12-04-14
State Government notifies the Rules under the Act, invites suggestions/objections till April 19
By Kartik Lokhande
Now, any Government or private entity requiring land for a project will
have to first prepare a ‘social impact assessment report’ and also a
‘social impact management plan’. This has been made mandatory under the
new Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition,
Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013.
Maharashtra Government has notified the draft Rules under the Act
recently and has invited suggestions/objections on the same till April
19. Interestingly, the draft Rules have been notified
suggestions/objections have been invited during the period when Model
Code of Conduct for Lok Sabha elections is in force.
It may be mentioned here that the new Act has sent ripples in various
Government departments as well as private companies as it would require
payment of compensation for land to be acquired, at market rates. This
will effectively increase the cost of all the projects -- public or
private. The draft Rules published by Revenue and Forest Department of
Maharashtra Government shall apply to cases wherein notification for
land acquisition has been issued before December 31, 2013 but the award
has not been declared. The notifications in such cases, may be issued
under Land Acquisition Act, MIDC Act, or MRTP Act.
In effect, the cost of projects for which the award for land acquisition
has not been declared prior to December 31, 2013, will increase as the
compensation will have to be paid after conducting all the procedures
laid down in the draft Rules. Besides, the compensation will be as per
the market rates.
As per the draft Rules published by Revenue and Forest Department of
Maharashtra Government, ‘social impact assessment study’ and report
based on that have been made mandatory. For the study, notification has
to be published within 30 days of deposit of processing fees for
carrying out such study by requiring body/firm. The study report has to
be submitted to the State Government within six months from the date of
commencement of the study, along with views of the affected families
recorded in writing. The study report is mandated to comprise three
parts -- project feasibility report, project impact report, and ‘social
impact management plan’ for the project.
The study report also is required to have nine annexures -- list of
likely-to-be-displaced families; lists of infrastructure, land holdings,
businessmen, landless people, disadvantage groups like
SC/ST/handicapped, landless agricultural labourers, prospective
employable youth in affected area; and socio-economic and cultural
profile of affected area and affected families. The agency conducting
social impact assessment study has to cover ‘100 per cent’ of the
affected families. In no case, forest land is to be considered as an
alternative land for land to the project-affected persons.
As per the draft Rules, in case of land acquisition for private
companies, Collector of the district concerned has to initiate the
process for obtaining consent of affected persons. Besides, the
Collector has to resolve outstanding issues related to land rights, land
tilling, and land records in affected areas so that all the land-owners
can be identified correctly before initiating consent procedures. The
Rules make it necessary to ‘video-record’ all the individual
consent-taking procedure. Following the procedure, no land-holder can
withdraw his consent once given, said a source.
Collector himself or an authorised Government officer or an authorised
agency will have to conduct a survey and undertake a census of affected
families within a period of three months from the date of publication of
preliminary notification. Based on that, a draft Rehabilitation and
Resettlement Scheme has to be prepared by Collector. Post-implementation
of the scheme, conduct of an audit of rehabilitation and resettlement
also has been made mandatory under the draft Rules.
Independent authority for
land acquisition, rehab Under the
draft Rules, State Government has to establish a Land Acquisition,
Rehabilitation and Resettlement Authority for speedy disposal of
disputes relating to land acquisition in each revenue division in the
State. It will have powers of Civil Court. Thus, there will be separate
authority for Nagpur, Amravati, Pune, Konkan, Aurangabad, and Nashik
divisions.
Land not utilised for 5 years
to be returned to farmers
It
is proposed under the draft Rules that if land acquired under the new
Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition,
Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013, is not utilised for five
years from the date of taking over the possession, it will be returned
to the original owner.
The land may be returned to original owner or his/her legal heirs, or to
the Land Bank of the Government by issuing a notice to the requiring
body/firm for which the land was acquired.
This provision has been
included following widespread demand for various rights groups. The
groups cited several cases in which land was acquired at cheaper rates
from the farmers for a project and that project did not come up for
years together. Later, in some cases, the land for the project was sold
by the acquiring agency for commercial purposes at much higher rates.
If disturbed, public
hearing will not be
conducted again
State
Government has to conduct a public hearing through district
administration once draft ‘social impact assessment study’ report is
ready. All the public hearings will be video-recorded and transcripted.
The members of NGOs and media also will be allowed to attend the public
hearing. However, as has happened in various cases previously, if a
public hearing is disturbed ‘by misbehaviour of miscreants present’, the
public hearing shall be treated as deemed to be concluded. In any case,
the public hearing will not be conducted again, state the draft Rules.
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