Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Bill 2011: Amendments have been made in accordance with the recommendation of the Group of Ministers..

Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Bill 2011

13 amendments that have been made in accordance with the recommendations of the Standing Committee are as follows:

The 13 amendments have been made in accordance with the recommendation of the Group of Ministers are as follows:

a Deposit of amount in case of acquisition of agricultural land:

A new amendment allows states the option, while acquiring agricultural land, to deposit an amount equivalent to the value of the agricultural land acquired if they are unable to find alternative land to cultivate in lieu of the acquired agricultural land (this was the original requirement).

a Retrospective Operation:

 To correct historical injustices, a retrospective clause allowing certain classes of individuals to benefit from enhanced compensation and rehabilitation and resettlement has been provided for.

a Revised Social Impact Assessment Process:

 A revised provision for a more thorough Social Impact Assessment process in consultation with Panchayati Raj Institutions has been drafted.

a Power to override recommendations of Expert Group:

 It was felt by many individuals that a non-elected group of individuals should not be given final authority over whether acquisition should be allowed to proceed or not. As a result an amendment has been made to allow the Government concerned to override them but only if they have sufficient reasons that are recorded in writing.

a New Responsibilities for the Collector:

 New amendments have been made to ensure the Collector updates the land records so that compensation can be paid on true and accurate values.

a Power to Appropriate Government to raise R & R:

 An amendment has been made to enable the appropriate Government to raise the rate of rehabilitation and resettlement to take into account for inflation.

a Power to taking possession only AFTER satisfying obligations:

 Section 37 which deals with taking possession of the land has been strengthened to ensure that the Collector shall only take possession of the land “after ensuring that” the compensation/ R&R responsibilities have been discharged.

aWaiver of Income Tax & Stamp Duty:

To further ameliorate the suffering of displaced families, the Act has exempted them from the payment of income tax and stamp duty for amounts received under this law.

a Power to divert land in exceptional cases:

 If land acquired for one purpose cannot be used for that purpose due to an unforeseen calamity, then the appropriate Government may use it for another purpose.

a Increase in share of appreciated value:

 If the Government after acquiring the land sells it to a third party then 40 per cent of the appreciated value will be shared with the original owners. This has been increased from 20 per cent.

a Limit on benefit from sale of acquired land:

 In addition to the preceding amendment, an additional amendment has been made to limit this benefit to only the first time the land is sold after acquisition.

a Multiplier to calculate compensation:

 Flexibility has been given to the States to fix the multiplier by which the compensation will be calculated. In other words States can give up to 4 times the market value but it can be lower if they chose to fix a lower multiplier (See answer to question 8).

a Offer for Developed Land:

A new amendment has been made which provides that in the case of acquisition for urbanisation purposes, 20 per cent of the developed land will be reserved and offered to the original owners at a price equal to the cost of acquisition and development.

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