With various government departments already suffering land acquisition woes, the proposed changes in the draft of the land bill are set to further hinder the pace of several projects stalled for need for land.
The draft of the Land Acquisition Rehabilitation and Resettlement (LARR) Bill 2011 has been finalized and sent to the Union cabinet, which is likely to take it up for consideration at its next meeting.
In the proposed bill, the percentage of land owners, whose consent is essential for acquiring land for private purposes, has been raised from 67% to 80%. The decision has delighted owners whose land has been acquired by the government for various projects. Further, many affected owners claim that the government is acquiring extra land.
Hoping to get a better deal out of the proposed changes in the bill, several owners are not willing to surrender their land before the Act is enforced. This has slowed down the pace of several projects that have been stuck for a long time.
However, the proposed bill also states that land owners’ consent is not required for acquiring land for public purposes.
It has also been proposed that projects where land acquisition process has been under way for five years or more will be brought under the new norms and will have to begin work afresh.
Virendra Katewa, secretary, Ring Road Sangharsh Samiti said “Farmers have always shown consent for constructing the transport corridor. After fresh changes in the bill, the state government will not be able to acquire extra land from the framers to fill its coffers.”
He added, “Since land was acquired for the project in 2005, there is a chance the acquisition will be nullified, which will benefit many farmers.”
Under the Ring Road project, the state government had proposed a 90-metre-wide transport corridor and 135-metre-wide development corridors on either sides. The idea has, however, not gone down too well with the farmers who are demanding compensation at the market price for the 90-metre stretch and return of excess land.
“The JDA is acquiring 360m land for the Ring Road where only 90m is required. We have no objection to acquisition of 90m land if we are compensated at market price. Our protest will continue till the excess land (above 90 m) is not returned,” Katewa said.
Similarly, land acquisition worries threaten to throw development of six colonies proposed by the Jaipur Development Authority off track. A senior JDA official said, “Land acquisition has become a major cause for delay. As JDA doesn’t have enough land, it has no option but to acquire it from private owners.”
For instance, JDA has failed to acquire land for Ninder housing scheme. Proposed to be developed on 1,100 bigha land on Sikar Road, the project is the biggest after Prithviraj Nagar.
A senior UDH official though said, “We can’t say whether the bill will be passed or not. We will follow whatever the government decides.”
After the LARR Bill 2011 was introduced in Lok Sabha on September 7, the government has faced the heat from land owners. In the projects where it has not taken possession of the acquired land so far, land owners are reluctant to hand-over the land till the bill is enforced.
src: timesofindia.indiatimes.com