Parliament house in New Delhi (Express photo by Ravi Kanojia)
The government has proposed amendments to a bill concerning acquisition of immovable properties to ensure that the compensation to be paid in such cases is calculated at the rate in effect when the acquisition notice was first issued. The legislation is expected to save the Centre the trouble of paying compensation at the prevailing appreciated rate, especially in cases where the acquisition process is delayed or quashed following prolonged litigation.
The Requisitioning and Acquisition of Immovable Property (Amendment) Bill 2017 was introduced in the Lok Sabha by Minister of State for Urban Development Rao Inderjit Singh. It seeks to amend the Act, which first came into force in 1952, for the 12th time.
The proposed amendment has been mooted at the behest of the Ministry of Defence following an acquisition case involving 296 acres of Maharaja Hari Singh Charitable Trust (MMHCT) land in Jodhpur that housed sensitive military establishments. The acquisition notice was issued back in 1993 but it was only last year that the Supreme Court held that the other party in the case should be given a personal hearing. The MoD estimates that government would have to incur a financial burden of Rs 8,000 crore if a fresh notice were issued in this case at the current compensation rates.
The defence ministry has 433 legal cases arising out of land acquired under the RAIP Act 1952, mostly over compensation, pending in courts. The amendment will be applicable also to acquisition of all kinds of immovable property for any public purpose by the central government.
