`Resettlement and rehabilitation of persons displaced by land acquisition should form a part of Land Acquisition Act’

The Commission has taken the view that provisions relating to the resettlement and rehabilitation of persons displaced by land acquisition for developmental projects should form a part of the Land Acquisition Act itself (or an appropriate separate legislation) so that they are justiciable.

Concerned with the plight of persons displaced by Mega-projects, the Commission has been pursuing this matter with the Ministry of Rural Development, Government of India, seeking to ensure the early finalisation of a draft policy on this subject.

A petition was received from the National Committee for Protection of Natural Resources (NCPNR), wherein it was mentioned that the Land Acquisition Act, 1894, which was still in force and was proposed to be amended by the Government, did not contain any provision for resettlement and rehabilitation of the people affected by projects. The Committee requested that the Commission may consider this matter in its entirety and make suitable recommendations to the Government, specially at a time when the Government was considering a comprehensive Land Acquisition (Amendment) Bill, which did not deal with aspects relating to resettlement and rehabilitation.

Considering this issue in its meeting held on 21 December 2000, the Commission decided to pursue this matter with the Government. A detailed discussion was held with the Secretary, and senior officials of the Ministry of Rural Development on 13 February 2001. The Commission was informed that the Bill had been finalized and was with the Ministry of Law. The group of Ministers had also considered and finalized the policy regarding rehabilitation and resettlement. The Bill would now be submitted to the Cabinet for consideration

The Commission expressed the view that it was desirable to incorporate the rehabilitation and resettlement (R&R) package in the Land Acquisition Act itself as an ILO convention, to which India is a party, provides for the protection of rights of indigenous and tribal people. In addition, the incorporation of R&R package in the law will ensure the R&R of Project-Affected-People in a systemic manner. The provision for R&R in the law itself will help to avoid litigation and consequent delays and prevent cost overrun of the projects. Once the R&R package is provided in the law, there will be uniformity in dealing with the cases by the Courts. The R&R facilities should be provided in advance, before actual acquisition of land takes place. The Commission also noted that, in a number of cases, land was acquired in excess of that which was required, adversely affecting the land holders on the one hand and wasting of the resources of the State on the other, as the excess land was not put to use by the project authorities. A properly drawn project document, with estimates of expenditure involved in R&R, would curb this tendency. Further, in the interests of transparency and full information to the people likely to be affected by a project, a Committee consisting of representatives of Government, the industry/agency for which land is proposed to be acquired and the project affected people, should have detailed consultations before the land is acquired.

The Commission has asked the Secretary, Rural Development, to suitably apprise the Minister, Rural Development Ministry of the views of the Commission. Discussions are scheduled to be held with the Minister on 19 March 2001.