Gujarat recipe to acquire land cheap for industry: Town planning law "overrides" new land acquisition Act

A replica of Dholera "smart city"

By Our Representative
The Gujarat government is all set to make it official now. A top state document in Gujarati, prepared by the state revenue department, has made it clear that the new land acquisition law – the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013 (LARR, 2013) – will not be application in areas where a town planning scheme is floated. The document, still in its draft form, and floated as "rules" for LARR Act, 2013, makes it clear, “Wherever a town planning scheme is finalised, there will not be any land acquisition under any other law.”
Meant for internal discussion and running into 200 pages, the document, which gives a comprehensive picture on how the land acquisition law, passed under the previous UPA government at the Centre and supported by the BJP, would be implemented in Gujarat, however, makes it clear that till the point a town planning scheme is in the draft form and is not finalised, no land acquisition can place under the town planning Act. “But as soon as the town planning scheme is finalised, any land acquisition under LARR, 2013 would be treated as illegal”, it insists.
The draft rules providing precedence to the town planning Act over LARR, 2013, if finalised, are particularly significant, as it would legitimise land acquisition done by the Gujarat government in the special investment regions (SIRs) after floating the town planning scheme in areas like Dholera in Ahmedabad district, where an ultra-modern Greenfield city is being planned. Farmers of the region, fighting for saving their land under the banner of Jameen Adhikar Andolan Gujarat (JAAG), had objected to government acquiring 40 to 50 per cent of land under the pretext of town planning.
The issue of “taking away” 50 per cent of farmers' land came up sharply during the environmental public hearing for Dholera SIR on January 3, 2014, where a senior government official KD Chandnani, who is also CEO, Dholera SIR Development Authority, said, “Under the Town Planning Scheme, after deduction of land up to 50 per cent, land will be allotted to the original land owner in a geometric shape, and with all the infrastructure facilities, in the form of a final plot. Compensation for the deducted land will be paid as per the jantri April 2011.”
The application of jantri, which is the government assessment of the value of land, for the 50 per cent of the land “taken away” for infrastructure development under the town planning Act stands in sharp contrast to the draft rules for LARR Act, 2013, which states that in the urban areas compensation for land acquisition would be “four times that of the latest market value of land.” Under the town planning Act, however, jantri is applied. Based government assessment of the prevailing rate, jantri is known to be several times lower than the market rate and is generally “fixed” once in five years.
While the farmers would be net losers if a town planning Act is floated, the Gujarat government's draft rules for LARR Act, 2013 state that, in contrast to the urban areas, in the rural areas' compensation against land acquisition would be 50 per cent less than that of urban areas. They say,in effect, in the rural areas, the compensation would be “two times” (as against four times in urban areas) of the latest market rate, fixed by taking into account the highest selling price in the last three years.
At the same time, the draft rules for LARR, 2013 repeat other details – such as the need for consent from 70 per cent of the rural populace in case of a public-private partnership (PPP) project and 80 per cent of the rural populace in case the project is privately owned. The rules also provide extensive details about on providing rehabilitation, including employment and other livelihood options, of the affected population. They also give details on how to acquire land during an emergency. The state rules acquire significance, as land is in concurrent list of the Constitution, and the Centre cannot overrule them.

Comments

Importance of Bangladesh for India amidst 'growing might' of China in South Asia

By Samara Ashrat* The basic key factor behind the geopolitical importance of Bangladesh is its geographical location. The country shares land borders with Myanmar and India. Due to its geographical position, Bangladesh is a natural link between South Asia and Southeast Asia. The country is also a vital geopolitical ally to India, in that it has the potential to facilitate greater integration between Northeast India and Mainland India. Not only that, due to its open access to the Bay of Bengal, Bangladesh has become significant to both China and the US.

Unlike other revolutionaries, Hindutva icon wrote 5 mercy petitions to British masters

By Shamsul Islam* The Hindutva icon VD Savarkar of the RSS-BJP rulers of India submitted not one, two,or three but five mercy petitions to the British masters! Savarkarites argue: “There are no evidences to prove that Savarkar collaborated with the British for his release from jail. In fact, his appeal for release was a ruse. He was well aware of the political developments outside and wanted to be part of it. So he kept requesting for his release. But the British authorities did not trust him a bit” (YD Phadke, ‘A complex Hero’, "The Indian Expres"s, August 31, 2004)

Swami Vivekananda's views on caste and sexuality were 'painfully' regressive

By Bhaskar Sur* Swami Vivekananda now belongs more to the modern Hindu mythology than reality. It makes a daunting job to discover the real human being who knew unemployment, humiliation of losing a teaching job for 'incompetence', longed in vain for the bliss of a happy conjugal life only to suffer the consequent frustration.

Buddhist shrines were 'massively destroyed' by Brahmanical rulers: Historian DN Jha

Nalanda mahavihara By Our Representative Prominent historian DN Jha, an expert in India's ancient and medieval past, in his new book , "Against the Grain: Notes on Identity, Intolerance and History", in a sharp critique of "Hindutva ideologues", who look at the ancient period of Indian history as "a golden age marked by social harmony, devoid of any religious violence", has said, "Demolition and desecration of rival religious establishments, and the appropriation of their idols, was not uncommon in India before the advent of Islam".

'BBC film shows only tip of iceberg': Sanjiv Bhatt's daughter speaks at top US press club

By Our Representative The United States' premier journalists' organisation, the National Press Club (NPC), has come down heavily on Prime Minister Narendra Modi for recent "attacks on journalists in India." Speaking at the screening of an episode of the BBC documentary “India: The Modi Question,” banned in India, in the club premises, NPC President Eileen O’Reilly said, “Since Modi came to power we have watched with frustration and disappointment as his regime has suppressed the rights of its citizens to a free and independent news media."

Chinese pressure? Left stateless, Rohingya crisis result of Myanmar citizenship law

By Dr Shakuntala Bhabani* A 22-member team of Myanmar immigration officials visited Rohingya refugee camps in Cox's Bazar to verify more than 400 Rohingya refugees as part of a pilot repatriation project. Does it hold out any hope for the forcibly displaced people to return to their ancestral homes in the Rakhine state of Myanmar? Only time will tell.

China ties up with India, Bangladesh to repatriate Rohingyas; Myanmar unwilling

By Harunur Rasid* We now have a new hope, thanks to news reports that were published in the Bangladeshi dailies recently. Myanmar has suddenly taken initiatives to repatriate Rohingyas. As part of this initiative, diplomats from eight countries posted in Yangon were flown to Rakhine last week. Among them were diplomats from Bangladesh, India and China.

40,000 Odisha adolescent girls ask CM: Why is scheme to fight malnutrition on paper?

By Our Representative In unique a postcard campaign to combat malnutrition, aimed at providing dietary diversity, considered crucial during adolescence, especially among girls, signed by about 40,000 adolescent girls from over 10,000 villages, have reminded Odisha chief minister Naveen Patnaik that his government's Scheme for Adolescent Girls (SAG), which converged with Pradhan Mantri Poshan Shakti Nirman ( POSHAN ) 2.0 in 2021, is not being implemented in the State.

Natural farming: Hamirpur leads the way to 'huge improvement' in nutrition, livelihood

By Bharat Dogra* Santosh is a dedicated farmer who along with his wife Chunni Devi worked very hard in recent months to convert a small patch of unproductive land into a lush green, multi-layer vegetable garden. This has ensured year-round supply of organically grown vegetables to his family as well as fetched several thousand rupees in cash sales.

Over-stressed? As Naveen Patnaik turns frail, Odisha 'moves closer' to leadership crisis

By Sudhansu R Das Not a single leader in Odisha is visible in the horizon who can replace Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik. He has ruled Odisha for nearly two and half decades. His father, Biju Patnaik, had built Odisha; he was a daring pilot who saved the life of Indonesia’s Prime Minister Sjahrir and President Sukarno when the Dutch army blocked their exit.

Counterview

Search This Blog