In absence of legal provision, govt fails to denotify land

The council of ministers had approved the denotification of 1,019 acres more than three months ago

CHANDIGARH: More than three months after the Council of Ministers in Haryana approved the de-notification of 1,019 acres acquired for Dadupur Nalvi Irrigation Scheme, the Manohar Lal Khattar government has failed to issue a formal notification to return the land to the farmers. The reason: It has dawned upon the state government there is no legal provision in place to de-notify this land.

This realisation also raised a question mark on the advice given by the Advocate General, BR Mahajan to de-notify the land.

WHY THE HOLD-UP?

Asked about the delay in issuance of notification, principal secretary (irrigation and water resources) Anurag Rastogi said the government is awaiting the President’s assent to the Amendment Bill passed by the state assembly in the right to fair compensation and transparency in land acquisition, rehabilitation and resettlement Act, 2013.

ADVOCATE GENERAL’S ADVICE UNTENABLE

Officials said the Council of Ministers apparently did a rush job on the basis of a weak piece of advice from the Advocate General. The Advocate General in his advice had said that the best course of action for the state government now would be to issue forthwith a notification under section 101 of the Right to fair compensation and transparency in land acquisition, rehabilitation and resettlement Act, 2013 for de-notifying/ withdrawing the notification to acquire land under the Land Acquisition Act, 1894 .... ”.

Section 101 pertaining to return of unutilised land says that when any land acquired under this Act remains unutilised for a period of five years from the date of taking over the possession, the same shall be returned to the original owner or owners or their legal heirs, as the case may be, or to the land bank of the appropriate government by reversion in the manner as may be prescribed by the appropriate government.

Legal experts said that section 101 would not apply in case of Dadupur Nalvi land as it is not an unutilised land. The provision clearly pertained to land acquired only under the 2013 land acquisition law. The five-year period also does not apply to Dadupur Nalvi land since acquisition was partly done in 1987 and after 2005. Hindustan Times was the first to report the anomaly in the cabinet decision.

AMENDMENT BILL NOT YET ASSENTED TO BY THE PRESIDENT

The Haryana assembly had passed an amendment bill in March 2017 to incorporate section 101–A in the right to fair compensation and transparency in land acquisition, rehabilitation and resettlement Act, 2013. The Amendment Bill which is still awaiting the President’s assent proposed insertion of section 101-A (power to de-notify land). Sources said that Union ministry of agriculture has sought more details on the proposed amendment, including its suitability and whether it was in the interest of the farmers.

The proposed amendment said that when any public purpose, for which the land acquired under the Land Acquisition Act, 1894 becomes unviable or non essential, the state government shall be at liberty to de-notify such land on such terms as considered expedient by the government including payment of compensation on account of damages if any sustained by the land owners due to acquisition. The Cabinet on September 27 had ordered de-notification of the land on the grounds of rising land cost due to enhancements ordered by the courts.

GOVT AWAITING PREZ NOD TO AMENDMENT BILL IN THE RIGHT TO FAIR COMPENSATION AND TRANSPARENCY IN LAND ACQUISITION, REHABILITATION AND RESETTLEMENT ACT, 2013