LAND ACQUISITION ACT, 1894 (DEFINITIONS AND FEATURES)
Land Acquisition in India refers to the process by which the union or the state government in India acquires private land for the purpose of industrialization, development, of infrastructural facilities or urbanization of the private land, and provides compensation to affected land owners and their rehabilitation and resettlement.
Definitions:
In this Act, unless there is something repugnant in the subject or context:
1.Land : “Land” includes benefits to arise out of land, and things attached to the earth or permanently fastened to anything attached to the earth.
2.Local Authority: “Local Authority” includes a town planning authority (by whatever name called) set up under any law for the time being in force.
3.Person Interested: “person interested” includes all persons claiming an interest in compensation to be made on account of the acquisition of land under this Act; and a person shall be deemed to be interested in land if he is interested in an easement affecting the land.
4.Collector : “Collector” means the Collector of a district, and includes a Deputy Commissioner and any officer specially appointed by the [appropriate Government] to perform the functions of a Collector under this Act.
5.Corporation Owned or Controlled by the “State” : “corporation owned or controlled by the “State” means any body corporate established by or under a Central, Provincial or State Act, and includes a Government company as defined in section 617 of the Companies Act, 1956 (1 of 1956), a society registered under the Societies Regulation Act, 1860 (21 of 1860), or under any corresponding law for the time being in force in a State, being a society established or administered by Government and a co-operative society within the meaning of any law relating to co-operative societies for the time being in force in any State, being a co-operative society in which not less than fifty-one per centum of the paid-up share capital is held by the Central Government, or by any State Government or Governments or partly by the Central Government and partly by one or more State Governments.
6.Court : “Court” means a principal Civil Court of original jurisdiction unless, the [appropriate Government] has appointed (as it is hereby empowered to do) a special judicial officer within any specified local limits to perform functions of the Court under this Act.
7.Company:
a.A Company as defined in section 3 of the Companies Act, 1956 (1 of 1956), other than a Government company in point no. 5.
b.Society registered under the Societies Registration Act, 1860 (21 of 1860), or under any corresponding law for the time being in force in a State, other than a society referred to in point no. 5.
c.A Co-operative society within the meaning of any law relating to co-operative societies for the time being in force in any State, other than a co-operative society referred to in point no. 5.
8.Appropriate Government : “Appropriate Government” means, in relating to acquisition of land for the purposes of the Union, the Central Government, and, in relation to acquisition of land for any other purposes, the State Government.
9.Public Purpose: “Public Purpose” includes
i.The provision of village-sites, or the extension, planned development or improvement of existing village-sites.
ii.The provision of land for town or rural planning.
iii.The provision of land for planned development of land from public funds in pursuance of any scheme or policy of Government and subsequent disposal thereof in whole or in part by lease, assignment or outright sale with the object of securing further development as planned.
iv.The provision of land for a corporation owned or controlled by the State.
v.The provision of land for residential purposes to the poor or landless or to persons residing in areas affected by natural calamities, or to persons displaced or affected by reason of the implementation of any scheme undertaken by Government, any local authority or a corporation owned or controlled by the State.
vi.The provision of land for carrying out any educational, housing, health or slum clearance scheme sponsored by Government or by any authority established by Government for carrying out any such scheme, or with the prior approval of the appropriate Government, by a local authority, or a society registered under the Societies Registration Act, 1860 (21 of 1860), or under any corresponding law for the time being in force in a state, or a co-operative society within the meaning of any law relating to co-operative societies for the time being in force in any State.
vii.The provision of land for any other scheme of development sponsored by Government or with the prior approval of the appropriate Government, by a local authority.
viii.he provision of any premises or building for locating a public office, but does not include acquisition of land for companies.
10.Entitled to Act : The following persons shall be deemed person “entitled to act” as and to the extent hereinafter provided (that is to say):
a.Trustees for other persons beneficially interested shall be deemed the person entitled to act with reference to any such case, and that to the same extent as the person beneficially interested could have acted if free from disability.
b.A married woman, in cases to which the English law is applicable, shall be deemed the persons, so entitled to act, and whether of full age or not, to the same extent as if she were unmarried and of full age; and
c.The guardians of minors and the committees or managers of lunatics or idiots shall be deemed respectively the persons so entitled to act, to the same extent as the minors, lunatics or idiots themselves, if free from disability, could have acted.
Features of Land Acquisition Act are as follows:
a.Under Land Acquisition Act the word “Public purpose” has narrower connotation which means and includes Infra structure development, Housing Project, and use by Companies under certain conditions.
b.Consent of Land owners need not required regarding the purpose and objective of the Project.
c.Compensation payable is same as market value; and market value is determined as per circle rates.
d.There is no provision for Social Impact Assessment.
e.Solatium i.e. compensation payable for emotional loss is only upto 30%.
f.No provision for the land which is unused i.e. if the government has taken a land for public purpose and not utilized the land for said purpose; in that case there is not any provision regarding return of unused land to the land owners.
g.No provision for rehabilitation and resettlement under the Land Acquisition Act, 1894.
h.Under this Act Government compulsorily acquires the land; and therefore no provision of Lease.
i.If there is any urgency in that case government has power to acquire the land without giving prior notice or token or compensation.
j.No provision of sharing of profit between government and the land owner.