UPA's Land Bill: More problems, few solutions, say experts

Even while economists and analysts were busy calculating the likely hit on the economy of the highly criticized Food Security Bill, the UPA government managed to pass yet another controversial bill. The Land Acquisition Bill, which seeks to provide just and fair compensation to farmers while ensuring that no land can be acquired forcibly, was passed by the Lok Sabha on Thursday. The legislation, just like the Food Security Bill, is being viewed as a mega vote-getter in forthcoming elections.

Also Read: UPA's legacy: Food Poison and Land Mines for next govt
The Bill is expected to put more strain on the already stressed out infrastructure sector and thereby on the country, which is struggling to come to terms with a severe economic slowdown and rising pessimism.    
The Bill proposes benefits such as land for land, housing, employment and annuities that shall accrue in addition to the one-time cash payments for whose land is acquired. It also proposes to provide compensation to those who are dependent on the land being acquired for their livelihood.
CII chairman S Gopalakrishnan expects more delays and red tape due to the Land Bill's implementation, which will in turn affect the industry's competitiveness. Costs of projects will also surge after it is executed. He also sees overseas investors reconsidering their investment plans in the country. 
According to Shardul Shroff, Managing Partner, Amarchand Mangaldas, the challenge will be legislative competence in the Bill's execution. He says it is not clear whether the Centre can make Land Bill a law. In fact, he feels the new Bill increases problems and in no way solves the existing issues.  
"It is possible for a private citizen to say that: this law is not legislatively competent; the Centre could not have made a law in relation to transfer of agricultural land and relief and rehabilitation (R&R). If this is a law in relation to agricultural land, and the R&R activities are in relation to owners of agricultural land, the state or any private citizen of the state can argue that the Centre couldn't have made such a law. And this issue incidentally was raised before the Standing Committee in Parliament. So, it is not as if this issue was not considered by the House and they yet passed it. So they are aware of the risk," he told CNBC-TV18. Also Read: Land Acquisition Bill: 6 problematic clauses
Meanwhile, Sanjay Ubale, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Tata Realty feels real estate and infrastructure companies will get impacted by the Land Bill. Tata Realty, which was keenly looking at airport development in Navi Mumbai and other places, expects prices to go up by Rs 2000-4000 crore. Ubale says the Bill is likely to make it difficult to carry out urban projects. 
"It is going to be impossible for the government to pay for that land.It is going to be impossible for the private companies to pay for the land and the irony is the land owners are probably not expecting that kind of compensation. So we are entering into a situation of paralysis where nobody wants this outcome but we are all going to be forced into an outcome because of the law," he told the channel.