Land acquisition

Soon after India acquired independence from colonial role, our leaders running the Government worked hard on planning the development of the country to overcome the gap that had developed between modern technology and the status of free India. Thus came into existence the Planning Commission at the central level and its branches in all the states which took upon them the huge responsibility of planning and executing developmental schemes for the country. The States also joined the big mission and on their own level brought out blue prints for various schemes.
One common thing that emerged from the developmental plans was that land would be required for setting up new plants, factories, structures etc.  According to the provisions of the Constitution, land being the property of the landowners, could be taken away from them for developmental purposes only after paying them due compensation. This resulted in the framing of Land Acquisition Act that lays down circumstances, conditions and pre-requisites for acquiring land from the land owners. The Act laid down the entire gamut of rules that were needed to be observed in letter and in spirit    whenever or wherever land had to be acquired by the Government for national or state projects. The J&K State, too, has the land acquisition law and its stipulations have to be strictly observed whenever and whenever land is to be acquired.
The mechanism of acquiring private land for the use of the Government is a complicated and lengthy process. A number of formalities have to be completed and the process involves many departments and authorities. This process, as we have said, is very complicated and time consuming. Many important projects have been held up for inordinate time owing to litigation about land acquisition. The existing system of acquiring land is such that it gives rise to innumerable court cases so much so that the courts are over-burdened by land acquisition cases. In 2009, the Government issued an SRO by virtue of which limits were defined up to which District Development Commissioners, Divisional Commissioners, and Financial Commissioner Revenue were authorized to sanction the amount of compensation against the land acquired. Actually, the SRO of August 11, 2009 prescribed the channels to be followed for submission of cases to the Administrative Department for recording satisfaction of the Government.
It was found that the SRO gave space for disputes over land acquisition and land owners sought higher rate for their land that what was sanctioned by the concerned authority. It was also felt that the system had become complex and time consuming leading to long delay with adverse impact on the progress of a project for which land had to be acquired.  The Government has come out with a new set of rules about land acquisition under SRO No.25 of 2016. The sum and substance of the new SRO issued by the Secretary to Revenue Department is that henceforth all cases of land acquisition seeking issuance of declaration under Sections 6 and 7 of the Land Acquisition Act, shall, invariably be referred to the Administrative (Revenue) Department irrespective of the quantum of land vis-a-vis valuation involved.  The implication of the new and latest SRO is that it enjoins upon all the concerned officers that declaration, if any, issued or pending with any of the offices–Financial Commissioner Revenue, Divisional Commissioners of Jammu/Kashmir and all the Deputy Commissioners be withdrawn and cases referred to the Administrative Department for recording satisfaction of the Government and issuance of fresh declaration thereof by the competent authority. This will save the entire process that the cases had to go through at the level of DCs, Divisional Commissioners and Financial Commissioner Revenue.
We feel that a right step has been taken in right direction by issuing the latest SRO. It will serve as panacea against delaying of a final decision on pending cases of land acquisition. It will expedite the entire process of acquisition and thus save the land owners from the complicacy connected with early payment of the amount of compensation. It will expedite execution of various projects for which land is to be acquired. At the same time it does not jeopardize the interests of the land owners as well.

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