<div>The revised Land Acquisition Bill — officially called the Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement (LARR) Bill — has got the nod of the Group of Ministers (GoM). Once the Cabinet approves it, it is likely to be moved during Parliament’s winter session. The GoM was constituted after the original draft of the Bill attracted opposition from several ministers. Among other issues, a provision that required the consent of 80 per cent of affected landowners was considered anti-industry. The new draft, in a bid to please everybody, has raised the hackles of all stakeholders. <br /> </div><div>The reworked Bill has downsized the consent formula for public projects from the earlier requirement of 80 per cent of the landowners to two-thirds of those being ousted. It has also done away with the retrospective application of the law. The date of implementation will be notified later, rural development minister Jairam Ramesh said. For ‘Schedule IV areas’ inhabited by tribal communities, consent of the local self-governing bodies will be mandatory. Compensation too has been brought down for rural land from six times market value in the original draft to four times.<br /> <br />Urban land compensation remains at double the market value. <br /> </div><div>The 100-year-old, archaic Land Acquisition Act is truly a stumbling block to industrialisation in India. For instance, Orissa’s Industrial Development Corporation’s (IDCO) CMD, Pradeep Kumar Jena, had admitted to BW that IDCO, charged with acquiring land for industrial development, had only delivered 35,000 acres since 2006 compared to the demand of 150,000 acres for industrial units waiting in the queue. After Tata Motors’ Singur fiasco and steel baron L.N. Mittal having publicly torn up his business plans for India, the government has been under pressure to come up with a workable land acquisition law. </div><table width="100" cellspacing="6" cellpadding="6" border="0" align="right"><tbody><tr><td><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0); "><strong>4 times market rate is what has been proposed as compensation for rural land</strong></span></td></tr></tbody></table><div><br />Will the new Bill address these problems? Industry captains are still examining the small print, but most of them are concerned that it will push up project costs. Chandrajit Bannerji, director-general of the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), says, “The positive note is that the Bill recognises the paramount role of government in acquiring land for industry. Corporates can’t do it themselves. However, if the proposed compensation package, along with the solatium of 30 per cent for relief and rehabilitation (R&R), is implemented, cost of projects is likely to shoot up 3 to 3.5 times.” <br /> </div><div>Similarly, mandatory approval from local bodies for land in tribal areas will also hurt. In most mineral-rich states like Orissa and Jharkhand, 50 per cent of the land is in forest and tribal belts. Pushing past highly-politicised panchayats and zilla parishads will be tough.<br /> </div><div>Meanwhile, the Left parties have already taken a stand against the ‘anti-people’ land Bill. CPM’s Brinda Karat said that by lowering the consent ceiling to 66 per cent, the government had diluted the Bill in favour of corporates. <br /> </div><div>The Bill was introduced last year in September in Parliament. It is unlikely that the new draft will see the light of day in the current form. <br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(34, 34, 34); font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: normal; ">(This story was published in Businessworld Issue Dated 29-10-2012)</span></div>
BW Reporters
Gurbir Singh is an award-winning senior journalist with over 30 years experience. He has worked for BW Businessworld since 2008, and is currently its Executive Editor. His experience ranges from covering 'Operation Bluestar' in 1984 to pioneering coverage of the business of Media & Entertainment and Real Estate for The Economic Times.
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