(First read this post - Land Acquisition Laws - Part I)
Land Ordinance, 2014
After the
regime change, BJP government led by
PM Shri Narendra Modi, tried to
amend the
LARR Act, 2013. But due to several reasons, like disruptions by
opposition parties, having
minority in
Rajya Sabha, etc. could not
pass the
Land Bill.
Government then decided to pass a Presidential Ordinance in December 2014 (Land Ordinance, 2014), without waiting for next Parliamentary session to debate on the issue.
Provisions of Land Ordinance, 2014
1. Conditions for acquiring lands - In the Ordinance, those mandatory conditions of 70-80 % consent of the affected families, were no longer required for 5 types of projects -
- National Security and Defense
- Rural Infrastructure and Electrification
- Infrastructure and Social Infrastructure
- Industrial Corridors
- Housing for the poor
2. Social Impact Assessment (SIA) - SIA was not needed for the above 5 types of Public-Private-Partnership (PPP) projects, where government owns the land
3. Compensation - same as LARR, 2013
4. Private Provisions - Building private hospitals, education institutes would also count as 'public purpose'.
5. Accountability - Head of the department could not be prosecuted without prior sanction of government (under Criminal Procedure Code - Sec 197)
Problems with Land Ordinance, 2014
1. Bureaucrat immunity - immunity could be misused by them by playing mischief in land acquisition
2. Exemptions (a big list!) - Those 5 types of projects are enough to cover almost any type of projects (specially the infrastructure category) (meaning 70-80 consent is almost invalidated with clever words!)
3. Social Impact Assessment (SIA) - SIA ignored for those 5 types of projects. So, local laborers, artisans, small traders, etc. would get little or no relief package (even if their livelihood affected)
4. Food Security Problems - Acquisition of agricultural lands without giving proper consideration could create food security problems
5. Private Colleges and hospitals - In the name of 'public purpose', these two categories could acquire land, even if they charge high fees (and serving little 'public purpose' in rural areas)
Land Bill, 2015
In the
Budget Session, the
Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement (Amendment) Bill, 2015 (LARR Bill), also known as
Land Bill, 2015 has been passed by the
Lok Sabha on
March 10, 2015. Now it needs to be passed by
Rajya Sabha, and get
Presidential assent to become an
Act.
Ordinance has a validity of max.
6 months, and should be used only in
emergency cases (when
parliament is in
recession, and emergency action needed). Therefore
government needs to pass the
bill in both of the
Houses of
Parliament (Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha) within due time.
Apart from that, the
Land Ordinance of 2014 was too rigid for
land owners, and almost any land could be
acquired by the government without much
consideration of the affected people. Therefore, it needed to change some of its
provisions.
Provisions (9 Amendments) of Land Bill, 2015
Government adopted
9 amendments to the
Land Ordinance, and passed in the
Lok Sabha -
1. Removed exemptions for
Social Infrastructure projects in
Public-Private-Partnership (PPP) mode.
2. Land that will be acquired for
Industrial Corridors will be limited to
1 km on either side of the
highways or railway lines.
3. Compulsory employment to
1 member of the
affected family of
farm laborers.
4. Panchayat's nod may be compulsory for acquiring
tribal land.
5. Replacing the term 'private entity' with
'private enterprise'
6. Government may acquire land for
government bodies, corporations
7. A
hassle-free grievance redressal mechanism for
land losers
8. Farmers may get
right to appeal / complain over
land acquisition hearing and redressal of
grievances at the
district level
9. Ceiling on
land acquisition in
Industrial corridors
Note that government refused to bring back the Consent clause (70-80) and Social Impact Assessment (SIA) for the 5 types of projects.
Opposition of the Bill and Anna Hazare
The
Land Bill is likely to be opposed in the
Rajya Sabha by the
opposition parties (where the
BJP-government has a minority state).
Also the veteran
anti-corruption crusader
Anna Hazare kept up a combative tone over the allegedly
'anti-farmer' bill, remarking that a
"second freedom struggle" would erupt if the
bill is passed in the
Rajya Sabha.
He wrote in his blog,
"A second freedom struggle would erupt if this Bill, in its current version, gets the approval of both Houses of Parliament. The people would then have to show that the 'People's Parliament' is supreme in this country."
He is also planning to start his
'Kisan Sangharsh Yatra' in protest against the
Bill on
March 30, 2015.
Summary and my view
The LARR Act of
2013 was too rigid for land acquisition, that made the land acquisition process infeasible (blocking industrial growth). On the other hand, the Land Ordinance of
2014 was too rigid for the land owners, that almost ignored them in the whole process (we cannot deprive the land owner in the name of industrial growth!)
Even in the Land Bill of
2015, the
SIA and
70-80 consent clause is not applicable for the 5 types of projects (read 'not present'). It means that the situation is not improved for the affected people.
Now, we can just wait and watch, whether the
Bill is passed in
Rajya Sabha. Or, we can raise our
concerns in appropriate means.
You can present your views regarding this topic in comments section.
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