Land Acquisition Bill Passed: 2015

In the past few days, since the Land acquisition bill has been passed, there has been a lot going on as a result of the reaction to it. We at AAMANI SPACES bring for you the detailed account that will help you understand the finer nuances of the act and how and where it does affect you, if you are a land owner or aiming to be so.

The government has decided to introduce an ordinance to make major changes in the existing Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act 2013. It is in many ways aimed to be a course correction after the Act passed by UPA was deemed as restrictive by industry bodies. 

Let us start with the basics where we tell you what it means and what the basic is and context for such bill. After all BEST LAND INVESTMENT  for you is what we aim for.

Basics & Context: 

Land acquisition refers to the process where a government acquires land from land owners for any purpose. Generally, the purpose is related to development projects conducted either by PSUs (Public Sector units) or the private sector.

Prior to the passage of this Bill (and it is yet to become an Act), we had the Land Acquisition Act of 1894 which was imposed in India since the time of British rule. Under this Act, the government could acquire any land as it wishes to, in the name of "public purpose".

The British had never defined the words "public purpose" in a straightforward manner, which meant that in theory as well as in practice, a government could acquire land for any purpose they wanted, and term their purpose "public purpose".

After independence, this practice continued whereby Indian governments, both at the central and at the state level, acquired large amounts of land for various kinds of development and infrastructure projects, such as roads, highways, ports (air and sea), power projects (thermal, hydro and nuclear) etc.

 During 1947 till 1991, most of these acquisitions had been done by agencies or units in the public sector. After 1991, when liberalization had taken place, most of the land acquisition was done by the government to provide land for the private sector, either for private sector projects (infrastructure projects like power, roads etc.) but also for housing projects. 

On account of protests over the years against many such development projects, like against Tehri Dam, Sardar Sarovar dam, Singur or Nandigram, and many others which failed in preventing land acquisition, there were growing demands from not just the activists, but also to an extent from the corporates for a transparent and accountable land acquisition process so that while the people could get adequate compensation and would be suitably rehabilitated, corporates do not have to face delays on account of protests against land acquisition.

And it is in this context that the Land Acquisition Act (2011) was introduced, and finally passed in the Lok Sabha on 29th August 2013. 

In the coming parts we will analyse the highlights of the bill and also see if these have pros and cons attached to them. We at AAMANI SPACES ensure that you get the BEST INVESTMENT IN INDIA  with proper knowledge and understanding.

THE DEVELOPMENT HUB OF INDIA: DHOLERA S.I.R.

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. 

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. 

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.

At Vibrant Gujarat, there was a special pavilion on Dholera Special InvestmentRegion (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.

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.

DHOLERA: DREAM , GIFT, PROGRESS

The proposed special investment region (SIR) will be the first-of-its-kind to be created in the state. The land prices here have quadrupled in the last two years. Soon there will be 185 kilometres of six-lane roads. The roads are being built at a cost of Rs 1,584 crore to be linked with the Delhi-Mumbai dedicated freight corridor.Dholera also has greater possibilities of building modern port facilities. The Adani group might consider plans to build an eco-friendly port here.

The tiny village with a population of 4,500, mostly farmers who grow wheat, jowar and cotton, is prospering and looking forward to a sea-change. Dholera, which is situated in Ahmedabad district in the Gulf of Khambhat, is in proximity to road transport infrastructure and sea-port facilities. And what's more, the government has proposed to build an international airport near Fedara, 30 km from Dholera ensuring that the BESTPROPERTY DEALS become the USP of this region.

The manufacturing zone has been planned keeping in mind the windflow pattern so that industrial pollution flies out of the city. All utilities including parking spots will be underground so that there is enough space to build pavements for pedestrians and dedicated cycle tracks It will be divided into five business districts and two knowledge zones.

The entire city will run on a BRT system that can be converted into a light rail transport system in the future Every housing, office, and industrial complex will be within 10 minutes walking distance of some form of public transport. Dholera will be connected to the world through a new international airport on its outskirts, to the rest of the country through a new railway line and to Ahmedabad through a ten-lane highway.  

The city will rely heavily on solar energy for its power requirements although a dedicated 1, 300 MW power plant is planned. A hierarchy of roads, from the main ten-lane artery cutting the city into two to four-lane interior streets, is planned for smooth traffic flow and proper intra-city connectivity.

India’s is urbanizing,so much that estimates suggest nearly 600 million of Indians will be living in cities by 2030, up from 290 million as reported in the 2001 census. Alongside the hordes of Indians go the jobs and the money as well Dholera SIR would generate 70% of the new jobs created by 2030, produce more than 70% of the Indian gross domestic product and drive a fourfold increase in per capital incomes across the country.

It will have modern waste management systems and facilities to recycle sewage water for industrial use. Housing has been so designed through the mixed use pattern that the work place is close to the residential complex. This might help in increase in INVESTMENT IN RESIDENTIAL, INDUSTRIAL AND COMMERCIAL PLOT IN DHOLERA SIR.