The Predicament of Land Acquisition, Displacement and Resettlement: An Analysis of Indian Scenario

Abstract

India is the fifth largest economy and stands third in purchasing power parity, according to a report by International monetary fund. According to the 2011 census, 31.16% of India’s total population lived in cities in 2011. Due to population growth and economic growth, construction is rapidly increasing. This is one of the reasons for expanding land use in urban areas. People are adversely impacted by the mega-development projects the State and government initiated. Large-scale land acquisition has resulted in the displacement of people from their land, forests and homes. India has been experiencing certain challenges in rehabilitating the individuals whose lives were disrupted by the construction of industrial projects, which is the primary motivation for this action. Failure to adequately implement resettlement and rehabilitation (R&R) strategies and plans results in various obstacles for the People and the governments. Even the Supreme Court has noticed that while dealing with rehabilitation and displacement, there is some administrative deficiency on the part of the State. This paper embarks on the study of land acquisition issues in India while dealing with the newly implemented ‘The Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013’ and Rule 2014, the idea of eminent domain, and the acquisitions took place historically in India.