Reform of the land acquisition regime

Land acquisition has been a controversial issue, with several projects stalled due to an archaic and outdated legal regime. The primary legislation – the Land Acquisition Act, 1894 – gives the government wide powers to acquire private land for public purpose. Over the years, the government has (mis)applied the act for acquiring land for private companies on the grounds that it would lead to development resulting in public good.

To redress various anomalies in the act and check its misuse, the government introduced an amendment to the act in 2007 and the Rehabilitation and Resettlement Bill in 2007. However, possibly due to a lack of political will, both these bills lapsed in 2009. Following the recent (and much publicized) unrest by farmers in Greater Noida in Uttar Pradesh, the government issued a draft National Land Acquisition and Rehabilitation & Resettlement Bill, 2011, to overhaul the existing regime for land acquisition.

Scope of new bill

The new bill applies to any land acquisition by the government for its own use or for transfer to private companies for a stated public purpose.

Saurabh Bhasin is a partner at the Delhi office of Trilegal where Chandni Chawla is an associate. Trilegal is a full-service law firm with offices in Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore and Hyderabad and has over 140 lawyers, some of whom have experience with law firms in the United States, the UK and Japan.