Gujarat Assembly cleared amendments in Land Acquisition Act

Gujarat Assembly on 31 March 2016 passed the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in the Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement (Gujarat Amendment) Bill 2016.

The bill was passed in the absence of the opposition Congress legislators, who were suspended by the Speaker for two days.

Key provisions of the bill

• One of the key provisions of the Bill is doing away with Social Impact Assessment for projects related to defence and social sectors, such as building air base, defence manufacturing units, schools, roads, canals, affordable houses, and more.

• The Social Impact Assessment will not be carried out for land acquisition for industrial corridor.

• The provision of consent of affected parties was disposed off. As per the original central Act, 80 percent of land owners must give their nod for the acquisition of land.

• As per the new bill, these provisions will not be followed if the land is acquired for public purpose. However, it will remain in place for acquisition related to industrial development.

• The new bill also has a provision for insertion of Section 23A after Section 23, which essentially gives the district collector the power to decide on the matter of land acquisition and compensation amount without enquiry, with mutual consent of the parties.

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