land laws

ASSIGNMENT

Topic :- Definition Clause,

Food Security Provision &
Lapse of Social Impact Assessment report.

SUBMITTED BY :- SUBMITTED TO :-

NAME : - AVINASH KUMAR MISHRA Prof. Kahkashan Y. Danyal

Enrol. No. : - 14-0292
COURSE : - B.A.LL.B (HONS) (5TH YEAR)
SEMESTER : - 9TH
SECTION :-A

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 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I am using this opportunity to express my gratitude to everyone who

supported me throughout the course of this LAND LAWS ASSIGNMENT. I am
thankful for their aspiring guidance, invaluably constructive criticism and friendly
advice during the project work. I am sincerely grateful to them for sharing their
truthful and illuminating views on a number of issues related to the project.

I express my warm thanks to my Prof. Kahkashan Y. Danyal Ma’am for his

lecture on my assignment topic in the class.

I also take this opportunity to thank the staff of JAMIA MILIA ISLAMIA
who supported me very much in making of this project specially the LIBRARY
members who provided me the right book.

Lastly I want to thank my friends and family who are with me and supported
me whenever I needed to complete this project, and without whose help this
assignment might not be so fruitful.

Thank you,

AVINASH KUMAR MISHRA

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 TABLE OF CONTENTS: -

S. No. Contents Page No.

1. INTRODUCTION 4-5
2. History 6
3. Aims , Objective , purpose and Scope 6-7

4. Provisions- definition clause(SECTION 3) 7-13

5. Land Acquisition in india 9
6. Food security provision (section 10) 14

7. Lapse of social impact assessment report

(SECTION 14) 16-20
8. Social impact assessment 17.
9. The procedure followed in acquisition 20
10. Most notable changes in the Act 22

11. Important features of the act 23-24

12. Conclusion 25

13. Bibliography 26

INTRODUCTION:-

The Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land

Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013 (also as
Land Acquisition Act, 2013) is an Act of Indian Parliament that
regulates land acquisition and lays down the procedure and rules for
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granting compensation, rehabilitation and resettlement to the
affected .
Hence the right to fair compensation and transparency in Land
Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013, was passed by
Parliament in 2013 to repeal the 1894 Act. The new Act is an effort to
address the historical injustice while speeding up procedures.
LAND ACQUISITION ACT, 1894. An Act to amend the law for the
acquisition of land for public purposes and for Companies. Whereas it is
expedient to amend the law for the acquisition of land needed for public.
purposes and for Companies and for determining the amount of
compensation to be made on.

The Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition,

Rehabilitation and Resettlement (Amendment) Bill 2015, also known
as Land Bill 2015 has been passed by the Lok Sabha on March
10, 2015.
The question which arises before the land owner is that whether the
Government can take their land and if yes then under what authority.
The power of eminent domain allows
the government to take private land for public purposes only if
the government provides fair compensation to the property owner.
The process through which the government acquires private property for
public benefit is known as condemnation

Land acquisition in India refers to the process by which the union or

a state government in India acquires private land for the purpose
of industrialisation, development of infrastructural facilities
or urbanisation of the private land, and provides compensation to the
affected land owners and their rehabilitation and resettlement.
Land acquisition in India is governed by the Right to Fair Compensation
and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement
Act, 2013 (LARR) and which came into force from 1 January 2014. Till
2013, land acquisition in India was governed by Land Acquisition Act of
1894. On 31 December 2013, the President of India promulgated an
ordinance with an official mandate to "meet the twin objectives of
farmer welfare; along with expeditiously meeting the strategic and
developmental needs of the country". An amendment bill was then
introduced in Parliament to endorse the Ordinance. On 30 May 2015,
President of India promulgated the amendment ordinance for third time.
Union Government of India has also made and notified the Right to Fair
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Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and
Resettlement (Social Impact Assessment and Consent) Rules, 2014 under
the Act to regulate the procedure. The land acquisition in Jammu and
Kashmir is governed by the Jammu and Kashmir Land Acquisition Act
1934.

The power of eminent domain allows

the government to take private land for public purposes only if
the government provides fair compensation to the property owner. The
process through which the government acquires private property for
public benefit is known as condemnation.
The law of eminent domain derives from the so-called "Takings Clause"
of the Fifth Amendment, which states, " No private property be taken for
public use, without just compensation." The men who created the
Constitution were, for the most part, landholders with a certain mistrust
of government power.
Basically, the government can force the sale of private property in the
name of public use. For example, if your house is next to a freeway that's
scheduled for widening, the government can force you to sell so long
as you are paid fairly.

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. The Act establishes regulations for land
acquisition as a part of India's massive industrialisation drive driven by
public-private partnership. The Act replaced the Land Acquisition Act,
1894, a nearly 120-year-old law enacted during British rule.

However this report does not deals with all the provisions of Land
Acquisition Act, 2013 in details but rather it is more concentrated
on section 3, section 10 and section 14 of the said act.

History
The first piece of legislation in India in respect of acquisition of
property was the Bengal Regulation 1 of 1824. It applied through the

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whole of the provinces immediately subject to the Presidency of Fort
William1.

The Land Acquisition Act, 1894 was a British era law that governed the
process of land acquisition in India until 2013 and continues to do so
in Pakistan and Myanmar. It allows the acquisition of land for some
public purpose by a government agency from individual landowners after
paying a government-determined compensation to cover losses incurred
by landowners from surrendering their land to the agency. In India, a
new Act, The Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land
Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013, replaced this
law.

Aims and objectives

The aims and objectives of the Act include:

 To ensure, in consultation with institutions of local self-government

and Gram Sabhas established under the Constitution of India, a
humane, participative, informed and transparent process for land
acquisition for industrialisation, development of essential
infrastructural facilities and urbanisation with the least
disturbance to the owners of the land and other affected families.
 Provide just and fair compensation to the affected families whose
land has been acquired or proposed to be acquired or are affected
by such acquisition.
 Make adequate provisions for such affected persons for their
rehabilitation and resettlement.
 Ensure that the cumulative outcome of compulsory acquisition
should be that affected persons become partners in development
leading to an improvement in their post acquisition social and
economic status and for matters connected therewith or incidental
thereto.

Purpose and scope

The Act aims to establish the law on land acquisition, as well as the
rehabilitation and resettlement of those directly affected by the land
acquisition in India. The scope of the Act includes all land acquisition
whether it is done by the Central Government of India, or any State
Government of India, except the state of Jammu & Kashmir.

1
‘Law Commission of India’, 10th Report on the Law of Acquisition and Requisition of Land, (1958).
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The Act is applicable when:

 Government acquires land for its own use, hold and control,
including land for Public sector undertakings.
 Government acquires land with the ultimate purpose to transfer it
for the use of private companies for stated public purpose. The
purpose of LARR 2011 includes public-private-partnership projects,
but excludes land acquired for state or national highway projects.
 Government acquires land for immediate and declared use by
private companies for public purpose.

The provisions of the Act does not apply to acquisitions under 16 existing
legislations including the Special Economic Zones Act, 2005, the Atomic
Energy Act, 1962, the Railways Act, 1989, etc.

Provisions

Definition of public purpose

Section 2(1) of the Act defines the following as public purpose for land
acquisition within India:

 For strategic purposes relating to naval, military, air force, and

armed forces of the Union, including central paramilitary forces or
any work vital to national security or defence of India or State
police, safety of the people; or
 For infrastructure projects, which includes the following, namely:
o All activities or items listed in the notification of the
Government of India in the Department of Economic Affairs
(Infrastructure Section) number 13/6/2009-INF, dated 27
March 2012, excluding private hospitals, private educational
institutions and private hotels;
o Projects involving agro-processing, supply of inputs to
agriculture, warehousing, cold storage facilities, marketing
infrastructure for agriculture and allied activities such as
dairy, fisheries, and meat processing, set up or owned by the
appropriate Government or by a farmers' cooperative or by an
institution set up under a statute;
o Project for industrial corridors or mining activities, national
investment and manufacturing zones, as designated in the
National Manufacturing Policy;
o Project for water harvesting and water conservation
structures, sanitation;

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 o Project for Government administered, Government aided
educational and research schemes or institutions;
o Project for sports, health care, tourism, transportation of
space programme;
o Any infrastructure facility as may be notified in this regard by
the Central Government and after tabling of such notification
in Parliament;
 Project for project affected families;
 Project for housing, or such income groups, as may be specified
from time to time by the appropriate Government;
 Project for planned development or the improvement of village sites
or any site in the urban areas or provision of land for residential
purposes for the weaker sections in rural and urban areas;
 Project for residential purposes to the poor or landless or to
persons residing in areas affected by natural calamities, or to
persons displaced or affected by reason of the implementation of
any scheme undertaken by the Government, any local authority or
a corporation owned or controlled by the State.

CONSENT :- When government declares public purpose and shall control

the land directly, consent of the land owner shall not be required.
However, when the government acquires the land for private companies,
the consent of at least 80% of the project affected families shall be
obtained through a prior informed process before government uses its
power under the Act to acquire the remaining land for public good, and
in case of a public-private project at least 70% of the affected families
should consent to the acquisition process.

The Act includes an urgency clause for expedited land acquisition. The
urgency clause may only be invoked for national defense, security and in
the event of rehabilitation of affected people from natural disasters or
emergencies.

Definition of 'land owner'

The Act defines the following as land owner:

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 1. person whose name is recorded as the owner of the land or building
or part thereof, in the records of the authority concerned; or
2. person who is granted forest rights under The Scheduled Tribes
and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights)
Act, 2006 or under any other law for the time being in force; or
3. Person who is entitled to be granted Patta rights on the land under
any law of the State including assigned lands; or
4. any person who has been declared as such by an order of the court
or Authority.

Land Acquisition in India

In India the Government has the power to acquire land for a public
purpose. The legislation that was enacted to govern the same was very
old, having not been changed since the time of the British and had
several lacunae. Most prominently, there were no provisions for
compensation or rehabilitation on acquiring land. This led to the passing
of the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition,
Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013 which replaces the old Act.
After that the land acquisition in India is governed by this act . In 2015
the act got amended in order to overcome the shortcomings of the Land
Acquisition Act ,2013.

Validity of the Act

Under Article 300A of the Constitution of India “no person can be

deprived of his property save by authority of law”. In the view of this
provision a citizen cannot be deprived of his property by an executive.
There must be law for it, Land Acquisition Act is the law. This Act
therefore, fulfils the constitutional obligations. In the absence of
provisions in the Act for taking over possession of the notified or the
acquired land the acquisition would been futile. Therefore, the Act
provides for interference with possession and taking over possession of
the notified or acquired land. Acquiring land without payment of
compensation would have been arbitrary, violating the Article 14.
Accordingly, the Act provides for assessment and payment of
compensation2.

2
Ram Jiyaman v. State of Uttar Pradesh, AIR 1994 SC 38.
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 Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land
Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013

SECTION 3. Definitions

In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires,—

a. “Administrator” means an officer appointed for the purpose of
rehabilitation and resettlement of affected families under sub-section (1)
of section 44;
b. “affected area” means such area as may be notified by the
appropriate Government for the purposes of land acquisition;
c. “affected family” includes—
i. a family whose land or other immovable property has been
acquired;
ii a family which does not own any land but a member or
members of such family may be agricultural labourers, tenants including
any form of tenancy or holding of usufruct right, share-croppers or
artisans or who may be working in the affected area for three years prior
to the acquisition of the land, whose primary source of livelihood stand
affected by the acquisition of land;
iii. the Scheduled Tribes and other traditional forest dwellers
who have lost any of their forest rights recognised under the Scheduled
Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest
Rights) Act, 2006 due to acquisition of land;
iv. family whose primary source of livelihood for three years
prior to the acquisition of the land is dependent on forests or water
bodies and includes gatherers of forest produce, hunters, fisher folk and
boatmen and such livelihood is affected due to acquisition of land;
v. a member of the family who has been assigned land by the
State Government or the Central Government under any of its schemes
and such land is under acquisition;
vi. a family residing on any land in the urban areas for preceding
three years or more prior to the acquisition of the land or whose primary
source of livelihood for three years prior to the acquisition of the land is
affected by the acquisition of such land;
d. “agricultural land” means land used for the purpose of—
i. agriculture or horticulture;
ii. dairy farming, poultry farming, pisciculture, sericulture, seed
farming breeding of livestock or nursery growing medicinal herbs;
iii. raising of crops, trees, grass or garden produce; and
iv. land used for the grazing of cattle;
e. “appropriate Government” means,—

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 i. in relation to acquisition of land situated within the territory
of, a State, the State Government;
ii. in relation to acquisition of land situated within a Union
territory (except Puducherry), the Central Government;
iii. in relation to acquisition of land situated within the Union
territory of Puducherry, the Government of Union territory of
Puducherry;
iv. in relation to acquisition of land for public purpose in more
than one State, the Central Government, in consultation with the
concerned State Governments or Union territories; and
v. in relation to the acquisition of land for the purpose of the
Union as may be specified by notification, the Central Government:
Provided that in respect of a public purpose in a District for an area not
exceeding such as may be notified by the appropriate Government, the
Collector of such District shall be deemed to be the appropriate
Government;
f. “Authority” means the Land Acquisition and Rehabilitation and
Resettlement Authority established under section 52;
g. “Collector” means the Collector of a revenue district, and includes a
Deputy Commissioner and any officer specially designated by the
appropriate Government to perform the functions of a Collector under
this Act;
h. “Commissioner” means the Commissioner for Rehabilitation and
Resettlement appointed under sub-section (1) of section 45;
i. “cost of acquisition” includes—
i. amount of compensation which includes solatium, any
enhanced compensation ordered by the Land Acquisition and
Rehabilitation and Resettlement Authority or the Court and interest
payable thereon and any other amount determined as payable to the
affected families by such Authority or Court;
ii. demurrage to be paid for damages caused to the land and
standing crops in the process of acquisition;
iii. cost of acquisition of land and building for settlement of
displaced or adversely affected families;
iv. cost of development of infrastructure and amenities at the
resettlement areas;
v. cost of rehabilitation and resettlement as determined in
accordance with the provisions of this Act;
vi. administrative cost,—
A. for acquisition of land, including both in the project site and out of
project area lands, not exceeding such percentage of the cost of
compensation as may be specified by the appropriate Government;

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B. for rehabilitation and resettlement of the owners of the land and
other affected families whose land has been acquired or proposed to be
acquired or other families affected by such acquisition;
vii. cost of undertaking ‘Social Impact Assessment study’;
j. “company” means—
i. a company as defined in section 3 of the Companies Act,
1956, other than a Government company;
ii. a society registered under the Societies Registration Act,
1860 or under any corresponding law for the time being in force in a
State;
k. “displaced family” means any family, who on account of acquisition
of land has to be relocated and resettled from the affected area to the
resettlement area;
l. “entitled to act”, in relation to a person, shall be deemed to include
the following persons, namely:—
i. trustees for other persons beneficially interested with
reference to any such case, and that to the same extent as the person
beneficially interested could have acted if free from disability;
ii. the guardians of minors and the committees or managers of
lunatics to the same extent as the minors, lunatics or other persons of
unsound mind themselves, if free from disability, could have acted:
Provided that the provisions of Order XXXII of the First Schedule to the
Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 shall, mutatis mutandis, apply in the case
of persons interested appearing before a Collector or Authority by a next
friend, or by a guardian for the case, in proceedings under this Act; and
m. “family” includes a person, his or her spouse, minor children, minor
brothers and minor sisters dependent on him:
Provided that widows, divorcees and women deserted by families shall be
considered separate families;
Explanation.—An adult of either gender with or without spouse or
children or dependents shall be considered as a separate family for the
purposes of this Act.
n. “holding of land” means the total land held by a person as an owner,
occupant or tenant or otherwise;
o. "infrastructure project" shall include any one or more of the items
specified in clause (b) of sub-section (1) of section 2;(p) “land” includes
benefits to arise out of land, and things attached to the earth or
permanently fastened to anything attached to the earth;
p. “landless” means such persons or class of persons who may be,—
i. considered or specified as such under any State law for the
time being in force; or
ii. in a case of landless not being specified under clause (a), as
may be specified by the appropriate Government;
r. “land owner” includes any person,—
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 i.whose name is recorded as the owner of the land or building
or part thereof, in the records of the authority concerned; or
ii. any person who is granted forest rights under the Scheduled
Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest
Rights) Act, 2006 or under any other law for the time being in force; or
iii. who is entitled to be granted Patta rights on the land under
any law of the State including assigned lands; or
iv. any person who has been declared as such by an order of
the court or Authority;
s. “local authority” includes a town planning authority (by whatever
name called) set up under any law for the time being in force, a
Panchayat as defined in article 243 and a Municipality as defined in
article 243P, of the Constitution;
t. “marginal farmer” means a cultivator with an un-irrigated land
holding up to one hectare or irrigated land holding up to one-half
hectare;
u. “market value” means the value of land determined in accordance
with section 26;
v. “notification” means a notification published in the Gazette of India
or, as the case may be, the Gazette of a State and the expression “notify”
shall be construed accordingly;
w. “patta” shall have the same meaning as assigned to it in the relevant
Central or State Acts or rules or regulations made there under;
x. “person interested” means—
i. all persons claiming an interest in compensation to be made
on account of the acquisition of land under this Act;
ii. the Scheduled Tribes and other traditional forest dwellers,
who have lost any forest rights recognised under the Scheduled Tribes
and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act,
2006;
iii. a person interested in an easement affecting the land;
iv. persons having tenancy rights under the relevant State laws
including share-croppers by whatever name they may be called; and

v. any person whose primary source of livelihood is likely to be

adversely affected;
y. “prescribed” means prescribed by rules made under this Act;
z. “project” means a project for which land is being acquired,
irrespective of the number of persons affected;
za. “public purpose” means the activities specified under sub-section
(1) of section 2;
zb. “Requiring Body” means a company, a body corporate, an
institution, or any other organisation or person for whom land is to be
acquired by the appropriate Government, and includes the appropriate
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Government, if the acquisition of land is for such Government either for
its own use or for subsequent transfer of such land in for public purpose
to a company, body corporate, an institution, or any other organisation,
as the case may be, under lease, licence or through any other mode of
transfer of land;
zc. “Resettlement Area” means an area where the affected families who
have been displaced as a result of land acquisition are resettled by the
appropriate Government;
zd. "Scheduled Areas" means the Scheduled Areas as defined in section
2 of the Provisions of the Panchayats (Extension to the Scheduled Areas)
Act, 1996;
ze. “small farmer” means a cultivator with an un-irrigated land holding
up to two hectares or with an irrigated land holding up to one hectare,
but more than the holding of a marginal farmer

FOOD SECURITY PROVISION

Chapter III Special Provision to Safeguard Food Security

10. Special provision to safeguard food security.3

1. Save as otherwise provided in sub-section (2), no irrigated multi-

cropped land shall be acquired under this Act.

2. Such land may be acquired subject to the condition that it is being

done under exceptional circumstances, as a demonstrable last resort,
where the acquisition of the land referred to in sub-section (1) shall, in
aggregate for all projects in a districts or state, in no case exceed such
limits as may be notified by the appropriate Government considering the
relevant State specific factors and circumstances.

3. Whenever multi-crop irrigated land is acquired under sub-section (2),

an equivalent area of culturable wasteland shall be developed for
agricultural purposes or an amount equivalent to the value of the land
acquired shall be deposited with the appropriate Government for
investment in agriculture for enhancing food-security.

4. In a case not falling under sub-section (1), the acquisition of the

agriculture land in aggregate for all projects in a district or State, shall in

3
Chapter III, section 10 of the LARR Act, 2013.
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no case exceed such limits of the total net sown area of that district or
State, as may be notified by the appropriate Government:

Provided that the provisions of this section shall not apply in the case of
projects that are linear in nature such as those relating to railways,
highways, major district roads, irrigation canals, power lines and the
like.

Notifications under section 10 of the Right to Fair

Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition,
Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 20134

In exercise of the powers conferred by sub-section (4) of section 10

of the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition,
Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013 , the Central Government,
hereby, notifies that the acquisition of agricultural land in aggregate for
all projects in a district shall not be more than five per cent. of the net
sown area in a district determined for the relevant block of 5 years.
Provided that the net sown area determined for the block 2014-19 shall
be that as on 01st January, 2014 and for subsequent blocks as on the
first day of the block (e.g. for 2019-24, it shall be the area as on 01
January, 2019 and so on). Provided further that the area of agricultural
land acquired in a particular year shall not exceed 30% of the limit fixed
for five-year block.

SECTION 14.:- Lapse of Social Impact

Assessment Report5.

4
Ministry Of Rural Development

5
P.K. Sarkar, ‘Law of Acquisition of Land in India’,(Easter Law House, Kolkata, 2002),
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Where a preliminary notification under section 11 is not issued within
twelve months from the date of appraisal of the Social Impact
Assessment 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 under section 11:

Provided that the appropriate Government, shall have the power to

extend the period of twelve months, if in its opinion circumstances exist
justifying the same:

Provided further that any such decision to extend the period shall be
recorded in writing and the same shall be notified and be uploaded on
the website of the authority concerned.

SOCIAL IMPACT ASSESSMENT6

Objectives of the Social Impact Assessment Study-
-To carry out baseline survey from the project site .
-To bring out the likely impacts from the proposed project.
-To draw out preventive measures to address the likely impacts from the
project.

Preliminary Notification
The process of acquisition begins with the issuance of preliminary
notification, as envisaged under Section 11 of Right to Fair
Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and
Resettlement Act, 2013. Whenever, it appears to the appropriate
Government that land in any area is required or likely to be required for
any public purpose, a preliminary notification under Section 11 in rural
or urban areas shall be published.
 Publication of Notification:
The Preliminary Notification shall be published in the following manner:-
(a) in the Official Gazette;
(b) in two daily newspapers circulating in the locality of required area of
which one shall be in the regional language;

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Academike

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(c) 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;
(d) uploaded on the website of the appropriate Government;
Immediately after issuance of the notification, the concerned Gram
Sabha or municipalities shall be informed of the contents of the
notification issued in all cases of land acquisition at a meeting called
especially for this purpose.
The notification to be issued shall contain details of the land to be
acquired, a statement on the nature of the public purpose involved,
reasons necessitating the displacement of affected persons, summary of
the Social Impact Assessment Report and particulars of the
Administrator appointed for the purposes of rehabilitation and
resettlement.

In Khub Chand vs. State of Rajasthan, the Court has held

that, the words of Section 4(1) of the Land Acquisition Act, 1984 clearly
suggest that the requirement is a mandatory one. 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.

In Habib Ahmed v. State of Uttar Pradesh, the Court has held

that neither the notification nor the declaration can be quashed on the
ground that there was no necessity for acquiring the land for a public
purpose. Whether the land is required for a public purpose or not has to
be decided solely by the State Government.

In K.Madhava Rao vs. State of A.P., that Court observed that

it is duty of Court to determine whenever question is raised whether
acquisition is or not for public purpose. However, prima facie
Government is the best judge as to whether acquisition is for public
purpose. But it is not sole judge.
Although the above cases were dealt under the old law of
Land Acquisition Act, 1984, but the provisions of the new Act and the old
law are somewhat similar. Therefore, the rules laid down in the landmark
judgments under the old law will hold well under the new Act also.

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 Restriction on Transaction:
No person shall make any transaction or cause any transaction of land
specified in the preliminary notification from the date of publication of
such notification till such time as the proceedings of acquisition are
completed.
Provided that the Collector may, on the application made by the owner of
the land so notified, exempt in special circumstances to be recorded in
writing, such owner from the operation of this restriction.
But any loss or injury suffered by any person due to his willful violation
of this provision shall not be made up by the Collector.

Lapse of SIA Report:

Section 14 provides that 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.
The appropriate Government shall have the power to extend the period of
twelve months, if in its opinion circumstances exist justifying the same
but such decision shall be recorded in writing and the same shall be
notified and be uploaded on the website of the authority concerned.

Survey Of Land
Section 12 provides for the preliminary survey of land and power of
officers to carry out such survey.
For the purposes of enabling the appropriate Government to determine
the extent of land to be acquired, it shall be lawful for any officer, either
generally or specially authorised by such Government in this behalf, and
for his servants and workmen,–
(a) to enter upon and survey and take levels of any land in such locality;
(b) to dig or bore into the sub-soil;
(c) to do all other acts necessary to ascertain whether the land is adapted
for such purpose;
(d) to set out the boundaries of the land proposed to be taken and the
intended line of the work (if any) proposed to be made thereon; and
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(e) to mark such levels, boundaries and line by placing marks and
cutting trenches and where otherwise the survey cannot be completed
and the levels taken and the boundaries and line marked, to cut down
and clear away any part of any standing crop, fence or jungle.

Restriction:
No act under clauses (a) to (e) in respect of land shall be conducted in the
absence of the owner of the land or in the absence of any person
authorised in writing by the owner. Such survey may be undertaken in
the absence of the owner, if the owner has been afforded a reasonable
opportunity to be present during the survey, by giving a notice of at least
sixty days prior to the survey.
In Satnam Singh vs. State of Punjab, the Court held that a
notice is necessary condition precedent for the exercise of the power of
the entry, and non-compliance with these conditions make the entry of
the officer or his servants unlawful.

 Payment for Damages:

Section 13 provides that the officer shall at the time of entry under
section 12 pay for any damage caused. It is payment for the intended
damage.
Damage means any harm done to land during the course of surveying it
and other acts necessary to ascertain whether it is capable of being
adapted for public purpose.
In case of dispute as to the sufficiency of the amount so paid the officer
shall at once refer the dispute to the decision of the Collector or other
chief revenue officer of the district, and such decision shall be final.
 Summary of Scheme:
The Collector shall publish a summary of the Rehabilitation and
Resettlement Scheme along with declaration. But no declaration under
this shall be made unless the summary of the Rehabilitation and
Resettlement Scheme is published along with it.
Also, the ‘Requiring Body’ must deposit an amount, in full or part, as
may be prescribed by the appropriate Government towards the cost of
acquisition of the land.
Requiring Body as defined under Section 3(zb) means a company, a
body corporate, an institution, or any other organisation or person for
whom land is to be acquired by the appropriate Government, and
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includes the appropriate Government, if the acquisition of land is for
such Government either for its own use or for subsequent transfer of
such land is for public purpose to a company, body corporate, an
institution, or any other organisation.
In Habib Ahmed v. State of Uttar Pradesh, the Court has held
that neither the notification nor the declaration can be quashed on the
ground that there was no necessity for acquiring the land for a public
purpose. Whether the land is required for a public purpose or not has to
be decided solely by the State Government.

 Lapse of Notification:
Where no declaration is made within 12 months from the date of
preliminary notification, then such notification shall be deemed to have
been rescinded. Provided that in computing the time of 12 months any
period during which the proceedings for the acquisition of the land were
held up on account of any stay or injunction by the order of any Court
shall be excluded. The appropriate Government may decide to extend the
period of 12 months, if in its opinion circumstances exist justifying the
same, which shall be recorded in writing and notified and be uploaded on
the website of the authority concerned.
The declaration shall be conclusive evidence that the land is required for
a public purpose and after making such declaration, the appropriate
Government may acquire the land in such manner as specified under
this Act.
The Procedure Followed in Acquisition

As in the predecessor Land Acquisition Act, the procedure for

acquisition involves notification by the District Collector and invitation of
objections. It is after the adjudication of such objections that the
acquisition is carried out. However, new Act adds a preliminary
procedure and a bureaucratic framework to administer such procedure
before the collector is involved. This procedure determines whether the
land chosen should be acquired with regard to the social costs involved
in such acquisition?. 1. Social Impact Assessment The preliminary
procedure, only in the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in
Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, which determines
whether or not a particular area of land should be acquired, consists of
three phases. First, the appropriate government must conduct a Social
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Impact Assessment ('SIA') 'in consultation' with the Gram Sabha or
equivalent body in urban areas. The SIA must, inter alia, study the
nature of public interest involves socioeconomic impact on the families,
whether the bare minimum area of land is being acquired, whether
alternate sites have been considered and found feasible. The Social
Impact Assessment (SIA) report is required to record the views of the
affected families and to this end, the appropriate government must hold
a public hearing with the affected families. The second stage of this
process is the evaluation of the social impact assessment (SIA) report by
an 'expert group' under section 7 of the Act. The expert group will
evaluate the social impact assessment report and examine whether the
project serves the Stated public purpose, whether it is in the larger
public interest and whether the costs and adverse impacts of the project
outweigh the potential benefits. 271 On these grounds, individually, the
expert group is required to express its opinion as to whether the project
should be allowed to continue or not. The third and final stage is the
examination of the initial proposal to acquire the land by a committee
appointed by the appropriate government. This committee consists of at
least seven members of the executive and not more than three nonofficial
experts nominated by the government. The task of the committee is to
consider whether there is a legitimate and bona fide public purpose
which justifies acquisition of land, whether the long-term benefits to the
general public would justify the costs (in terms of social impact)
identified by the social impact assessment (SIA), whether the minimum
required area is to be acquired and whether the collector has considered
possibility of acquisition of non-agricultural lands as opposed to
agricultural and irrigated land. The committee, under section 8 of the
Act, considers the recommendations of the expert group based on social
impact assessment report and is the final authority to determine the
viability of the project. This committee also verifies that the consent of
the affected families is taken in accordance with the second mode of
transfer (i.e. partially compulsory sale).

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Most notable change in the Act, 2013:

Notable change is introducing a unique feature of determination of

Social Impact Assessment Study for public purpose, which was inserted
in Chapter II of the Act, 2013 i.e. sections 4 to 9 deals the provisions for
determination of Social Impact and Public Purpose. Social Impact
Assessment Study (SIAS) to be done by the authorities before preliminary
notification u/s 4 of the Act. 2013, if the government intends to acquire
land for public purpose, which means the authorities have to conduct
public hearing and give a report about the social impact by consulting
with the Panchayats/Municipalities/Municipal Corporations (local
authority) as the case may be prior to issuing preliminary notification
u/s 11 for acquisition of land. During such study the gross-root level
authorities also have a say to give their opinion whether the proposed
acquisition serves public purpose, number of family members likely to be
affected in the acquisition, whether alienate land can be acquired, the
extent of public land/house settlement likely to be affected in the
acquisition, as to whether the extent of land proposed to be acquired is
bare minimum requirement for the project. Under SIAS the authorities
are bound to take into consideration the impact the project is likely to
cause on various components such as livelihood of the affected families,
properties, assets, sources of drinking water for cattle, community
ponds, grazing lands etc. After such study, a report is prepared and it
should be made available in local language at
Panchayats/Municipalities/Municipal Corporations as the case may be.

The SIAS will be done by group of persons comprising of two

unofficial social scientists, representatives of the Panchayat/Grama
Sabha/Municipality/Municipal Corporation, two experts on
rehabilitation, technical experts etc. Then such report has to be
forwarded to the appropriate government and the appropriate
government after ensuring that the purpose of acquisition is bonafide
and recommended such area for acquisition which would ensure
minimum displacement of people disturbance of infrastructure, ecology
etc. However, under section 9 of the Act, 2013 the government may
exempt the undertaking of SIAS if the acquisition is made under urgency
clause, under section 40 of the Act, 2013.

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Important and people-friendly features of the Act, 2013:

• As per Section 10 of the Act, 2013, no irrigated multi crop land shall be
acquired. If under exceptional circumstances such land is acquired, the
government should ensure that equivalent area of cultivable waste land
shall be developed for agricultural purposes or the amount equivalent to
the value of the land acquired shall be deposited with the appropriate
government for investing in agricultural for enhancing food security. This
is in consonance with the Food Security Act, 2013. So in case of
acquisition of multi crop fertile lands, the object is to see that cultivable
lands are not diminished, and thereby to ensure that there is no shortage
of food production.
• Rehabilitation and Resettlement: in case of land-owners/landless
people whose lands are affected in acquisition, rehabilitation and
resettlement scheme has to be prepared under sections 16 and 17of the
Act, 2013.
• Land acquired for one purpose cannot be used for another purpose
under section 99. However if the land is rendered useless for the
originally notified purpose, the appropriate government may use it for
another purpose. If the land acquired is not utilized within a period of
five years from the date of taking possession, it shall be redelivered to the
original owner under section 101 of the Act, 2013.
• Section 24 of the Act, 2013, protects certain category of persons whose
lands have been notified/acquired under the Act, 1984. The provisions of
the Act, 2013 will apply
(a) where no award has been passed under section 11 of the Act,
1984 for payment of compensation,
(b) where award has been passed under section 11 of the Act,
1984, more five years or more prior to the commencement of the Act,
2013, but physical possession has been taken or compensation has not
been paid,
Then in the above two circumstances, the proceeds under the Act,
1984 are deemed to have lapsed. Further, where award is passed and
compensation of majority land-holdings has not been deposited in the
account of beneficiaries, then all the beneficiaries specified in the section
4 notification under the Act, 1984 will be entitled to compensation under
the Act, 2013.

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• Compensation payable to the land-owners is provided in Schedule-I
of the Act, 2013. The land-owner will get market value multiplied by one
or two times (for urban and rural lands as the case may be), along with
interest which includes 100% solatium. Similarly Schedule-II is also
provided detailing out the manner in which the land-owners and landless
poor will be rehabilitated and resettled.

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 CONCLUSION:-
The majority of the Indian population is depended on lands. Most of
them agricultural lands, some are depended on urban properties. In view
of ever increasing demand and rising prices of land, a person/family
affected in land acquisition will suffer heavily as it will be impossible for
him/them to purchase similar extent of land lost in the acquisition.
Therefore the Parliamentarians’ enacted The Right to Fair Compensation
and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement
Act, 2013 and replaces the Land Acquisition Act of 1984 which was a
pre-Constitutional Act.

The Act, 2013, will go a long way to protect the interests of farmers
and land-owners who are solely depended on the lands and this
mechanism takes care of the longstanding grievances of the land-
owners/displaced persons by ensuring the acquisition of property will be
made only as a last resort and if the purpose is bonafide and genuine.

In Waman Rao v. Union of India7 Constitutional bench had

observed that India being a predominantly agricultural society, there is a
“strong linkage between the land and the personal status in the social
system.” The tip of land on which they till and live, assumes them equal
justice and dignity of their person by providing to them a near decent
means of livelihood.

The act aims to acquire the land in consultation with institution of

local self government and gram sabhas established under the
Constitution. Humane, participative, informed and transparent process
of Land Acquisition for industrialization, development of essential
infrastructure facilities and urbanization with lease disturbance to the
owners of the land and other affected families and provide just and fair
compensation to the affected family and whose land has been acquired or
proposed to be acquired on affected persons by such acquisition. And
make adequate provisions for such affected persons for their
rehabilitation and resettlement and for ensuring that the cumulative
outcome of compulsory acquisition should be that affected persons
become partners in development leading to an improvement in their post
acquisition social and economic status.
7
AIR 1981 SC 271
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 BIBLIOGRAPHY
BOOKS REFERRED:-

1. P.K. Sarkar, ‘Law of Acquisition of Land in India’,(Easter Law House,

Kolkata, 2002),
2. Land Acquisition Act, 1894
3. Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition,
Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013

WEBSITES REFERRED :
1. https://www.legalcrystal.com

2. http://www.manupatra.com

3. http://www.indiankanoon.com

4. http://www.acadmike.edu

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