An Assignment on Land Acquisition Act 1894 and 2013

And Right To property

Land Laws

Submitted by

Name: Vinay Sharma

Student ID: 20162352

B.A. LL.B (9th Semester) (Regular)

Faculty of Law, Jamia Millia Islamia

Submitted to : Prof. Kahkashan Y. Danyal.

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 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

It gives me immense pleasure and gratitude to thank my Land Laws Professor , Dr. Kahkashan
Y. Danyal, who gave me the golden opportunity to do this wonderful project which helped me
in doing a lot of research and I came to know about so many new things. I am really thankful
to him.

Secondly, I would also like to thank my parents and friends who helped me a lot in finalizing
this project within the limited time frame.

Yours sincerely, Vinay Sharma

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 Table of Contents

S. No. Topic Page No.

1. INTRODUCTION 4
2. LEGAL PERSPECTIVE 5
3. Land Acquisition Act, 1894 7
4. Problems with the Land Acquisition Act, 1894 8

5. COMPARATIVE STUDY OF LAND ACQUISITION 11

ACT 1894 AND 2013

6. ADVANTAGES OF LAND ACQUISITION ACT 2013 13

7. Right to Property 20

8. Conclusion 24
9. Bibliography 25

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 INTRODUCTION
One can safely assert that land is perhaps the greatest gift that God has bestowed on human
beings. All activities of man whether social, political or economic, revolve around the
beneficial enjoyment of land. Similarly, all endeavours of the Govt. in infusing growth and
development into the economy are also closely linked to land.1

Acquisition of land by the Govt. is something that has existed since the British Raj. The British
Govt. forcibly acquired several acres of lands to facilitate their plans of introducing the railway
system in India. Back then, the compensation to be paid for such acquisition of land was under
the control of an arbitrator, whose decision on the compensation would be final. The law
makers at that time understood the fact that the arbitrator could have been incompetent and also
that there were no rules laid down to govern the procedure of work of the arbitrator. To
circumvent such lacunas taking its toll on the public revenue, the Land Acquisition Act, 1870
was enacted.

INDIA IS a country where more than 70% of the population lives in rural areas and is heavily
dependent on the primary sector i.e. agriculture. Hence, there is hardly any land which is not
occupied. When the government intends to carry out some developmental work like
construction of dams, flyovers, bridges, mines etc., it requires vast expanse of land. Since land
is a scarce resource, in order to carry out developmental work, the government has to acquire
land thereby depriving the existing occupants from its use. This leads to large-scale
displacement and forced transfer of people from their land. Of course, development is a
necessity in the present world, but the question which arises is ‘development at what cost?’
Should it be at the cost of the land owners who are extremely possessive about their land, or
the farmers for whom land is the only source of livelihood who they treat like a mother? Should
the government blindly go for development without bothering to secure the interest of the
landowners and the farmers or should strive to strike balance between the two2.

1
Henry Maine, Ancient Law (J.M Dent and Sons Ltd. London,1972),p.153
2
Prof. Kahkashan Y. Danyal ,Land Acquisition in India-past and Present ,JLJ.2016 2:1-10.

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 LEGAL PERSPECTIVE
Land Acquisition – what is?

Land Acquisition can be defined as the action of the government whereby it acquires land from
its owners in order to pursue certain public purpose or for any company. This acquisition may
be against the will of the owners but compensation is paid to the owners or persons interested
in the land. This can be distinguished from an outright purchase of land from the market. Land
acquisitions by the government generally are compulsory in nature, not paying heed to the
owner's unwillingness to part with the land.

The procedure is simple: - The Appropriate Govt – i.e. State Govt. or Central Govt. – identifies
that it requires a piece of land for public purpose or for a company. It publishes a notification
to that effect in the official gazette and the substance thereof is published by the collector in a
notice that he places in a conspicuous place of the land ought to be acquired. The notification
of the Govt. is also published in 2 newspapers one of which is the regional language of the
place where the land to be acquired is situated 3. Within 30 days of such notification, the
persons interested in the land can raise their objection to the Collector, in writing, of any of
issue related to the acquisition of the land. The collector shall after making his comments
forward it to the Central Govt, whose decision on the matter shall be final4.

After having gone through the report filed by the Collector u/s 5A (as mentioned above), the
appropriate government shall publish a declaration of the intention to acquire land in the same
manner as mentioned before (Section 6)5.

The collector shall then issue a notice to the persons interested to an enquiry to be held before
him regarding the key aspects on to area of land, compensation etc to make claims and stating
that the Govt. intends to acquire the land (Section 9).

Section 11 states that the collector shall make an award under his hand of:-

# The true area of the land

# The compensation, which in his opinion should be allowed for the land, and

3
Section 4 , Land Acquisition Act 1894.
4
Section 5 , Land Acquisition Act 1894.
5
Section 6, Land Acquisition Act 1894.

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# The apportionment of the said compensation among the persons interested.

This award shall be made only after conducting an enquiry as per section 9 and after obtaining
the prior approval of the appropriate government.

After having made compensation, the govt. can take possession of the land. The land shall then
vest with the govt. without any encumbrances (section 16).

Section 17 states that in cases of urgency, the Govt. can acquire the land without paying
compensation- though compensation will have to be paid eventually.6

The compensation to be paid is the market value of the land as it exists on the date of the 1st
notification u/s 4 of the Act. Also, it is important to mention here that the land has to be acquired
within a period of 2 years from the date of the first notification under section 4, failing which,
the whole procedure will have to be followed again.(11A)

The land acquisition process in India has lately assumed a controversial and debatable
dimension. The recent uproar against the land acquisition in Nandigram at Singur and Greater
Noida and the verdict of the apex court has brought the Land Acquisition Act and the process
of land acquisition under a general discussion.

The process of land acquisition is initiated by the government and the land owners have no role
to play in it except for filing of objections while collecting compensation of the land. Various
state governments come with several kinds of schemes for the people whose land is acquired
by the state. The predominant purpose of any acquisition of land by the government has
remained “public welfare” which can be development related activity or construction of various
industrial, housing schemes. By and large the land acquisition by the state government is
upheld by the courts whenever challenged because the “public purpose” is always kept in mind
by the courts dealing with such cases.

The challenge to the award and the filing of objections is in the designated revenue courts and
the matters are dealt specifically by such courts. Acquisition and requisition of property falls
in the concurrent list, which means that both the centre and the state government can make
laws on the matter. There are a number of local and specific laws which provide for acquisition
of land under them but the main law that deals with acquisition is the Land Acquisition Act,
1894.

6
Section 17 land Acquisition Act 1894.

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 Land Acquisition Act, 1894
Legacy of the colonial British, the Land Acquisition Act of 1894 7is a law still prevailing in
India and Pakistan that allows the government to acquire private land in those countries.

The land acquisition act of 1894 was created with the expressed purpose of facilitating the
government’s acquisition of privately held land for public purposes and for the companies. The
word “public purpose”, as defined in the act, refers to the acquisition of land for putting up
educational institutions or schemes such as housing, health or slum clearance, apart from the
projects for rural planning or formation of sites. The expression “land” includes benefits that
arise of land and things attached to the earth or permanently attached to the anything fastened
to the earth.8

The word “government” refers to the central government if the purpose for acquisition is for
the union and for all other purposes it refers to the state government. It is not necessary that all
the acquisition has to be initiated by the government alone. Local authorities, societies
registered under the societies registration act, 1860 and co-operative societies established under
the co-operative societies act can also acquire the land for developmental activities through the
government.

Such land is typically acquired by the government through payment of compensation to

landowners as per market value. Moreover if the compensation given is under protest than as
per the enactment the awardees are entitled to refer the matter to the court for determination of
requisite amount of compensation.

After independence in 1947, the Indian government adopted “Land Acquisition Act-1894” as
a tool for land acquisition. Since then various amendments have been made to the 1894 act
from time to time. However, despite amendments the administrative procedures have remained
same. The Ministry of Rural Development being the Nodal Union Government to administer
the Land Acquisition Act, 1894, processes the proposals for amendment of various provisions
of the said Act from time to time.

7
Hereinafter referred to as the 1894 Act.
8
Prof R. Nallathiga Prof A. Abhyankar A, Gurnani A, Goyal M Umredkar, Comparative analysis of land
acquisition acts in India: A CASE-BASED APPROACH, 3 IJLMS, 2018.

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Problems with the Land Acquisition Act, 1894
Designed by the British to serve their only purpose of taking-over land to serve their colonial
interests, the law is too narrow and lacks humanitarian touch and sense of justice that any
modern law should have.

‘Urgency clause’ is the most criticised and misused section of the 1894 Act. The blatant misuse
of Section 179 by the state governments is a serious cause for concern. The Land Acquisition
Act, 1894 has been referred to as a draconian law, because the landowner whose land is
proposed to be acquired cannot seek injunction against it. He can only file objections under
Section 5A10 against the proposed land acquisition which is a basic right of the landowner
under the principles of Natural justice – audi alterem partem. But there have been a number of
cases where various state governments have acquired land by misusing the provision of Section
17(4)7 of the ‘urgency clause’. Under this provision, the state government may direct that the
provisions of Section 5A shall not apply and take away the basic rights of the landowners to
file his objections. Hence state power is used to misuse the provisions of urgency. The
acquisition of land under Section 4(1) read with Section 17(1) and 17(4) has generated
substantial litigation in the last 50 years.

The Supreme Court in Radhey Shyam (D) through LRs and others v. State of U.P. and
others 11held as under:

“In cases where the acquisition is made by invoking Section 4 read with Section 17(1)
and 17(4)…excluding the application of Section 5A is likely to make the landowner a
landless poor and force him to migrate to the nearby city only to live in a slum. A
departure from this rule should be made only when the land is required to meet really
emergent situations like those enumerated in Section 17(2). If the acquisition is
intended to benefit private person(s) and the provisions contained in Section 17(1)
and/or 17(4) are invoked, then the scrutiny of the justification put forward by the State

9
Section 17 reads Special powers in cases of urgency. Clause (1) In cases of urgency, whenever the
[appropriate Government] so directs, the Collector, though no such award has been made, may, on the
expiration of fifteen days from the publication of the notice mentioned in section 9, sub-section (1), [take
possession of any land needed for a public purpose]. Such land shall thereupon [vest absolutely in the
[Government]], free from all encumbrances.
10
Section 5A reads Hearing of objections. Clause (1) Any person interested in any land which has been notified
under section 4, sub-section (1), as being needed or likely to be needed for a public purpose or for a company
may, [within thirty days from the date of the publication of the notification], object to the acquisition of the
land or of any land in the locality, as the case may be
11

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 should be more rigorous in cases involving the challenge to the acquisition of land.”
Thus, according to the Supreme Court, Section 5A represents the statutory embodiment
of the rule of audi alteram partem and the urgency provision under section 17(1) should
not be invoked unless there is real and substantive urgency. Apart from the misuse of
the urgency clause, there are certain other drawbacks of the 1894 Act.

Method of fixing the monetary compensation: The land owner is entitled to the
compensation determined on the basis of the market value of the land on the date of preliminary
notification – no consideration of rising future values as a result of the development project. It
is determined by the Collector, and for any objections under Section-5 and Section-9 of the
Act, the Collector and Government act as the Quasi-Adjudicatory Body, and the suits to a civil
court are specifically barred. There is no provision for an independent judicial body to fix the
amount of compensation calculated and hear the objections.

No consideration of rehabilitation – reconstructing the lives of displaced and affected people

– is clearly the most glaring short-coming of the 1894 Act, which instead emphasizes cash
compensation for loss of land and that too without specifying any time limit. This has allowed
considerable laxity to the officials further annoying the already affected people. Even with
some time limit, the larger issue of rehabilitation would remain.

A lack of rehabilitation policy violates Right to Life under Article 21 and Right to Equality
under Article 14 (interpreted as right against arbitrariness) of the Constitution of India.12

No provision for dialogue with the affected people: The government does everything
arbitrarily, the only thing the dissatisfied land owner can do is to file objection regarding
compensation (and wait for decision). This is nothing but a mockery of democracy – one is
losing not just property but age-honoured lifestyle and the law offers no platform to express
one’s opinion.

The only way an affected person can say something is by way of filing an objection within
thirty days from the date of notification in the gazette. The objections will be valid on one or
more of the following grounds:

That the purpose for which the land is proposed for acquisition is not a public purpose.

That the land is not or less suitable than another piece of land for the said purpose.

12
Part 3 of Indian Constitution.

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 That the area under acquisition is excessive.

That the acquisition will destroy or impair historical or artistic monuments or will desecrate
religious buildings, graveyards and the like.

The collector after hearing the objections will submit his report to the government who will
finally declare the land for acquisition under the Section 6 of the Act. After notification the
collector proceeds with the claim. Needless to say, this undemocratic situation is loaded against
the poor tribals.

Forced Acquisition – Once the government develops an intention that a particular piece of
land may be acquired, nothing can stop the government from acquiring that land without
sparing any thought for the person whose land is being acquired. The individual so deprived
cannot go to the Court and seek injunction against the proposed acquisition. What he can do is
file objections in the written form under Section 5A and to appear before the Collector under
Section 5A . The Collector shall prepare a report on the basis of his objections which shall be
submitted to the appropriate government, the decision of the appropriate government shall be
final. The government can overrule the objections on the ground that land is required for a
public purpose under Section 6. Thereafter, the acquisition cannot be challenged. The
landowner can only challenge the amount of compensation decided by the government. Under
the Act, the collector’s award of compensation is final, unless altered by a decree of a Civil
Court in a regular suit. What is a public purpose? Section 3 of the 1894 Act gives an inclusive
definition of public purpose.

Let us see how this term has been defined in the Black’s Law Dictionary13. The term public
purpose has been defined as –

“ A public purpose or public business has for its objective the promotion of public
health, safety, morals, general welfare, security, prosperity and contentment of all the
inhabitants or residents within a given political division, as, as, for example, a state, the
sovereign powers of which are exercised to promote such public purpose or public
business.”

In Rajiv Saran v. State of Uttarakhand14 the Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court held:
“The incident of deprivation of property within the meaning of Article 300A of the Constitution

13
The Black’s Law Dictionary, 5th Edition, 1979.
14
Civil Appeal No. 4772 of 1998 decided on August 09, 2011.

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normally occurred mostly in the context of public purpose. Clearly, any law, which deprives a
person of his private property for private interest, will be amenable to judicial review. In just
sixty years, though the concept of public purposes has been given quite interpretation,
nevertheless, the “public purpose” remains the most important condition in order to invoke
Article 300A of the Constitution.”

“Acquisition of private land for companies under the 1894 Act raises a question mark on the
desirability of such state intervention when the land could be arranged by the company through
private negotiations on a ‘willing seller willing buyer’ basis, which could be seen to be a more
fair arrangement from the point of view of the landowner.”

The Supreme Court finally in Ramji Veerji Patel and others v. Revenue Divisional
Officer15held that:

“The provisions contained in the Act, of late, have been felt by all concerned, do not
adequately protect the interest of the landowners/persons interested in the land. The Act
does not provide for rehabilitation of persons displaced from their land although by
such compulsory acquisition, their livelihood gets affected. For years, the acquired land
remains unused and unutilised. To say the least, the Act has become outdated and needs
to be replaced at the earliest by fair, reasonable and rational enactment in tune with the
constitutional provisions, particularly, Article 300A of the Constitution. We expect the
lawmaking process for a comprehensive enactment with regard to acquisition of land
being completed without any unnecessary delay.

COMPARATIVE STUDY OF LAND ACQUISITION

ACT 1894 AND 2013:
There is unanimity of opinion across the social and political spectrum that the current Law (The
Land Acquisition Act 1894) suffers from various shortcomings. Some of these include:

• Forced acquisitions: Under the 1894 legislation once the acquiring authority has formed the
intention to acquire a particular plot of land, it can carry out the acquisition regardless of how
the person whose land is sought to be acquired is affected.

15
2011 (2) SCALE 364.

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• No safeguards: There is no real appeal mechanism to stop the process of the acquisition. A
hearing (under section 5A) is prescribed but this is not a discussion or negotiation. The views
expressed are not required to be taken on board by the officer conducting the hearing.

• Silent on resettlement and rehabilitation of those displaced: There are absolutely no

provisions in the 1894 law relating to the resettlement and rehabilitation of those displaced by
the acquisition.

• Urgency clause: This is the most criticised section of the Law. The clause never truly defines
what constitutes an urgent need and leaves it to the discretion of the acquiring authority. As a
result almost all acquisitions under the Act invoke the urgency clause. This results in the
complete dispossession of the land without even the token satisfaction of the processes listed
under the Act.

• Low rates of compensation: The rates paid for the land acquired are the prevailing circle
rates in the area which are notorious for being outdated and hence not even remotely indicative
of the actual rates prevailing in the area.

• Litigation: Even where acquisition has been carried out the same has been challenged in
litigations on the grounds mentioned above. This results in the stalling of legitimate
infrastructure projects.

• Recent observations by the Supreme Court: Justice Ganpat Singhvi of the Supreme
Court has observed, in the wake of repeated violations that have come to light over the last
few months, that the law has “become a fraud”. He observed that the law seems to have been
drafted with “scant regard for the welfare of the common man”.

• Another bench of the Supreme Court has echoed this sentiment in its observation that “The
provisions contained in the Act, of late, have been felt by all concerned, do not adequately
protect the interest of the land owners/persons interested in the land. The Act does not provide
for rehabilitation of persons displaced from their land although by such compulsory acquisition,
their livelihood gets affected …To say the least, the Act has become outdated and needs to be
replaced at the earliest by fair, reasonable and rational enactment in tune with the constitutional
provisions, particularly, Article 300A of the Constitution. We expect the law making process
for a comprehensive enactment with regard to acquisition of land being completed without any
unnecessary delay.”

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ADVANTAGES OF LAND ACQUISITION ACT 2013:
• Compensation: Given the inaccurate nature of circle rates, the Bill proposes the payment of
compensations that are up to four times the market value in rural areas and twice the market
value in urban areas.

• R&R: This is the very first law that links land acquisition and the accompanying obligations
for resettlement and rehabilitation. Over five chapters and two entire Schedules have been
dedicated to outlining elaborate processes (and entitlements) for resettlement and
rehabilitation. The Second Schedule in particular outlines the benefits (such as land for land,
housing, employment and annuities) that shall accrue in addition to the one-time cash
payments.

• Retrospective operation: To address historical injustice the Bill applies retrospectively to

cases where no land acquisition award has been made. Also in cases where the land was
acquired five years ago but no compensation has been paid or no possession has taken place
then the land acquisition process will be started afresh in accordance with the provisions of this
act. The very first case on the ‘retrospective clause’ was Pune Municipal Corporation v.
Harakchand Solanki 16 wherein eighteen appeals were filed before the Supreme Court
invoking the application of the retrospective clause. In all the applications, a period of five or
more years had passed since the land acquisition award had been made under Section 11 of the
1894 Act and the applicants had refused to accept the compensation. The respondents, the
Pune Municipal Corporation (the acquiring authority) argued that they had deposited the
amount in the treasury of the government in fulfilment of their obligation and had therefore
satisfied the requirement of paying compensation.

The Court held that compensation would only be deemed to have been paid if it had
been deposited with the Court and after having been offered to the individual
concerned. In this case, the compensation had only been deposited in the treasury. As a
result, compensation could not be deemed to have been paid and the acquisition was
considered to have lapsed in conformity with Section 24 of the 2013 Act.

This was followed by a spate of judgments of the Supreme Court. In Bharat Kumar v. State
of Haryana17 asimilar judgment was pronounced. In the case of Bimla Devi v. State of

16
( 2014) 3 SCC 183.
17
(2014) 3 SCALE 393.

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Haryana 18award had been passed in 1995 and the parties had still not accepted compensation
or parted with possession. The Court relying on the ‘retrospective clause’ ordered the return of
the land to the original owners. This was followed by the case of Shiv Raj v. Union of India
19
in which the Court ordered the return of the land to its original owners who were fighting the
case for the last two decades and held that the acquisition had lapsed.

• Multiple checks and balances: A ‘comprehensive, participative and meaningful’ process

(involving the participation of local Panchayati Raj institutions) has been put in place prior to
the start of any acquisition proceeding. Monitoring committees at the national and state levels
to ensure that R&R obligations are met have also been established.

• Special safeguards for tribal communities and other disadvantaged groups: No law can
be acquired in scheduled areas without the consent of the Gram Sabhas. The law also ensures
that all rights guaranteed under such legislation as the Panchayat (Extension to Scheduled
Areas) Act 1996 and the Forest Rights Act 2006 are taken care of. It has special enhanced
benefits (outlined in a dedicated chapter) for those belonging to Scheduled Castes and
Scheduled Tribes.

• Safeguards against displacement: The law provides that no one shall be dispossessed until
and unless all payments are made and alternative sites for the resettlement and rehabilitation
have been prepared. The Third Schedule even lists the infrastructural amenities that have to be
provided to those that have been displaced.

• Compensation for livelihood losers: In addition to those losing land, the Bill provides
compensation to those who are dependent on the land being acquired for their livelihood.

• Consent: In cases where PPP projects are involved or acquisition is taking place for private
companies, the Bill requires the consent of no less than 70% and 80% respectively (in both
cases) of those whose land is sought to be acquired. This ensures that no forcible acquisition
can take place.

• Caps on acquisition of multi-crop and agricultural land: To safeguard food security and
to prevent arbitrary acquisition, the Bill directs states to impose limits on the area under
agricultural cultivation that can be acquired.

18
(2014) 6 SCC 583.
19
(2014) 6 SCC 564.

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• Return of unutilized land: In case land remains unutilized after acquisition, the new Bill
empowers states to return the land either to the owner or to the State Land Bank.

• Exemption from income tax and stamp duty: No income tax shall be levied and no stamp
duty shall be charged on any amount that accrues to an individual as a result of the provisions
of the new law.

• Share in appreciated land value: Where the acquired land is sold to a third party for a higher
price, 40% of the appreciated land value (or profit) will be shared with the original owners.

How are interests and concerns of farmers protected?

• Retrospective effect: Where awards are made but no compensation has been paid or
possession has not been taken, compensation shall be paid at the rate prescribed under the new
Act. Where the Award has not been made the entire process shall be considered to have lapsed.
Also where acquisition has taken place five years prior to the commencement of the new law
but no compensation/ possession has taken place the proceedings shall be deemed to have
lapsed.

• Consent: Prior-consent shall be required from 70% of land losers and those working on
government assigned lands only in the case of public-private partnership projects and 80% in
the case of private companies. This consent also includes consent to the amount of
compensation that shall be paid.

• Return of unutilized land: Land not used can now be returned to the original owners if the
state so decides.

• Share in sale of acquired land increased: The share that has to be distributed among farmers
in the increased land value (when the acquired land is sold off to another party) has been set at
40%.

• Income-tax Exemption: All amounts accruing under this act have been exempted from
income tax and from stamp duty.

• Strict restrictions on multi-crop acquisition: The acquisition of agricultural land and multi-
crop land has to be carried out as a last resort. There will be definite restrictions on the extent
of acquisition of such land in every state to be determined by the States concerned.

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• Safeguards to ensure fair price: Given the way in which market value is to be calculated
and the imposition of a solatium of 100% over and above the amount, the farmers are
guaranteed a fair price for their land.

• Acquisition only if necessary: The Collector has to make sure that no other unutilized lands
are available before he moves to acquire farm land.

• Damage to crops to be included in price: The final award has to include damage to any
standing crops which might have been harmed due to the process of acquisition (including the
preliminary inspection).

• Share in developed land: In case their land is acquired for urbanization purposes 20% of the
developed land will be reserved and offered to these farmers in proportion to the area of their
land acquired and at a price equal to the cost of acquisition and the cost of development.

• Fishing rights: In the case of irrigation or hydel projects, affected families may be allowed
fishing rights in the reservoirs.

• Additional R&R benefits: Farmers are also entitled to the various rehabilitation and
resettlement benefits which are enumerated in response to question 2.

• Time-bound social impact assessment: The Bill mandates a social impact assessment of
every project which must be completed within a period of six months.

What are the rehabilitation and resettlement provisions for farmers, landless
and livelihood losers?

• Reduced qualifying criteria: To qualify for benefits under this Act the time period has been
reduced to three years of dependence (on the acquired land) from five.

• Affected family to include tenants: The definition of affected family includes agricultural
labourers, tenants including any form of tenancy or usufruct right, share-croppers or artisans
who may be working in the affected area for three years prior to the acquisition, whose primary
source of livelihood stands affected by the acquisition of land.

• Houses for all affected families: All affected families are entitled to a house provided they
have been residing in an area for five years or more and have been displaced. If they choose
not to accept the house they are offered a one-time financial grant in lieu of the same.

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• Choice of annuity or employment: All affected families are given a choice of annuity or
employment;

i. If employment is not forthcoming they are entitled to a one-time grant of Rs.5 lakh per family.

ii. Alternatively they will provided with an annuity payment of Rs.2,000 per month per family
for 20 years (this will be adjusted for inflation).

• Subsistence allowance: All affected families which are displaced from the land acquired
shall be given a monthly subsistence allowance equivalent to Rs.3,000 per month for a period
of one year from the date of award.

• Training and skill development: All affected families are also given training and skill
development while being offered employment.

• Miscellaneous amounts: All affected families are given multiple monetary benefits such as
transport allowance of Rs.50,000 and resettlement allowance of Rs.50,000.

• One-time financial assistance: Each affected family of an artisan, small trader or self-
employed person shall get one-time financial assistance of such amount as the appropriate
government may, by notification, specify subject to a minimum of Rs.25,000.

• R&R to be completed in all aspects for irrigation projects: In case of acquisition of land
for irrigation or hydel project the rehabilitation and resettlement shall be completed six months
prior to submergence of the lands proposed to be so acquired.

• Possession upon fulfilment of conditions under Act: The Collector shall take possession of
land only ensuring that full payment of compensation as well as rehabilitation and resettlement
entitlements are paid or tendered to the entitled persons within a period of three months for the
compensation and a period of six months for the monetary part of rehabilitation and
resettlement entitlements commencing from the date of the award. However, families will not
be displaced from this land till their alternative R&R sites are ready for occupation.

• Time Limit for provision of R&R entitlements: The components of the Rehabilitation and
Resettlement Package in the Second and Third Schedules that relate to infrastructural
entitlements shall be provided within a period of 18 months from the date of the award.

How are interests and concerns of scheduled castes and schedules tribes protected?

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• Separate chapter: A separate Chapter has been carved out to protect interests of tribals and
those belonging to the Scheduled Castes. Where acquisition does take place it shall be done as
a demonstrable last resort.

• Approval: As far as possible no acquisition shall take place in the Scheduled Areas. And
where such acquisition does take place it has to be done with the approval/ consent of the local
institutions of self-governance (including the autonomous councils where they exist).

• Development plan: A Development Plan has to be prepared laying down the details of
procedure for settling land rights due but not settled and restoring titles of tribals on alienated
land by undertaking a special drive together with land acquisition. The Plan must also contain
a programme for development of alternate fuel, fodder and non-timber forest produce resources
on non-forest lands within a period of five years sufficient to meet the requirements of tribal
communities as well as the Scheduled Castes.

• One-third to be paid up-front: In case of land being acquired from members of the
Scheduled Castes or the Scheduled Tribes, at least one-third of the compensation amount due
shall be paid to the affected families at the outset as first instalment and the rest shall precede
the taking over of the possession of the land.

• Resettlement in the same scheduled area: The Scheduled Tribes affected families shall be
resettled preferable in the same Scheduled Area in a compact block so that they can retain their
ethnic, linguistic and cultural identity.

• Land for community: The resettlement areas predominantly inhabited by the Scheduled
Castes and the Scheduled Tribes shall get land, to such extent as may be decided by the
appropriate Government free of cost for community and social gatherings.

• Alienation of tribal lands to be void: Any alienation of tribal lands or lands belonging to
members of the Scheduled Castes in disregard of the laws and regulations for the time being in
force shall be treated as null and void: and in the case of acquisition of such lands, the
rehabilitation and resettlement benefits shall be available to the original tribal land owners or
land owners belonging to the Scheduled Castes.

• Fishing rights: The affected Scheduled Tribes, other traditional forest dwellers and the
Scheduled Castes families having fishing rights in a river or pond or dam in the affected area
shall be given fishing rights in the reservoir area of the irrigation or hydel projects.

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• If resettled outside scheduled area then additional benefits: Where the affected families
belonging to the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes are relocated outside of the district
then they shall be paid an additional twenty-five per cent rehabilitation and resettlement
benefits to which they are entitled in monetary terms along with a one-time entitlement of fifty
thousand rupees.

• Higher land-for-land area for SCs/STs: In every project those losing land and belonging to
the Scheduled Castes or Scheduled Tribes will be provided land equivalent to land acquired or
two-and-a-half acres, whichever is lower (this is higher than in the case of non-SC/ST affected
families)

• Additional amounts: In addition to a subsistence amount of rupees 3000 per month for a
year (which all affected families get), the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes displaced
from Scheduled Areas shall receive an amount equivalent to rupees 50,000.

How are states interests and concerns protected?

• Only a baseline: The Bill only provides the baseline for compensation and has devised a
sliding scale which allows States to fix the multiplier (which will determine the final award)
depending on distance from urban centres.

• Choice for return to land bank or owner: Where unutilized land is returned the state can
decided whether it goes to the original owner or to the land bank.

• Threshold for private purchase left to government: While the Bill requires the discharge
of obligations related to Resettlement and Rehabilitation (R&R) even in the case of private
purchase provided the purchase exceeds a certain threshold, it leaves the said threshold to the
discretion of the state governments.

• In extreme cases, equivalent amount for multi-crop land: While the Bill seeks to
discourage acquisition of irrigated multi crop or agricultural land it gives the choice of
earmarking how much of such lands should be reserved for protection against acquisition to
the States. Furthermore if no alternative land is available to replace the multi-crop land
acquired, the state can instruct the payment of an equivalent amount.

• R&R procedure at discretion of state: The procedure related to the functioning of the R&R
committee at project-level has been left to the state government if the acquisition is by the state.

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• States free to enact other laws: The state governments are free to enact any law to enhance
or add to the entitlements enumerated under the Bill which confers higher compensation than
payable under the Bill or make provisions for rehabilitation and resettlement which are more
beneficial than those provided under the Bill.

Right to Property
The constitution, as it stood before the 44th Amendment in 1978, provided for the right to
own property as a fundamental right. These provision were explicit in articles 31 & 19(1) (f).
The constitution also provided that in case of any breach or an attempt thereof of any
fundamental right, the aggrieved person can approach the Supreme Court for its redressal. This
was viewed as a hurdle by the Government that could impede its ambitious plan of acquiring
land for public purpose for a company.

Thus, ever since 1951, the Govt. started, through the 1st & 4th amendment, to incorporate
various land reform acts. This it did by incorporating schedule 9 of the Constitution. Time and
again, the government felt that the right to property was a roadblock for it. It therefore sought
to amend the constitution and aimed at abolishing the right to property. It did so in the year
1978 by the 44th amendment to the Constitution of India. The road to this amendment was not
very easy through. The Supreme Court had constantly held that the legislature did not have the
power to amend the constitution thereby altering its basic structure. This could be seen in the
case of:- Shankari Prasad V/S Union of India20- Where the Court held that the legislature
had ultimate power to amend the constitution even the fundamental rights. The decision was
upheld in the case of Sajjan Singh v/s State of Rajasthan21.

Then, in Golak Nath v/s State of Punjab22, the Supreme Court held that the Parliament did
not have any power to amend the constitution and that article 368 of the Constitution only
provided the procedure for amendment.

This was then finally overruled in the Kesavananda Bharti23 case where it was held that the
Parliament has power to amend the Constitution but not doing so to the basic structure of the
constitution.

20
1951 AIR 458.
21
1965 AIR 865.
22
AIR 1967 SC 1643.
23
AIR 1973 SC 1461.

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Thus as mentioned above, the 44th Constitution Amendment Act, abolished the right to own
property as a fundamental right but it declared that it would remain to be 'legal right'. Thus it
could have been now possible for the Government to acquire land without apprehending any
litigation challenging its act of acquisition in the Supreme Court under Article 32 of the
Constitution of India.

The constitution al validity of the Act can be demarcated in to the following

two periods.

· Before the 44th Amendment of the Constitution.

· After the 44th Amendment of the Constitution.

Before the 44th Amendment:

It would come as a shock but it was legitimate, even before the 44th amendment, for the govt.
to have acquired land for its public purpose or for a company. This it could have done under
the principle of 'Eminent Domain. This term was coined by Hugo Groitus in 1625 and means
the Supreme control over the property of the subjects enjoyed by the sovereign.

the property of subjects is under the eminent domain of the state, so that the state or he who
acts for it may use and even alienate and destroy such property, not only in the case of extreme
necessity, in which even private persons have a right over the property of others, but for ends
of public utility, to which ends those who founded civil society must be supposed to have
intended that private ends should give way. But it is to be added that when this is done the state
is bound to make good the loss to those who lose their property."

Thus in other words, it can be said that the Govt. -the sovereign- enjoyed the complete authority
over the land of its subjects and could acquire the same for public purpose or for a company. It
would have been completely legitimate for the government to do so even against the wishes of
the owners of the land.

After the 44th amendment:

As mentioned above, the 44th amendment did away with the right to property as a fundamental
right and converted it only as a 'legal right'. Thus, now the Govt. could acquire the lands of any
person in India without apprehending any legal action under the provisions of the constitution.
This was so because the right to property was merely a legal right and ceased to be a

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fundamental right and hence, its breach could not be redressed by the Supreme Court under
article 32.

Thus, it can be said that it would have been completely legitimate for the Govt. to have acquired
land either before or after the 44th amendment. The only hurdle that it would have faced is of
litigation in the Supreme Court.

The Court too would have justified Govt's. act of acquiring the land under its principle of
eminent domain, thus leaving the owners of the land without any remedy. To conclude, I would
like to state that the Act confers too much power to the Government and with great power
comes great responsibility. Apart from using the power judiciously, the duty vests in the courts
to assess whether the govt. is using its power arbitrarily or trying to achieve oblique motives
or to do something indirectly which it was precluded from doing directly.

At the end of all this, what can be said is whether constitutional or not, the Act is quite
draconian. So because of the fact that while acquiring land, the Govt. does not look into the
sentiments, emotions of its owners attached to the land and acquires it forcibly. Also, the
compensation paid to the persons interested is nowhere near the price that the owners could
have actually received for their piece of land.

Also, there are thousands of millions of people whose sole income comes from the money
earned through these lands. Compulsory acquisition of land would be snatching the livelihood
of these people. Though, for development of the nation, a fair balance needs to be achieved
between the legitimacy of the 'public purpose' and the needs of the people who are interested
in the land to be acquired. All action of the government to acquire the land should be governed
by such balance and due circumspection

RIGHT TO PROPERTY UNDER Art. 300A

Article 300A falls within chapter IV of part- XII. This chapter contains only Article 300A
which is now deals with the right to property. This article states that no person shall be deprived
of his property save by authority of law. This Article was introduced from 20th June 1979,
When Articles 19(1)(f) and 31 were deleted by the forty fourth amendment to the constitution.
Thus, the right to property was removed from part-III relating to fundamental rights and was
reintroduced as Article 300A as a constitutional right. Right to hold a property is no more a
fundamental right. Instead it is an constitutional right.

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RIGHT TO PROPERTY- not part of the basic structure

Right to property did not pertain to the basic structure of the constitution and it was subordinate
to the common good. This view was subsequently reiterated in a few cases which have been
set out in jilubhai’s case.

The word ‘property’ used in Article 300A must be understood in the context in which the
sovereign power of eminent domain is exercised by the state and property expropriated. The
word “property” connotes everything which is the subject of ownership, corporeal or
incorporeal, tangible or intangible, visible or invisible, real or personal; everything that has
value or which goes to make up wealth or estate or status.

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 Conclusion
An act that was born during a completely different context, amended beneath numerous
compulsions, and continues to be in conflict with sundry different laws. Whereas the demand
for the land continues to extend, its offer is mounted. so as to fulfil the rising demand of the
land, it's to be no heritable and its use pattern should be modified beside numerous policies
implementation. However, the necessity and convenience between lands continues and it's lead
the consecutive governments at the centre cross-check the Land Acquisition Act, 1894 time
and once more so as to search out resolution to the present drawback. The foremost question
these days is that whether or not dynamical a selected law may overhaul the system of
overlapping laws that has allowed the misuse of restricted land resources? The current BJP
government but has fully denied the allegations that the amended bill is anti-poor and
antifarmer. The effort of the government is power to bring forth the changes in LARR Act area
unit commendable. Though the necessity of the hour for the developing country of ours is to
expand its infrastructure and welcome the technological advancements with open hearts so as
to bridge the gap between developing and developed countries, still the foremost issue that
India is associate degree agricultural primarily based country cannot be neglected. The
initiatives by Modi government area unit laudable as land acquisition hurdle creates abundant
delay and obstacle in completion of even public welfare comes i.e. metro, railway, roads etc.
The approach of exempting thirteen sectors from the strictures governing land acquisitions is
in right direction however beside this government ought to conjointly take into thought of land
owner's interest. The govt. has to compensate as per growing valuation over time instead just
one occasion settlement that too supported governmental valuation that perpetually remains
abundant lesser than market valuation. The recent proposals concerning compensation
supported lease or rent is value thought.

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 BIBLIOGRAPHY
➢ ACT AND STATUTES (PRIMARY SOURCE)
I. Land Acquisition Act 1894
II. THE RIGHT TO FAIR COMPENSATION AND TRANSPARENCY IN LAND
ACQUISITION, REHABILITATION AND RESETTLEMENTACT, 2013
III. The Constitution of India.

➢ BOOKS ( PRIMARY SOURCE)

• B.L. Bansal & R. Aiyer, Law of Acquisition of Land in India, (Capital Law House,
Delhi).
• B.N Luniya, Evolution of Indian Culture (From the Earliest Times to the Present
day), (Lekshmi Narain Agarwal, Agra).
• B.N Rau, Indias’ Constitution in the Making (Indian Institute of Public
Administration, New Delhi, 1980).
• Bina Agarwal, “Gender and Land Rights Revisited: Exploring New Prospects visà-vis the
State, Family and Market”, in Shahra Rzave (ed.), Agrarian Change,
Gender and Land Rights, (Blackwell Publishing Co.).
• Black’s Law Dictionary with Pronunciations, (6th edn.)..
• Ashutosh

➢ NEWS PAPERS FOLLOWED( SECONDARY SOURCE)

I. The Hindu
II. The Times of India
III. The Economic Times
IV. The Wire
V. Print

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