Land acquisition in west bengal

Land acquisition Litigation in West Bengal
-By CA Nisha Kulthia

What are the Acts for Litigation of Land Governed in
India?
1.Right to fair compensation and transparency in Land Acquisition Rehabilitation and
Resettlement Act,2013
2.West Bengal Land Reforms Act,1955
3.The Urban Land (Ceiling and Regulation) Act, 1976

The Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013
(LARR)
1. Indian Parliament that regulates land acquisition and lays down the procedure and rules for granting
compensation, rehabilitation and resettlement to the affected persons in India
2. Public concern on land acquisition issues in India
3. Fair compensation when private land is acquired for public use
AND
1. Fair rehabilitation of land owners and those directly affected from loss of livelihoods
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.
Purpose
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
scope of the Act
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
Combined law

Consequences of land acquisition for development projects
(i) landlessness
(ii) joblessness,
(iii) marginalization,
(iv) loss of access to common property resources,
(v) increased morbidity and mortality,
(vi) food insecurity,
(vii) homelessness
(viii) social disarticulation
(ix) loss of education to their Children
Act
came
for
public
purpose

What is 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:
● 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;
● 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;
● Project for industrial corridors or mining activities, national investment and manufacturing zones, as designated in the National
Manufacturing Policy;
● Project for water harvesting and water conservation structures, sanitation;
● Project for Government administered, Government aided educational and research schemes or institutions;
● Project for sports, health care, tourism, transportation of space programme;
● Any infrastructure facility as may be notified in this regard by the Central Government and after tabling of such notification in
Parliament;

URBAN AREA
An urban area is a human settlement with high population density
and infrastructure of built environment.
Urban Morphology- cities, towns, conurbations or suburbs.
For the Census of India 2011, the definition of urban area is as
follows:
1. All places with a municipality, corporation, cantonment board
or notified town area committee, etc.
2. All other places which satisfied the following criteria:
a. A minimum population of 5,000;
b. At least 75% of the male main working population
engaged in non agricultural pursuits; and
c. A density of population of at least 400 persons per sq.
km.
very low population density
known as the 'countryside' or a 'village' in India.
Agriculture is the chief source of livelihood along with
fishing, cottage industries, pottery etc.
The "rural sector" means any place as per the which
meets the following criteria,
A population of less than 5,000
Density of population less than 400 per sq km
And
more than 25 % of the male working population is
engaged in agricultural pursuits.
RURAL AREA

MARKET VALUE AS PER ACT
.According to Sec.26 of the Act, the market value of the proposed land to be acquired, shall be set as the higher of
· the minimum land value, if any, specified in the Indian Stamp Act, 1899 for the registration of sale deeds in the area, where the
land is situated; or
· the average of the sale price for similar type of land being acquired, ascertained from the highest fifty per cent of the sale deeds
registered during the preceding three years in the nearest village or nearest vicinity of the land being acquired.; or
· the consented amount in case the land is acquired for private companies or public-private partnership projects.
The market value would be multiplied by a factor of, at least one to two times the market value for land acquired in rural
areas and at least one times the market value for land acquired in urban areas. The Act stipulates that the minimum
compensation to be a multiple of the total of above ascertained market value, value to assets attached to the property, plus a solatium
equal to 100 percent of the market value of the property including value of assets.
In addition to above compensation, the Act proposes a wide range of rehabilitation and resettlement entitlements to land owners and
livelihood losers from the land acquirer.

Govt's first step towards enforcing the Act
If an investor can buy 80 per cent of the land directly from farmers, the government can help to acquire the remaining
20 per cent.
The central land act says a land loser will get two to four times the market price in a rural area and at least twice the
market rate in an urban belt. "But it does not say anything on sharecroppers. The state government has to fix a
formula to compensate the sharecroppers.
Although the Bengal government has been trying to arrange plots for projects through a direct land-purchase policy
launched in November 2014, the sources said all big states had already implemented the central acquisition act by
framing the rules and manual.
Bengal is the only state where no land acquisition act is in place after the Land Acquisition Act, 1894, was repealed and
the new one introduced on January 1, 2014. All the other states have started acquiring land by invoking the new Act
after framing the rules and manual. No problem has been reported so far," a Bengal land department official said.
Land was not acquired, several infrastructure projects would be stalled as the direct land-purchase policy had failed to be
a suitable alternative to the acquisition act.

Direct Land Purchase Policy from Land Owners by Government - No. 756-LP/1A-03/14(Pt-II) Date:
25.02.2016
The Governor is hereby pleased to allow the various departments of the State Government and also the Central Government
department(s) or its organization(s) based on merit of its project to go in for the direct purchase of land for public purpose
mainly involving the early commissioning of infrastructure projects like roads, railways, bridges, food godowns, drinking
water, flood protection works and other similar projects, as the Government may consider, in rural and/or urban areas
through Zilla Parishad/Municipality/Municipal Corporation/ other Government bodies and parastatals, as the case may be, by
adopting the procedures.

REHABILITATION AND RESETTLEMENT AWARD
According to Sec.31 of the Act,the Collector shall pass Rehabilitation and Resettlement Awards for each affected family in
terms of the entitlements provided in the Second Schedule.
The Rehabilitation and Resettlement Award shall include all of the following, namely:— (a) rehabilitation and resettlement
amount payable to the family; (b) bank account number of the person to which the rehabilitation and resettlement award
amount is to be transferred; (c) particulars of house site and house to be allotted, in case of displaced families; (d)
particulars of land allotted to the displaced families; (e) particulars of one time subsistence allowance and transportation
allowance in case of displaced families; (f) particulars of payment for cattle shed and petty shops; (g) particulars of one-time
amount to artisans and small traders; (h) details of mandatory employment to be provided to the members of the affected
families; (i) particulars of any fishing rights that may be involved; (j) particulars of annuity and other entitlements to be
provided; (k) particulars of special provisions for the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes to be provided.
In case any of the matters specified under clauses (a) to (k) are not applicable to any affected family the same shall be
indicated as ―not applicable.
Further the appropriate Government may, by notification increase the rate of rehabilitation and resettlement amount payable
to the affected families, taking into account the rise in the price index.

West Bengal Land Reforms Act,1955
The land reforms programme of the Government of West Bengal aims at putting an end to the feudal and semi-feudal
system, prevalent in the country throughout ages and centuries, by implementing the Zamindari Abolition Act, 1953 and
Land Reforms Act, 1955 after making fundamental amendments to the same. It also ensures the cultivators to enjoy their
just rights and possession over the land and agricultural products. Thus, the exploitation of the feudal landlords rolls into the
pages of history. Direct participation of the people at large and their representatives as well of the rural areas finds best
exposition in the developmental schemes and projects of the Government.
With the sole aims and objectives to reduce disparity and irregularities in the rural economic structure by bringing about a
change in the ownership of land and land tenancy system the Government takes adequate measures to distribute vested
lands among the landless and poor peasantry and safeguard the rights of the sharecroppers under comprehensive
multipurpose programmes.
The Panchayat bodies are largely involved for executing the land reforms policies of the Government. However, the
programmes for financing bargadars and assignees of vested lands are normally implemented through the nationalized
commercial banks and rural banks to get them free of the clutches of land owners. Besides this, bargadars and assignees
of vested lands are given priority in the selection of beneficiaries in may other rural development programmes.

Permission for change of area,character or use of land. (Sec.4C)
After Amendment of 14-03-2001
A raiyat may apply to the Collector for change of area or character of such land or for conversion of the same for any
purpose other than the purpose for which it was settled.
The mode of use of land may be Residential, Commercial, Industrial, Agriculture Excluding ,Plantation of tea, Pisciculture,
Forestry, sericulture, horticulture, public utilities or other use of land.

Ceiling Limit under the Act
Sec.14M lays down the ceiling area with respect to different classes of raiyat.
It prescribes the ceiling area in a graduated scale with 2.50 standard hectares for a person who is an adult and unmarried
or who is the sole surviving member of a family.
For a family of two or more but less than five the ceiling area is five standard hectares and for each member excess of 5,
an additional 0.5 standard hectare,the total limit being 7 standard hectares.
In case of any other raiyat the ceiling area is 7 standard hectares.

Fisheries Department Vs.Land Reforms Department
In the year 1967 the Fisheries Department had reacquired more than 3000 acres of land comprising water body from the
owners for the purpose of pisciculture. Thereafter, they failed to serve the purpose for which it was acquired. At the same time,
the rent arising out of land was increasing which was becoming difficult for the government to pay.Meanwhile various locals,
industrialists etc tried to change the physical character of land without any change in document by dumping various earth
materials in order to change the character of the land for industiral/residential purposes.It was the duty of the department to
notify the Collector about such change being made under Sec.4C of the West Bengal Land Reforms Act,1955 which they
failed to do.Thereafter,the department decided to release the land.The problem arised when the Fisheries Department started
releasing the land to the legal heirs of the owners without informing the Land Reforms Department.As per Law, no
government department has the right to release land without informing or consulting or seeking prior permission from the Land
Reforms Department i.e.the onus falls on the Land Reforms department.

The Urban Land (Ceiling and Regulation) Act, 1976
➔ The Urban Land (Ceiling and Regulation) Act, 1976 is Central Act enacted under Clause (1) of Article 252 of the Indian
Constitution and came into effect in 1976 and was repealed through the Urban Land (Ceiling and Regulation) Repeal Act,
1999 by the Government of India. However, the State of West Bengal continues to adopt and implement this said
legislation for social benefit and ceiling of urban land.
Purpose
➔ The purpose behind the Act is to prevent concentration of urban land in the hands of few persons and to prevent
profiteering so that equitable distribution of land can be achieved for the benefit of the entire population.

URBAN AGGLOMERATION
An urban agglomeration is a continuous urban spread constituting a town and its adjoining outgrowths (OGs), or two or
more physically contiguous towns together with or without outgrowths of such towns. An Urban Agglomeration must consist
of at least a statutory town and its total population (i.e. all the constituents put together) should not be less than 20,000 as
per the 2001 Census. There are four categories of urban agglomeration :
Category ‘A’:- Kolkata, Delhi, Mumbai.
Category ‘B’:- Population of more than 10 lakhs.
Category ‘C’:- Population between 5 lakhs to 10 lakhs.
Category ‘D’:- Population between 2 lakhs to 5 lakhs.

Ceiling Limit
Section 4 deals with the ceiling limit for every person. The ceiling limit shall be,
(a) where the vacant land is situated in an urban agglomeration falling within category A specified in Schedule I, five
hundred square metres;
(b) where such land is situated in an urban agglomeration falling within category B specified in Schedule I, one thousand
square metres;
(c) where such land is situated in an urban agglomeration falling within category C specified in Schedule I, one thousand
five hundred square metres;
(d) where such land is situated in an urban agglomeration falling within category D specified in schedule I, two thousand
square metres.

Shortcomings in the Act
This act has had a huge bearing on urban development, by barring development on large tracts of available land. As a
result, the act has already been repealed in some states, such as Gujarat.
This act was repealed in November 2007 in the state of Maharashtra. The repeal was a precondition to the state
government with a grant under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM), to be used for major
infrastructure development projects (like the Mumbai Trans Harbour Link, the Mumbai Metro Project, the Bandra-Worli, the
Worli-Nariman Point sealink and the Mumbai Urban Transport Project-II)
The land ceiling act could not be implemented properly due to the tricks of the landlords and also lack of political
determination with the government.
Several landlords gave false declarations and did not reveal the excess land. They transfer their lands in the name of
their relatives, friends, etc. thus,they protected their lands and did not show any surplus.The surplus land taken over by
the government was not fit for cultivation.
The Act has been criticised severely. The implementation of the Act in the States/UTs has been awful, mainly due to the
following reasons:
Vesting of too much of discretionary powers in the State Governments for granting exemptions.
Highly expropriatory(public agency, taking private property for public purpose) nature of the Act.
The Act does not provide for a mechanism to force the entry of the vacant urban land into the land market through
appropriate fiscal measures.

Land acquisition for housing at North 24 Parganas
In another case of governmental land acquisition for housing at North 24 Parganas district of West Bengal, the farmers
began to cultivate their farmland which were acquired but remained unutilised. According to media report these farmers
were assured by the Trinamool Congress party leaders before the election that their land, which is about 1687 acres would
be returned to them if the party could come to power. However, now these farmers are turning their backs to the Trinamul
Congress, since the party has not kept its pre-election promise (The Statesman, 11 February 2012).
The opposition levelled by Mamata Banerjee, the present chief minister of West Bengal to the draft Land Acquisition
(Amendment) Bill 2007 in the Lok Sabha. She opposed to a clause of the bill which empowered private companies to
acquire up to 70 per cent land directly from farmers and landowners. The remaining 30 per cent could be acquired by
the state government.
Miss Banerjee wanted private companies to buy 100 per cent of the land, according to a report (The Statesman, 26 July
2009). It seemed that Miss Banerjee would have allowed the amended Bill to be passed if the Lok Sabha agreed to modify
the 70/30 proportion to 100 per cent purchase by the companies under the principleof willing-buyer-willing-seller.

List Of Clearance
Pre-sanction stage
Approvals from local body
Land use plan approval
Approval for change in land use
NOC for construction / augmentation
Relaxation in respect of density/ ground coverage/ FAR/ setbacks/ height
Approval from Airport Authority of India
No Objection Certificate (legal document) is required for height clearance
NOC for construction near coastal regulation zone
No Objection Certificate is required
Local body approvals
Approval is required from the local authority and Local body
Approval from National Monument Authority
No Objection Certificate is required from the National Monument Authority (NMA) / Archeological Survey of India (ASI),
Approval from Forest Department
Approval is required from the state forest department / Municipal Corporation

List Of Clearance
Approval from Heritage Conservation Committee or Appropriate Authority
Approval is required from the Heritage Conservation Committee (HCC) OR Appropriate Authority
Approval from Railway Authority/Port Trust
NOC is required from the Railway Authority/Kolkata Port Trust
Approval from Road Owning Agency
NOC is required from the Road Owning Agency ( KMC,KMDA, PWD, NHAI,)
Approval from Survey & Valuation Dept. (MUNICIPAL)
NOC is required from the Survey & Valuation Dept.(municipal)
Approval from Chief Fire Officer
Approval /Fire Safety Certificate is required from Chief Fire Officer (CFO) (WEST BENGAL FIRE SERVICES)
Approval from Chief Controller of Explosives
Approval is required from the Chief Controller of Explosives, Nagpur
Approval is required The Chief Inspector of Factories, in case of industrial building.
Approval is required from the Kolkata Improvement Trust
Environment Clearance is required from Ministry of Environment and Forests (MEF)
Sanction / Building Permit Stage
Approval is required from the local body / authority (KMC/KMDA/NKDA/Bidhan Nagar Municipality)
Approval from DCP (Licensing)
Approval/ NOC is required from DCP (Licensing) or from appropriate authority
Approval is required from the Power distributing / supply agency (CESCO/WBSEB Etc.)

List Of Clearance
Approval / NOC /assurance is required from the water supply agency
Approval / NOC is required from the Sewerage & Drain Department
Approval is required from the Sewerage & Drain dept.
Permission is required from the Central Ground Water Authority (CGWA)
Intimation to the Local Authority (KMC/ KMDA/)
The owner/applicant who has been granted building permit shall intimate the local Authority (KMC/ KMDA/ NKDA/ BNM
Plinth Level Notice
Completion cum-Occupancy Certificate from local body(KMC/ KMDA/ NKDA/BNM)
Approval from the Lift Inspector
NOC is required from the Lift Inspector

Main Issues In Land Acquisition
Legislative changes
Monetary compensation
Delayed projects

References
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Urban_Land_(Ceiling_and_Regulation)_Act,_1976
http://www.telegraphindia.com/1160623/jsp/bengal/story_92765.jsp#.WCMcx9V97IU
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Urban_Land_(Ceiling_and_Regulation)_Act,_1976
https://wbxpress.com/direct-land-purchase-government-policy/

Land acquisition in west bengal

Recommended

Recommended

More Related Content

What's hot

What's hot (20)

Similar to Land acquisition in west bengal

Similar to Land acquisition in west bengal (20)

More from CA NISHA KULTHIA

More from CA NISHA KULTHIA (10)

Recently uploaded

Recently uploaded (20)

Land acquisition in west bengal

Editor's Notes