The solution is to make land-losers beneficiaries of the acquisition, so that they welcome acquisitions in future, a bench headed by CJI said.
The Supreme Court (SC) has sought amendment of a century-old Land Acquisition Act to alleviate the hardships of the original owners of the land acquired.
The solution is to make the land-losers beneficiaries of the acquisition so that they welcome the acquisition in future, a bench of Chief Justice KG Balakrishnan, justices RV Raveendran and DK Jain said, while castigating the Bangalore Development Authority (BDA) and the Karnataka government on massive acquisition of farmers’ land without forming any scheme.
The judgment, that could impact the future dispensations on acquisition of land for commercial purposes like SEZ, stressed that development authorities “exist to serve the people and not vice-versa”.
The court issued certain guidelines on the mechanism to be adopted for acquisition of land for commercial purposes.
It said the state should ensure that the farmer who parts with his land gets reasonable compensation promptly at the time of dispossession, so that he can make alternative arrangements for his rehabilitation and survival.
Judges pointed out that the poor farmer who loses his land is reluctant to approach courts as he does not want to “incur the wrath of those who have benefited from the wrong action”.
As a result, land acquirers and authorities supporting them get away with their illegal acquisitions.
In case of acquisition for setting up industries or special economic zones, the government should “play not only role of a land acquirer but also the role of a protector of the land-losers”.
As most agriculturists who lose their lands do not have the expertise or the capacity for a negotiated settlement, the state should act as a benevolent trustee and safeguard their interests, it added.
The bench said Land Acquisition Collectors should also become Grievance Settlement Authorities.
If the government or Development Authorities act merely as facilitators for industrial or business houses, mining companies and developers or colonisers, to acquire large extent of land ignoring the legitimate rights of land-owners, it leads to resistance, resentment and hostility towards acquisition process, the court warned.
In case of acquisition for urban development like housing societies, the land losers can be given a share in the development itself.
The bench also recommended a model acquisition of large scale land for planned urban development by forming residential layouts.
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