Redistribution of Land in Urban Areas Commences

THE Bengal Left Front government leads by far the rest of the state governments in terms of seizing ceiling-surplus land in rural areas and redistributing them amongst the poor.

Presently, a plan has been drawn up for a similar land redistribution among the poor and the needy, especially refugee families in the cities and townships.

The following are the chief characteristics of the programme:

• Refugee families would receive unconditional proprietorship of land
• The families who are not refugees but are living on refugee land shall receive long-term lease-based land rights
• Those of the urban poor who have been residing in unused khas land for two decades or more shall get proprietorship of the land plots at the cost Re one for a period of 99 years
• The thika tenancy act has been suitably modified to benefit the poor further
• Housing estates are built to provide shelter to the urban poor and for the people belonging to the lower-income groups
• It is now a legal right of the people living in slums and of the urban poor in general to claim benefits of better services and infrastructural facilities.(INN)

New land acquisition policy to be introduced

New Delhi, June 05, 2009: President Pratibha Patil today said the government would reintroduce the Amendment Bill to the Land Acquisition Act and the Rehabilitation and Resettlement Bill in the forthcoming budget session of Parliament.

If the Bills are enacted, it will not only help in better implementation of infrastructure and industrial projects, but also safeguard the interests of farmers. That is because both the Bills contain clear guidelines to be followed while acquiring land, like compensation package and the quantum of land to be acquired.

“It will be our endeavor to have these Bills reintroduced and enacted in the budget session of Parliament,” Patil said in her speech to joint session of the Parliament.

Both the Bills were mooted in the backdrop of violent protests across the country in 2007 against acquisition of land by state governments for industrial projects in West Bengal, Haryana, Maharashtra as well as Goa. Many of these projects were related to special economic zones (SEZs).

The Land Acquisition (Amendment) Bill limits the role of the government in land acquisition for private projects. Broadly, this Bill allows government to acquire only 30 per cent of the land for private projects, while the rest will have to be bought by the developer himself. Moreover, land rights will be extended to tenant farmers, artisans and those indirectly drawing sustenance from the land in question. Also, compensation could be in the form of jobs and equity shares in the company that has bought the land.

The Resettlement and Rehabilitation (R&R) Bill lays down guidelines on how the people affected by projects will have to be rehabilitated and the contours of compensation packages. In addition, this Bill also seeks to set up a National Rehabilitation Commission.

Experts point out that delay in enacting both these bills has impacted government projects, especially in infrastructure sector.

A recent assessment by the government had revealed that about 60 projects related to the Indian Railways, 20 power plants and 40 road projects were help up due to land related problems.

Officials have to settle mutation in 90 days

KOLKATA, 23 December, 2008: For those suffering from those mutation and land conversion blues, here's something to make you cheer up. The state government has just streamlined the complex processes and fixed a deadline for both: 90 days. Any officer who fails to get the job done within three months of the application will face a showcause.

Although the state government (from district and city offices) has been getting regular feedback on the inordinate delay involved in the processes, chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee decided to iron out the creases only after similar complaints started pouring in from potential investors who needed large tracts of agricultural land that had to undergo conversion before the West Bengal Industrial Development Corporation (WBIDC) could hand them over.

In October, Writers' Buildings decided to fix a time-frame for conversion and mutation of land so that the delay in implementing industrial projects could be avoided. The notification on the matter will be issued soon, now that the decision has been taken after a meeting convened by land and land reforms minister Abdur Rezzak Mollah at Writers' Buildings on Monday. At the meeting, the following decisions were taken. The minister said, "Till now, there was no time frame for land conversion and mutation. We have decided to change things now."

Now, till 10 decimal, the processes will have to be done by BL&LRO, up to 1 acre by SDL&LRO and more than 1 acre, by DD&LRO. The officials concerned must act immediately if they can't, they must send a note to their superior officers explaining reasons behind the delay. The notes will be considered and probed. If the probe finds any fault or deliberate delay on the part of the official concerned, a showcause will be slapped on the official. The land and land reforms department has also decided to pull up anyone who doesn't follow the rules of mutation and land conversion by submitting the necessary applications to the authorities concerned. An official said, "If anyone involved in buying and selling of the land is found to have flouted rules and not applied for mutation, a lump sum fine will be slapped on him."

Mutation means substitution of the names of a person by another which may be done by the revenue officer under Section 50 of the West Bengal Land Reforms Act. Mutation is done on the following ground. Transfers of sale of gift, exchange, inheritance. The transfer is to be made by a registered deed.

Similarly, change of land use is regulated by Section 4c of the West Bengal Land Reforms Act. A raiyat may seek permission for change of character and use of any land under Section 4c of the said Act before the SDL&LRO for land up to 0.10 acres and to the DL&LRO for land exceeding 0.10 acres. On receipt of the conversion application and after field enquiry and hearing the applicant, the SDL&LRO or the DL&LRO passes appropriate order allowing conversion if he deems fit.