The J&K Right to Fair Compensation in Land purchase, Rehabilitation and Resettlement (Social Impact Assessment and Consent) Rules, 2023 have been announced. State, waste, or desert land would be given precedence for purchase
Jammu, August 25: The multi-departmental committee established by the Collector property purchase shall prioritise the purchase of State or government property, common land, waste or desert land that may be appropriate for public uses.
The Social Impact Assessment (SIA) study may not be required for land acquisition under urgency provisions; nonetheless, the Collector will need to submit a report to the government asking for approval (to use the urgency provisions) and providing persuasive justifications.
The J&K Revenue Secretary Dr. Piyush Singla announced the “J&K Right to Fair Compensation in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement (Social Impact Assessment and Consent) Rules, 2023” on August 24, 2023.
The J&K government has made rules in accordance with the authority granted by section 109 of “The Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013 (Act 30 of 2013)” after taking into account comments made in relation to the draught notification.
According to section 112 of “The Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement,” draught rules titled “The Jammu and Kashmir Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement (Social Impact Assessment and Consent) Rules, 2022” were notified via notification SO 313 dated June 24, 2022, and published in the Jammu and Kashmir official gazette, extra ordinary, Vol. 135 dated June 24, 2022.
According to the rules, whenever land is needed or likely to be needed for a public purpose in any area, the requesting body or its authorised representative, for whom the land is to be acquired, must submit the request to the relevant District Collector in the specified form with a Detailed Project Report, sanction letter of the project, details of the land required along with a map of the area, and information about the classification of land, such as irrigated multi-cropped, single c If there is a rehabilitation plan involved, the request should be approved to the Rehabilitation and Resettlement Commissioner.
The Administrative Secretary of the department in charge of the Public Sector Undertaking (PSU) and the authorised representative (not below the rank of HoD) of the concerned department or Ministry are responsible for filing the requisition in the case of purchases for government departments (Central and UT).
A committee made up of officers from the departments of Revenue, Agriculture, Forestry, Jal Shakti, Irrigation &, Flood Control, Horticulture, Rural Development, PW (R&B), or any other department the Collector deems necessary will be formed upon receipt of the request under Rule 3 Subrule (1). The committee will visit the site with representatives of the requesting body to “make a preliminary enquiry regarding availability of State or government land or common land.”
The committee will also look at whether the information provided in the request is accurate, how much land is really needed for the project, and whether or not the proposal complies with the Act’s requirements. The committee would submit a report to the Collector in accordance with the guidelines stating that the indenting department had been provided State or government property at several places for the proposed purchase and “have not found any suitable land and agreed to the proposed land which serves the public purpose.”
It will advise that buying the suggested parcel of property, which also includes private land, is the sole choice as no State, government, or common land is now available that would fulfil the public purpose. The Collector will provide the District Collector with a report in order to notify them of the start of consultations and the Social Impact Assessment (SIA) process.
The administrative cost of land acquisition for the Requiring Body to deposit to the Collector should be equivalent to 2.5% of the amount of compensation that the Requiring Body would deposit to the Collector with the requisition or indent.
EXEMPTION FROM THE SIA STUDY AND ACQUISITION UNDER THE URGENCY PROVISIONS
According to the rules, the Collector must submit a report to the government asking permission to invoke the urgency provisions and for exemption from conducting a Social Impact Assessment study in such acquisitions when any land is proposed to be acquired by the Requiring Body by invoking urgency provisions under Section 9 read with Section 40 of the Act and if it is considered expedient to do so and if such urgency falls within the scope of Section 40 (2).
Study on Social Impact Assessment
“The report of the committee shall be as SIA report if no displacement or rehabilitation is involved.— where no involuntary displacement of persons due to acquisition of land with no adverse impact, and no rehabilitation is involved, then the Collector shall obtain report of the committee as constituted under sub-rule (1) of rule 4 along with the consent of the interested persons (at least 70 percent) which shall be considered as SIA Report and in such cases the Collector shall proceed for issuance of preliminary notification under section 11 of the Act within seven days,” it has been ordered.
The SIA study will be conducted in consultation with the concerned Panchayat, Municipality, Municipal Corporation as the case may be, at village level and ward level in the affected area for the purpose of section 4 of the Act.
Where necessary, an environmental impact assessment study will be conducted concurrently while taking into account how the project would likely affect each aspect of the ecology and environment. The Government may identify or establish an independent organization, which shall be responsible for ensuring that Social Impact Assessments are commissioned and conducted as per the provisions of the Act and Rules.
Rules provide that the government may also nominate J&K Institute of Management, Public Administration and Rural Development (IMPARD) to provide institutional support and facilitation for conducting of SIA.
The SIA must provide a conclusive assessment of the balance and distribution of the adverse social impacts and social costs and benefits of the proposed project and land acquisition, including the mitigation measures, and provide an assessment as to whether the benefits from the proposed project exceed the social costs and adverse social impacts that are likely to be experienced by the affected families or even after the proposed mitigation measures, the affected families remained at risk of being economically or socially worse, as a result of the said land acquisition and resettlement.
Public hearings will be held in the affected areas to bring out the main findings of the SIA, seeking feedback on the findings and to seek additional information and views for incorporating the same in the final documents.
Appraisal of Social Impact Assessment report will be done by an Expert Group, which will be an independent multi-disciplinary group. The government will examine the Social Impact Assessment report, the recommendations of the Expert Group and the report of the Collector and decide such areas for acquisition which would ensure minimum displacement of people, minimum disturbance to the infrastructure, environment, ecology and minimum adverse impact on the individuals affected.
CONSENT REQUIREMENTS
The rules specify that the Collector will obtain prior consent of the affected land-owners in specified form along with the SIA study. He may constitute a team of officers under his control to assist him in the process of obtaining the prior consent.
The Collector will in consultation with the representatives of the Gram Panchayats of District Development Councils notify the date, timing and venue for holding special Gram Sabha in the affected areas one week in advance and conduct public awareness campaigns to motivate members of the Gram Sabha to participate in the Gram Sabha.
The quorum shall be at least one third of the total members of the Gram Sabha for considering the consent as valid provided that one third of the total women members of the Gram Sabha will also be present in the Gram Sabha meeting.
For public private partnership projects and projects by private companies, representatives of the Requiring Body, who are competent to take decisions and negotiate terms of Rehabilitation and Resettlement and compensation will be present at all such Gram Sabha meetings and respond to the queries raised by the Gram Sabha members.
Any resolution that does not explicitly contain a statement of consent to the project, a statement of the negotiated terms of compensation and Rehabilitation and Resettlement will be invalid.
In Public Private Partnership projects and projects by private companies, a list of all affected land-owners from whom consent is required to be obtained will be drawn up by the Collector in consultation with the Social Impact Assessment team.
In case of any objection, the views of the objector will also be taken, and the reasons for doing so will be recorded in writing and conveyed to the concerned person within seven days.
The Collector will also make a Rehabilitation and Resettlement Award for each affected family in accordance with rules and handover family wise awards to each affected family.
REHABILITATION, RESETTLEMENT COMMITTEES
Rules provide that where land proposed to be acquired is equal to or more than one hundred acres, the Rehabilitation and Resettlement Committee at Project Level constituted under section 45 of the Act will follow the specified procedure.
The government may constitute a State Monitoring Committee, as required under section 50 of the Act for the purpose of Rehabilitation and Resettlement.
REVERSION OF LAND TO LAND BANK
Any land acquired under the Act, if remains unutilized for a period of five years from the date of taking over possession, the same will be returned to the original owners or their legal heirs as the case may be, or the Land Bank of the government in accordance with the provisions contained in section 101 of the Act by issuing a notice to the Requiring Body for whom the land was acquired and by giving opportunity of being heard and by passing necessary written order by the government in this behalf, though with certain riders.
The reversion will be considered only as a whole in respect of all the lands described in the notification under section 11 of the Act and not in parts. The compensation paid to the erstwhile land owners excluding Solatium will be returned by them.
However, the government, from time to time, as per the requirement and in the interest of the public may amend these rules by a notification published in the Jammu and Kashmir Official Gazette.
Rules will come into force on and from the date of their publication in the official Gazette.
