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LATEST NEWS UPDATES | Pass the land bill: Now that consensus has been reached, don't delay it

Pass the land bill: Now that consensus has been reached, don't delay it

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published Published on Apr 22, 2013   modified Modified on Apr 22, 2013
-The Times of India


The broad consensus finally reached by major political parties on the land acquisition Bill is a major breakthrough. The Bill, if passed, will bring transparency to the land acquisition process, help clear investor uncertainty and hopefully improve the supply of land for development. The break in the stalemate was made possible by a flexible approach of the government, which incorporated proposals of opposition parties. This is a model that must be replicated to achieve consensus on other major reform issues.

The new consensus ensures a fair deal to landowners and farmers. This is because forcible acquisitions will be allowed only for public utilities like roads, power, pipelines, ports and other government projects. In the case of public-private projects, acquisition of land will be allowed only when 70per cent of the landowners give their consent. And in case of land acquisitions for private industry the consent of 80per cent of the landowners has to be secured. Though the compensation rates have been brought down to twice the market value of the land in urban areas and up to four times in rural locations, as against the six times the land value proposed earlier, it will still pose some problems for industry as it will hike project costs.

The broad consensus worked out will allow individual states a greater say on the norms for acquisition of fertile agriculture land. Making a fetish out of preserving agriculture land will only delay development activities and hinder industrialisation and urbanisation, which hold the keys to prosperity. India has too little rather than too much land given to industry and towns. Given that compensation is indexed to the market value of land, markets can automatically factor in the value of rich agriculture land. But it's best to leave the issue to the states, which can take a call on their own industrialisation and prosperity.

Alongside this Bill, the government must push through other reforms to free land markets. One major factor restraining access to land is the absence of proper land titles which makes land purchases a risky transaction. So a changeover from the presumptive land titles currently provided to the Torrens system, which will guarantee conclusive titles, is an urgent requirement. Follow this up with relaxation of land use restrictions and open auction of the large chunks of government-owned land, and land supply to industry will be surely boosted.


The Times of India, 22 April, 2013, http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/opinion/edit-page/Pass-the-land-bill-Now-that-consensus-has-been-reached-dont-delay-it/articleshow/19666830.cms


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