwillfully obstructs any person in doing any of the acts
\nauthorized\u201d by the Bill. <\/span><\/div>\n
\n
<\/span><\/div>\n
\nThe Bill also has an urgency clause which authorizes the
\ncollector the take possession of any land needed for public purpose after 15
\ndays of publication of notice for acquisition in case of urgency on direction
\nof the state government. The application of urgency clause in the central act
\nis restricted to the minimum area required for the defense of India or national
\nsecurity or for any emergencies arising out of natural calamities or any other
\nemergency with the approval of the parliament. <\/span><\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

\n
<\/span><\/div>\n
\nThis way the Rajasthan government has designed a land
\nacquisition Bill which is as strict as the colonial Land Acquisition Act
\n1894, now replaced by the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency and
\nRehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013. It takes away most of the rights
\ngiven to the displaced and affected population in the 2013 central act and
\ngives unlimited power to the state government. Also, the powers of district collector,
\nwhich have been restricted in the central act, have again been reinstated by
\nthis Bill. <\/span><\/div>\n
\n
<\/span><\/div>\n
\nThis move of the Rajasthan government is fairly in line with the Modi government’s resentments for the 2013 act. The central government had called a meeting of the revenue ministers of all the state governments, where, reportedly most of the state governments also pushed<\/a> for amendments in the central law, which was passed only a year ago with support of  most of <\/span>the <\/span>political parties. The Rural Development Minister, though still vouching for greater farmers’ interests and keeping the act farmer friendly, has indicated that the Ministry will suggest proposed changes<\/a> in the act to the Prime Minister Office,  who will take the final call. <\/span><\/div>\n
\n
<\/span><\/div>\n
\nThe changes suggested by the state governments are such that “if all the amendments are made into the new law, it would for all practical purposes, end up being a copy of the previous law (LAA 1894) in new language<\/a>.” Obviously the central government and the state governments are not able to digest the curtailment in the unlimited power to acquire any land without any proper compensation and any provision to rehabilitation and resettlement and without bothering of the social consequences of displacement caused by the acquisition, which the new law has brought in. The 2013 land acquisition act, was brought in as a measure to undo the historical injustice done to the poor, tribal, small and marginal farmers across the country, who’s land is taken away in the name of development and who are left with a meager compensation amount, without any means of livelihood and rehabilitation. <\/span>
\n<\/span>
\nThis act is result of people’s movements against unjust acquisition of land in the name of development and public interest. Though not a perfect piece of legislation<\/a>, the 2013 act has many positive previsions like taking people’s consent in some cases, mandatory social impact assessment, and legal guarantee of rehabilitation and resettlement of the affected population. Obviously any efforts to amend the act, will result in wider people’s resentment and o<\/a><\/span>pposition to the proposed changes <\/a>have already started to come up. The opposition to the proposed amendments is also likely to come from the BJP’s friendly organisations<\/a> like Bhartiya Kisan Sangh. <\/span>
\n<\/span>
\nThough the central government now seems to have developed cold feet on the amendment proposals<\/a>, but as in the case of labour laws, the central government seems to hope that the state governments will take the lead. The business friendly media is also hoping to have found a way out<\/a> of the 2013 Land Acquisition Act, in form of the draft Rajasthan Land Acquisition Bill, 2014. There is a need, however, to oppose the anti-people and anti farmers amendments being pushed either by the central or the state governments. <\/span><\/div>\n
\n
<\/span><\/div>\n
\n(Note: A shorter version of this article has been published in Rajasthan edition of the Hindustan Times, August 14, 2014.)<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n