India Land-Acquisition Bill Clears Parliament Hurdle

[aragorn]

[b] Legislation Would Streamline Chaotic Process, But Raise Costs for Industry, Infrastructure Projects[/b]


[list]
By[*]NIHARIKA MANDHANA
[/list]
NEW DELHI—India's lower house of Parliament on Thursday passed landmark [color=#ff0000]legislation requiring greater compensation for landowners whose property is acquired for industry or infrastructure construction[/color], streamlining what has been a chaotic process but potentially raising costs for businesses and the government.
Purchasing land for factories and other commercial development has long been a major stumbling block for investors looking to set up or expand operations in India, with scores of multimillion-dollar projects held up in recent years as farmers opposed land-purchase plans, sometimes resorting to violence.
The 216-to-19 vote in the Lok Sabha, as India's lower house is known, came as India fights to reverse a slowdown in economic growth and strengthen export industries to shrink the country's yawning trade deficit and shore up its skidding currency, the rupee, which has fallen sharply this year.
[color=#ff0000]Under the law, developers would be required to pay up to four times the market price of rural land and up to twice the value of urban land in order to acquire it for public works or industrial use. The acquirers also must pay for the relocation and resettlement of dislocated people.[/color]
"This is a historic bill which moves India further along in its rights-based approach to development," said Meenakshi Natarajan, a member of the Congress party, in Parliament. "It makes farmers and other weaker sections of society a part of the country's growth."
To become law, the bill must also be passed by the upper house, which is expected to approve it.
It is the second major piece of what the Congress Party describes as pro-poor legislation to pass the lower house this week, as the party lays the groundwork for its re-election bid in national polls due by next May. On Monday, the house passed a bill that would guarantee subsidized grain to nearly 70% of India's 1.2 billion citizens.
Critics said the land bill could make it harder for India to build the roads, power plants and other infrastructure projects it needs to boost economic growth. The higher prices for land also risks raising the costs of commercial endeavors, making the country less attractive for foreign and domestic investors.
Proponents said it eliminates many ambiguities from the process of land acquisition by laying down clear rules for how land can be acquired and how much compensation must be paid, and by establishing deadlines for its procedures.
Land acquisition is a contentious issue in India, where small holdings by families with no source of income other than farming are common.
"Land is not just a commodity in India," said Rajnath Singh, president of the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party. "Farmers have an emotional relationship with their land."
[color=#ff0000]Tata Motors was forced to abandon plans to build a car plant in West Bengal in 2008 after villagers protested, claiming they were forced off the land by the local government and paid inadequate compensation. The plant was later built in Gujarat.[/color]
[color=#ff0000]South Korean steelmaker [/color][url="http://online.wsj.com/public/quotes/main.html?type=djn&symbol=005490.SE"][color=#ff0000]Posco[/color][/url][color=#ff0000] [/color][url="http://online.wsj.com/public/quotes/main.html?type=djn&symbol=005490.SE?mod=inlineTicker"][color=#ff0000]005490.SE +0.31%[/color][/url][color=#ff0000] dropped out of a $5.3 billion steel-mill project in Karnataka in July in part because of hurdles to acquiring land. Another Posco project for a $12 billion steel mill in the eastern state of Orissa has faced repeated delays. Land for the plant has been acquired but it still needs environmental clearances.[/color]
"The price of land in India is already the highest in the world, so this bill will just make land acquisition impossible," said Sanjoy Chakravorty, a professor at Temple University who specializes in development and land issues in India.
Mr. Chakravorty said the price of land in India has jumped over the last decade as demand for housing has grown, and large sums of money have been invested in land, he said.
[color=#ff0000]The bill could increase costs of acquisition to eight times the market value once resettlement costs are added in[/color], he said.
"The bill will add to all-round escalation in the cost of projects and would have a cascading effect on the future of development in the country," said Rajgopal Nogja, chief operating officer of [url="http://online.wsj.com/public/quotes/main.html?type=djn&symbol=500185.BY"]Hindustan Construction[/url] Co., [url="http://online.wsj.com/public/quotes/main.html?type=djn&symbol=500185.BY?mod=inlineTicker"]500185.BY 0.00%[/url] which builds large infrastructure projects across India.
[color=#ff0000]Mr. Nogja said the bill would lead to further delays for infrastructure projects. The bill says that when land is acquired for private companies, they must obtain the consent of 80% of landowners in a given area. For public-private projects, 70% must consent.[/color]
[color=#ff0000]"Securing consent may take three to five years, during which any change of heart by land owners will put further spokes in the process, making land acquisition a Herculean task," Mr. Nogja said.[/color]

source: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887324324404579042930910389604.html

[Hitman]

asalike Industrial growth Mkudisi poyindi..malla inka ee rules. [img]http://www.desigifs.com/sites/default/files/imagecache/144x144/2013/pfdb_brahmi001.gif[/img]. It will enable more imports from China. Production cost going up day to day.

[paampachak]

Good for us kada ... foreign companies ni discourage cheyyacchu, if India leads in agriculture that will be great for us

[dollar vora]

votes kosam deshanni assam pampistunaru cong mundakodulu konni rojullo pedoniki nachina heroine tho pandochu nachina danni 10gochu ani kuda bills pass chestaru daridrapu gottu vedhavalu

[Hitman]

[quote name='arunachalam' timestamp='1377808402' post='1304182768']
Good for us kada ... foreign companies ni discourage cheyyacchu, if India leads in agriculture that will be great for us
[/quote]

It is not only applicable for foreign companies.. all companies. We need Industrial growth along with Agriculture. Without new Industries the new generations youth couldnt be employed. it will lead to chaos.

The 2 bills passed this week , rendu india ni nasanam chese bills...

[jathin]

[quote name='Hitman' timestamp='1377808851' post='1304182822']


It is not only applicable for foreign companies.. all companies. We need Industrial growth along with Agriculture. Without new Industries the new generations youth couldnt be employed. it will lead to chaos.

The 2 bills passed this week , rendu india ni nasanam chese bills...
[/quote]
Konchem land sealing act in AP gurunchi yemaina info vunte ikkada veyyandi

Current holding yentha vundachu....
New proposed bill yentha vundachu for Metta and magani

Naaku thelisi current holding 18 acres for household for magani

Proposed new act 5 acres magani and 10 acres Metta

I heard state govt is apposing this and central govt is trying to implement

Correct me if any info is irrelevant