Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013

Purpose

The Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and
Resettlement Act, 2013 is a legislation that regulates land acquisition and provides laid down rules
for granting compensation, rehabilitation and resettlement to the affected persons in India.

The Act has provisions to provide fair compensation to those whose land is taken away, brings
transparency to the process of acquisition of land to set up factories or buildings, infrastructural
projects and assures rehabilitation of those affected.

This Act replaced the Land Acquisition Act, 1894, a nearly 120-year-old law enacted during British
rule.

Aims and objectives:

The main Purpose of this act is to Provide just and fair compensation to the affected families whose
land has been acquired or are affected by such acquisition. The purpose of LARR 2013 includes
public-private-partnership projects, but excludes land acquired for state or national highway
projects.

As per the Act, the government of India (state, as well as central) can procure land for its own use or
for public sector companies or for ‘public purpose’, which can include any of these:

1. For any work related to state or national security or defence services of India, under the
purview of the state or central government.
2. For building public infrastructure but excluding private hospitals, private educational
institutional and private hotels.
3. For any project involving agriculture or allied industries, such as dairy, fisheries or meat
processing, owned by the government.
4. For industrial corridors, manufacturing zones or other projects listed in the National
Manufacturing Policy.
5. For water harvesting, conservation structure projects or for planned development or
improvement of village sites.
6. For government-aided educational and research institutions.
7. For planned development, such as creating housing projects for the weaker sections, in rural
or urban areas.
8. For developing residential projects for the poor or landless, or for people affected by natural
calamities.
Procedure of Land Acquisition under Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013

The new Land Acquisition Bill has detailed a process for acquiring land. The process could take up to
50 months.

Step-1 : Social Impact Assessment (Section 4(1) of LARR 2013)

Whenever the appropriate Government intends to acquire land for a public purpose, it shall consult
the concerned Panchayat, Municipality or Municipal Corporation, at village level or ward level and
carry out a Social Impact Assessment study in consultation with them.

Time Limit - 6 Months.

In Khub Chand vs. State of Rajasthan

Publication of the notification in the manner prescribed in Section 4(1) of the Act, it appears from
the subsequent scheme of the Act, is an indispensable condition for a valid acquisition.

Step-2 : Appraisal of Social Impact Assessment report by an Expert Group (Section 7 of LARR 2013)

7.1 The appropriate Government shall ensure that the Social Impact Assessment report is evaluated
by an independent multi-disciplinary Expert Group.

7.4 If the Expert Group is of the opinion that,—

(a) the project does not serve any public purpose; or

(b) the social costs and adverse social impacts of the project outweigh the potential benefits,

it shall make a recommendation within two months from the date of its constitution to the effect
that the project shall be abandoned and no further steps to will be taken to acquire the land

Time Limit - 2 Months.

Step-3 : Examination of proposals for land acquisition and Social Impact Assessment report by
appropriate Government (Section 8 of LARR 2013)

The appropriate Government shall ensure that –

1. there is a legitimate and bona fide public purpose for the proposed acquisition
2. only the minimum area of land required for the project is proposed to be acquired
3. there is no unutilised land which has been previously acquired in the area

Step-4 : Publication of preliminary notification and power of officers (Section 8 of LARR 2013)

Whenever, it appears to the Government that land in any area is required for any public purpose, a
preliminary notification under Section 11 in rural or urban areas shall be published in the manner –

1. in the Official Gazette;

2. in two daily newspapers circulating in the locality of such area
3. in the local language in the Panchayat, Municipality or Municipal Corporation and in the
offices of the District Collector, the Sub-divisional Magistrate and the Tehsil
4. uploaded on the website of the appropriate Government
Time Limit - 2 Months.

Step-5 : Lapse of Social Impact Assessment report (Section 14 of LARR 2013)

Where a preliminary notification under section 11 is not issued within 12 months from the date of
appraisal of the Social Impact Assessment (SIA) report submitted by the Expert Group under section
7, then, such report shall be deemed to have lapsed and a fresh Social Impact Assessment shall be
required to be undertaken prior to acquisition proceedings.

Time Limit - 12 Months but Extendable

Step-6 : Preparation of Rehabilitation and Resettlement Scheme by the Administrator (Section 16

of LARR 2013)

Upon the publication of the preliminary notification by the Collector, the Administrator for
Rehabilitation and Resettlement shall conduct a survey and undertake a census of the affected
families.

Time Limit – 60 Days.

Step-7 : Review of the Rehabilitation and Resettlement Scheme (Section 17 of LARR 2013)

The Collector shall submit the draft Rehabilitation and Resettlement Scheme with his suggestions to
the Commissioner Rehabilitation and Resettlement for approval of the Scheme.

Step-8 : Land to be marked out, measured and planned including marking of specific areas (Section
20 of LARR 2013)

The Collector shall thereupon cause the land, unless it has been already marked out under section
12, to be marked out and measured, and if no plan has been made thereof, a plan to be made of the
same.

Time Limit - 12 Months but Extendable

Step-9 : Making of statements as to names and interests (Section 22 of LARR 2013)

Collector may also require any interested person to make or deliver to him a statement within 30
days containing the name of every other person possessing any interest in the land.

Every person is required to make or deliver a statement under this section shall be deemed to be
legally bound to do so within the meaning of sections 175 and 176 of IPC

Time Limit - 30 Days to 6 Months.

Step-10 : Determination of market value of land by Collector. (Section 26 of LARR 2013)

The claimant will be entitled to the compensation on the basis of the market value of the land
determined as on the date of preliminary notification.

The market value of the proposed land will to be acquired of:

1. the market value, if any, specified in the Indian Stamp Act, 1899
2. the average sale price for similar type of land situated in the nearest village
3. consented amount of compensation as agreed upon

Time Limit - 12 Months but Extendable

Step-11 : Adjournment of enquiry (Section 34 of LARR 2013)

The Collector may, for any cause he thinks fit, from time to time adjourn the enquiry to a day to be
fixed by him

Step-12 : Additional compensation in case of multiple displacements (Section 39 of LARR 2013)

The Collector shall, not displace any family which has already been displaced by the Government for
the purpose of acquisition, and if so displaced, shall pay an additional compensation equivalent to
that of the compensation for the second displacements.

Compensation under the 2013 Land Acquisition Act

Section 26 of the Act that deals with compensation for the land owners. The claimant will be
entitled to the compensation on the basis of the market value of the land determined as on the date
of preliminary notification.

The market value of the proposed land will to be acquired of:

1. the market value, if any, specified in the Indian Stamp Act, 1899
2. the average sale price for similar type of land situated in the nearest village
3. consented amount of compensation as agreed upon in case of acquisition of lands for
private companies or for public private partnership projects

Sec 27. Determination of amount of compensation - The Collector having determined the market
value of the land to be acquired shall calculate the total amount of compensation to be paid to the
land owner (whose land has been acquired) by including all assets attached to the land.

Sec 28. Parameters to be considered by Collector in determination of award

In determining the amount of compensation to be awarded for land acquired under this Act, the
Collector shall take into consideration -

1. the market value as determined under section 26 and the award amount in accordance with
the First and Second Schedules
2. the damage sustained by the person interested
3. the damage (if any) sustained by the person interested, at the time of the Collector's taking
possession of the land
4. the damage (if any) sustained by the person interested, at the time of the Collector's taking
possession of the land, by reason of the acquisition injuriously affecting his other property,
movable or immovable, in any other manner, or his earning
5. in consequence of the acquisition of the land by the Collector, the person interested is
compelled to change his residence or place of business
 6. damage (if any) bona fide resulting from diminution of the profits of the land between the
time of the publication of the declaration under section 19.
7. any other ground which may be in the interest of equity, justice and beneficial to the
affected families.

Sec 30. Award of solatium

The Collector after determining the total compensation to be paid, shall, to arrive at the final award,
impose a ―Solatium amount equivalent to one hundred per cent. of the compensation amount.