Ordinance to amend New Land Acquisition Act 2013

Pune: The Union Cabinet recently approved an ordinance to amend the contentious land acquisition act and ease restrictions including a "consent clause" which was seen as obstacle for power, highways, housing, defence and infrastructure projects and holding up the economy's growth potential. 

The ordinance seeks to waive the "consent clause" - the requirement to secure specific consent of owners of 70% -80% of land owners if acquisitions are meant for defence and defence production, rural infrastructure including electrification, housing for poor and affordable housing, industrial corridors and infrastructure projects including projects under Public-Private Partnership mode where ownership the land continues to be vested with the government. Multi-crop land can also be acquired for such purposes. 

Such acquisitions will also be exempt from social impact assessment and the application of Food Security Act, two other requirements laid down under the Land Acquisition Act which have been widely identified as factors snagging projects and development. Nearly 80% of land acquired in the country is for such projects.

The ordinance marks a bold move considering that the entire political class had thrown its weight behind the Land Acquisition Act despite reservations in Congress and BJP about its implications on development and costs. The Act was inspired by the resentment against the arbitrary and exploitative land acquisitions which peaked when governments took over farm lands for SEZs and real estate projects. 

About Right to Fair  Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act 2013 , many felt that the "course correction" went too far and to impractical lengths because of the provisions that made land acquisition steeply prohibitive and time-consuming. With the pendulum swinging to the other extreme, state governments including those belonging to those Congress called for a fresh look at the law.

The Land Acquisition Act made it mandatory for seeking consent of 70% of gram sabhas for PPP projects and 80% for private entities. This clause was seen as a major roadblock for acquiring land for projects, an object of persistent complaints by the industry as well as states. 

While the pre-acquisition restrictions have been waived, the government has decided that the compensation and rehabilitation and resettlement packages would remain as prescribed in the present law. 

With respect to compensation and resettlement and rehabilitation norms, the cabinet also approved bringing under the ambit of the ordinance 13 most frequently used Acts for land acquisition for central government projects such as national highways, metro rail, atomic energy projects, electricity. This is expected to benefit farmers and affected families. 

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