Land acquisition bill: How will it help you?

The land acquisition bill is a reality today. The noble cause with which this bill has been passed is laudable. Now there is an embargo on acquisition of agricultural land, which is irrigated and has multi crop. So, this is to prevent such kind of agricultural land from being misused or for commercial use. There was a feeling that the farmers were not getting the best price. Now with the recommended price is perceived that the farmers will get their fair price and in some cases more than the fair price.

There was also a social aspect to it of displacement of communities which have been settled there for ages – that also has been taken care of in this bill. There was also an aspect of transparency and also an aspect of government’s intent on acquiring land for private players. There was a lot of land banking which was happened at the cost of farmers and at the profit of a lot of large land bankers but the industry perception is that it is going to become even more difficult to aggregate land, to acquire land for industrial purposes as well as for certain projects of public interest. Development can come under serious strain. At the same time the feeling is that the land prices will go up substantially. This is all a perception as of now as the land bill becomes a reality, as people absorb its implications and tested out in the market conditions. We will know where we stand but as it stands today the industry has got negative perceptions on the implications of the land acquisition bill.