Land acquired for Railway Projects

Land Acquisition is an essential step towards any project development. The delays and problems in land acquisition decide the very fate of the development of the projects so concerned. The concern involved in any acquisition project is the compensation, rehabilitation, and resettlement issues pertaining to that person or family so moved, or land so acquired.

Railways run more than 20,000 passenger trains daily that help in commuting of thousands of people every day. Indian Railways manages the fourth largest railway network in the world by size, still maximum of infrastructure modernisation projects centres around the railway systems.

Legislative History

The first law governing the acquisitions is the Land Acquisition Act, 1894. Under the Constitution of India, Land was meant for the State, and it is mentioned in the State list, while the irony in the story is that land acquisition falls under the Concurrent List. Initially, all railway land acquisition concerning Railways were governed by the Land Acquisition Act, 1894 by respective State Governments. Still, this practice didn't go for long as there was unnecessary delay in the acquisition process as the clearance has to pass a various set of rules and norms concerned with each State involved.

Therefore to speed up the process, land acquisitions for Railway Projects were enacted and were named as 'Special Railway Projects' and were encapsulated under the Railway (Amendment) Act, 2008. This legislation ensured better safeguards to those people whose lands were acquired for railway construction projects.

Land Acquisition for a Special Railway Project: Procedure and Rights associated

If the Central Government is satisfied that, for the construction of the railway projects, the land is to be acquired, then it will convey it via a notification and declare its intention to acquire such land. The notification is duly published in two local newspapers of which one should be in the vernacular language. The person so interested in the said land has the right to file an objection within thirty days from the date of publication of the notification mentioned above. The objector has every right to be heard and present his objection either in person or by a legal practitioner. If an objection is raised, certain inquiries will be made and accordingly, objections may be accepted or disposed of.

It is only after the notification can a lawful person enter the premises of the land to conduct surveys, inspections, valuations, or measurements. The lawful person is also allowed to dig or bore into the subsoil, make boundaries or demarcate territory. It is here where the rights of the person concerned with the property are protected, as the damages so done to the property is duly added and compensated accordingly within six months from the completion of the said works.

The property owner whose lands are so being acquired for the special railway projects, are duly compensated within a period of one year, and if not done so within the said period, the entire proceedings for the acquisition of the land shall lapse. If at all the period of compensation is extended due to unavoidable reasons, then that extension can be for a maximum period of six months, and the person so entitled to compensation shall receive an additional amount for the delay so caused.

Rehabilitation and resettlement policies

Compulsory acquisition of lands and property for public purpose displaces people from their very source of livelihood. This not only leads to financial distress but also causes psychological trauma to the families so affected. Therefore a need was felt to grant some relief regarding resettlement and rehabilitation to the persons whose displacement is inevitable. At times even monetary advances can do no good as the people so displaced are deeply dependant on their lands and property for their sustenance.

The National Rehabilitation and Resettlement Policy, 2007 was incorporated by the Government of India, via the Ministry of Rural Development on 31st October 2007. The fundamental objective of this policy is to minimise displacement and instead identify non-displacing or least displacing alternatives. It also aims to plan Rehabilitation and Resettlement of the Project Affected Families and provide them with a better standard of living and hence facilitate a harmonious relationship between the acquiring body and the Project Affected families.

Conclusion

Land acquisition is thus a sensitive issue and should be executed with much caution and in a transparent manner. It should thus mainly protect the interests of the land owners and should be substantiated with adequate compensation and Rehabilitation and Resettlement means. This will not only lessen the pain of displacement but will also allow them to lead a healthy life even after the acquisition of the property.

[Profile of the Author-Priyanka Jaiswal, 4th Year, National University of Study and Research in Law, Ranchi.]