New policy to compensate displaced people for land

By IANS

New Delhi : Following widespread protests by people displaced from their land acquired for industrial projects, the government Thursday unveiled a new rehabilitation policy, which it says is more equitable and humane.


Support TwoCircles

A new legislation will also be framed to give teeth to the new policy that will amend suitably the Land Acquisition Act, 1984, as per the decision taken by the union cabinet presided over by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

Called the National Policy on Rehabilitation and Resettlement, 2007, it assures one job per affected family, alternate land to the extent available, financial assistance for resettlement and proper civic amenities in rehabilitated areas.

“A special provision has been made for providing life-time monthly pension to the vulnerable persons such as disabled, destitute, orphans, widows, unmarried girls, abandoned women or persons above 50 years,” an official statement said.

The new policy and the associate legislative measures aim at striking a balance between the need for land for development, while protecting the interests of the land owners, tenants, and others whose livelihood depended on that property.

“The entitled persons shall have the option to take up to 20 percent of their rehabilitation grant and compensation amount in the form of shares if the acquiring entity is a company authorised to issue shares and debentures.”

The new policy also requires a National Rehabilitation Commission to be set up by the central government that will be empowered to independently evaluate the satisfactory rehabilitation and resettlement of the affected families.

The rural development ministry had prepared the new draft policy and an inter-ministerial group under Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar had given its consent last month, officials said.

The policy was necessitated by violent protests in West Bengal, Maharashtra and Orissa by farmers who were displaced from their land, which was acquired for setting up factories and special economic zones.

SUPPORT TWOCIRCLES HELP SUPPORT INDEPENDENT AND NON-PROFIT MEDIA. DONATE HERE