The methodology is simple. The process is set rolling by declaring government’s intention toacquire land for a public purpose through a notification under section 4 of theLand Acquisition Act 1894. The land in question is surveyed, mapped andmeasured. Compensation to be paid to thelandholders is determined by the collectors on the basis of a localenquiry. Price of similarly situatedlands in the vicinity on the date of the first notification declaringgovernment’s intention to acquire the land is taken into consideration.
Objections to acquisition are brushed aside under a spaciousplea that public purpose overrides all other concerns. Claims for higher compensation as well asdisputes regarding apportionment of the compensation awarded are referred tothe District Courts for decision under section 18 of the land AcquisitionAct. This may sound simple. But the entire methodology adopted by thebureaucracy is time consuming, apathetic and harsh upon the landholder. Landacquisition is in fact land confiscation for the crime of holding rights in theland fancied by the authorities as most suitable for the so called ‘publicpurpose’. Years often pass between thedate of first notification and the date of actual disbursement ofcompensation. In the meantime quiteoften the landholder loses both his shelter and means of livelihood. Compensation awarded is so abysmally poorthat it defies even the definition of the word compensation. The scale of injustice meted out tolandholders in the name of public purpose defies all logic.
In Goa, large tracks of land have recently been acquired forMopa Airport and a sports city in Pernem. Existing industrial estates are being extended; new estates are beingset up in different parts of Goa. SEZswere permitted in large tracks of land. Rajiv Gandhi IT occupies prime landwhere the land prices are upwards of Rs. 50,000 per sq. mt. NH4 A and NH17 are being widened. Railways, ports and defence authorities alsowant land. The demand for land keepsincreasing with every passing day.
It is time we take a hard and close look at the process ofstatutory land acquisition and ensure adequate and efficacious compensation tothe land holders whose land is acquired and guaranteeing simultaneously andalternate shelter and means of livelihood in appropriate cases. It is high timethe government takes heed and has a public hearing with those aggrieved. We live in an age and time where you cannotbe having the government taking away land from people @Rs.9 and Rs.18 per sq mt. The time has come for us to take a hard andclose look at the process of statutory land acquisition and ensure adequate andefficacious compensation to the land holders whose land is acquired andguaranteeing simultaneously alternate shelter and means of livelihood inappropriate cases.
Shanti Fonseca is a lawyer by profession. She is also asocial scientist and human rights activist
