Land Acquisition Bill gets President’s assent

October 3, 2013

The Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Bill, 2013 which seeks to replace the archaic land acquisition law dating back to 1894 has become law with President Pranab Mukherjee giving assent to it. As per Rural Development Ministry, the Rules will be notified within two months and an advisory panel will formed shortly to vet the said rules in consultations with various stakeholders.

What are the key features of Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Bill 2012?

The historic law would ensure that farmers are provided just and fair compensation and that no land is acquired forcibly. The Bill was passed by both Houses of Parliament. The bill was brought as the archaic Act of 1894 had various shortcomings including silence on the issue of resettlement and rehabilitation of those displaced by acquisition of land.

A key provision of the legislation is to get the consent of 80% of the landowners in case the land is acquired for private purposes and in case the land is acquired for public projects then at least consent of 70% of the landowners will be mandatory. The law also proposes that the farmers and the landowners should be compensated up to 4 times the market value of land in rural areas and 2 times the market value in urban areas.

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