Description
OUP India Legislating for Justice The Making of the 2013 Land Acquisition Law 2015 Edition by Jairam Ramesh, Muhammad Ali Khan
Land ownership in India has always been a risky proposition. The hitherto unfettered power of acquisition and the refusal of the Parliament to recognize the right to own property as a fundamental one, had emboldened the state to stake claim on any land it saw fit. However, in the years 2012-2014, the Government of India embarked on an exercise to not just amend but to rewrite the law on acquisition. This process saw the radical polarization of public opinion into twosharp sides -those who saw acquisition as a necessary tool to India's development (given the absence of other mechanisms guaranteeing clear title), and those who were sharply opposed to an archaic relic that defied the rule of law. This book attempts to explain the rationale employed behind each and every provision by the then Minister and his Principle Aide who helped draft the law. The book is a firsthand account of the challenges faced and the factors that drove the decisions in regulating the State's approach to a resource that is arguably the most important in a land deficit people surplus nation. Table of contents : - Preface ; Acknowledgements ; 1. Overview ; 2. Social Impact Assessment ; 3. Procedure for Acquiring Land ; 4. Compensation ; 5. Rehabilitation and Resettlement ; 6. Retrospective Operation ; 7. Urgency Clause ; 8. Special Provisions for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes ; 9. The Land Acquisition Rehabilitation and Resettlement Authority ; 10. Miscellaneous Clauses ; 11. The Ordinance ; Conclusion: Acknowledging the Real Challenges ; Annexures ; Selected Debates in the Lok Sabha ; Selected Debates in the Rajya Sabha ; Index ; About the Authors