LAND ACQUISITION BILL: SALIENT FEATURES

The LAND INVESTMENT IN INDIA, our country is currently under the big cloud of Land Acquisition Bill. Although not all of land owners are affected by it, but then it is the duty of LAND INVESTMENT COMPANY like us – AAMANI SPACES that we keep you up to date with the going- ons. In this series find the features of the bill, with each aspect covered in detail, so this will be in series of 3 blogs. Stay connected.

 

When does the ACT apply:

         This act will apply only when a private project developer acquires or purchases land more than 100 acres in rural areas or 50 acres in urban areas through a private negotiation with the landowner, or when a private project developer asks the government to acquire land on his/her/their behalf. 

So if a private project developer wants to escape this clause, he/she will takeland in multiple parcels instead of one-time acquisition, which helps him or her escape the application of this Act.

Also, if land has been acquired under sixteen previous acts, this act will not apply. These include SEZ Act (2005), Atomic Energy Act, Cantonments Act, Damodar Valley Corporation Act, Land Acquisition (Mines) Act, National Highways Act, Electricity Act and many others. This list is under 4th Schedule of this bill, and other acts can be added to this bill with just a Central govt. notification. 

·         Requirement of consent:

In the original Land Acquisition Act (1894), there was no requirement of any consent from the original landowner in acquiring his/her land. But as per this bill, consent of 70% of the landowners is required prior to acquiring land for a "public-private partnership" project, while consent of 80% of the landowners is required prior to acquiring land for a "private" project.

 Land can be acquired for "public purpose" only, where public purpose refers to a number of development projects: mining, infrastructure, defence, roads, railways, ports etc.

 This is an improvement upon the original act, since if the majority of the landowners do not agree to the project to be established on their land, a majority of them can unite and oppose the project by not giving their consent.  The other big achievement is that the definition of "public purpose" is much clearer and is related to development unlike in the past, where the government could acquire land on any pretext while terming it "public purpose". 

 There are some major lacunae even in the kind of provisions put up. For one, a large amount of land is acquired even today by public sector units like NTPC, BHEL or others. Yet, no public consent is required by public sector units in acquiring land, be it for mining, for power projects, for highway building or for any other purpose.

In the next part see other salient features like the notice period, compensation,  rehabilitation and resettlement etc. An understanding of the topic of the ACT will make sure that you will never be bogged down by the doubts and dilemmas about any of it. AAMANI SPACES a big name in the DHOLERA SMART CITY DEVLOPMENT is in the constant process of making the mass aware about the land acquiring and owning properties.

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THE “SHANGHAI” OF INDIA: DHOLERA S.I.R.

“Dholera SIR to be developed on Shanghai model”

- Indian PM Mr. Narendra Modi at Yangshang

Shanghai is the commercial and financial center of mainland China. In the last two decades Shanghai has been one of the fastest developing cities in the world. Since 1992 Shanghai has recorded double-digit growth almost every year except during the global recession of 2008 and 2009. It is one of the main industrial centers of China, playing a key role in China's heavy industries. It is dubbed as the best growing city of the Asian Continent with a high development rate and that to at a speed that makes it rank among the best ranking city in the world.

The dream of the then CM of Gujarat and the incumbent PM of the nation of India is to develop the city of Dholera on the lines of the city of Shanghai; He has envisioned the site as the most suitable for the overall development and in  terms of connectivity to the ambitious freight corridor. 

At Vibrant Gujarat, there was a special pavilion on Dholera Special Investment Region (DSIR), described as a new Gujarat within Gujarat. The CM spoke proudly about it, describing it as something that would surpass Shanghai. 

There’s a slight difference between a SIR and a SEZ. For a SEZ, one needs to acquire the entire contiguous land. With a SIR, even partial land acquisition works. Dholera will be Gujarat’s first SIR, also the first under Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor Project (DMIC), the joint initiative with Japan.

With Gujarat there never have been much problem with the acquisition of land and the Dholera location is such that the advantages are obvious. The SIR site is identified over 903 sq km but only 550 sq kms will be developed with an economic activity area slightly less than 400. It will be a Greenfield township, within the SIR, the first, but not the only one. Others are also planned, along the coast and around DMIC.

The proposed infrastructure connectivity, with Dholera and outside it, smart city concepts and urban planning, are nothing short of overwhelming. For example, Dholera will largely run on solar power. There is already a draft development plan, in public domain. The location has been identified; work on the central spine road has started. The relevant area has been notified as DSIR. Work is almost complete at the airport. There is a master plan and there is also a project development corporation. The environmental clearances are almost over.

By 2018 or thereabouts, Dholera should be in place. Not all States can replicate everything about Gujarat, even if one accepts rationale of greenfield and charter cities. But some elements, thinking big, faster clearances, should be imbibed. That’s common to both Pudong and Dholera.