NAME: JAHNNAVI SARKHEL

SEMESTER: VIII

ID: 01720171687

SUBJECT: LAND LAWS

SACE ANSWER 1

Introduction

Chhattisgarh has been carved out of the erstwhile eastern Madhya Pradesh region, and was the
26th state of the Indian Union on 1st November, 2000. The state of Chhattisgarh is located in the
east-central region of India and is flanked by 6 states, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh,
Maharashtra, Odisha, Jharkhand and Andhra Pradesh.

Chhattisgarh is quite a new state and has several unique features like abundant history, natural
resources, heritage and a rich lifestyle of various tribes.

The Chhattisgarh Land Revenue Code (CGLRC) has been adopted from the Madhya Pradesh
Land Revenue Code (MPLRC) as Chhattisgarh was a part of Madhya Pradesh before becoming
an independent state in 2000.

In ancient eras the land records were placed in the name of the person who possessed the land.
However, there were no proper system of land records and this called for a need for creating a
proper land record systems.

In the ancient eras, the kings required revenue to rule the land and for this purpose taxes were
imposed. In the earlier days, travelling visitors gave gifts to the king which helped act as tax. In
the Mughal period, officers personally went to everyone to collect revenue.

The British thought it was difficult to go personally to collect revenue from each individual
person. They now developed the systems of Zamindari, Jagirdars and Mahalwari. This created a
difference of systems in different areas and therefore nothing regarding land revenue and
collection was uniform. Practically, it was also not possible to create a uniform system as things
like soil and climate were different in all parts of India. There was a proper system created but it
was not uniform.

The region of Central Province and Berar had several different regions in it including, Madhya
Bharat, Bhopal and Vidhyanchal. This created various legislations for various regions and
thereby all the laws were different and there was no unity. In a single territory there were 7 to 8
laws regarding law and therefore there was no uniform revenue recovering procedure. This
called for a change which should be slow and gradual and not radical.

After Independence, the states were all given the task to create their own state land revenue
codes. When it came to Madhya Pradesh, they already had 7 to 8 laws which were regulating
different areas within a single state. In a state there should be a single law and now this was the
objective. The current affairs of the state were not desirable as there was a need for better
administration and better revenue collection. If the system is not improved it will lead to poor
and low production. This called for a radical change however, it could not be carried out in a
single day, and there was a need for coordinating a plan for rural restructuring of tenancy laws.

The task at hand was to now streamline the legislations and to form a code. All the previous laws
now were consolidated and codified. The challenging task was to rebuild and improve the
existing provisions in a systematic way. They also depended on a lot of judgements the Apex
Court had passed regarding land codes other states. Because, this region was so vast it required
more time to come up with a codified legislation.

All the efforts gave birth to the Madhya Pradesh Land Revenue Code of 1959. This Code was
also used for Chhattisgarh as well, after it became a new state in 2000, because it was thought
that since this Code was being followed for a long time, there was no need to create a new Code.
For Chhattisgarh the title of the Code is Chhattisgarh Land Revenue Code, 1959 (CGLRC).

CGLRC is an Act which consolidates “law relating to land revenue, the powers of Revenue
Officers, rights and liabilities of holders of land from the State Government, agricultural tenures
and other matters relating to land and liabilities incidental thereto in Chhattisgarh.”

The objective of CGLRC can be, therefore, broken down into:

 Land Revenue.
  Powers of the Revenue Officers.
 Agricultural Tenures.
 Incidental matters.

The model of Land Revenue:

The following talks about the structure of the CGLRC

1. Revenue Board and Revenue Officers:

 The State Government forms a Board of Revenue. The members of this Board are
appointed by the Government and there is a President and 2 other members.
 The seat of the Board is as per the government notification in the official gazette. This
Board is the highest in the hierarchy and has all the powers and duties as per the Code or
as per what the State Government says under an official notification. The Board also
performs the duties of the Chief Revenue Authority.
 Next in line are the Revenue Officers and they are classified into 3 categories: Collector,
Sub-Divisional Officer, Tehsildar, Settlement Officers and Superintendent of Land
Records.
 The 2nd tier of officers are the Revenue Officers who are divided into: Commissioners,
Settlement Commissioners, Collectors, Sub-Divisional Officers, Joint Collectors,
Assistant Collectors, Deputy Settlement Officers, Assistant Settlement Officers,
Tehsildars, Naib Tehsildars, Superintendents of Land Record and Assistant
Superintendent of Land Record.

Division of Power: The Act makes jurisdictions within which the revenue officers have to
function. These jurisdictions are divided into Divisions, which are divided further into Districts.
These Districts are again divided into Sub-Divisions which in turn are divided into Tehsils. The
power to make new and alter jurisdictions lie with the State Government.

Revenue Officers and Courts:

1. Power to Enquire: The Sub-Divisional Officers have power to conduct inquiries in their
jurisdiction area to which they have been appointed. They can also delegate this power to a lower
officer.
2. Power to conduct a Survey: This is a very important function. The Revenue Officer along with
the Patwari or Revenue Inspector has the power to go into a land and survey it. The Officer while
surveying can demarcate the boundaries and perform other incidental acts.

3. Power to Transfer Cases: If the Board deems that a case needs to be brought to justice then the
case can be transferred to another Revenue Officer who is of the same rank or above the rank of
the previous Revenue Officer.

4. Inherent Powers: The Code cannot limit the inherent powers of the Revenue Court to make
any orders they deem fit to provide justice or to prevent the abuse of Court process.

5. Requiring Attendance: The Revenue Officer acting as the Revenue Court has the power to call
persons to attend to take evidence, to be examined as a party or be a witness or to give any
document required in any case. Such person should only attend if he resides within the
jurisdiction of such Revenue Officer. A person can be called to provide any document or
evidence if they are in his possession. A commission can also be issued to examine a person who
cannot attend due to sickness or other infirmity. If such person fails to attend then a bailable
arrest warrant can be issued, or a fine will be imposed, or the Court can order him to furnish a
security for his appearance.

If the person does not arrive on date fixed for hearing the case, because summons was not given
because the opposing party did not pay the process fee, then the court can dismiss the case. If the
party fails to come after the summons have been issues, then the case will be heard in his
absence. After this order has been passed, the party can appeal to set aside the order passed.

6. Power to make Rules: From time to time, the Board can make rules related to the practices of
the Board and the Revenue Courts. The rules can be related to serving summons and notice by
post, regulating the powers of the Court to summon witnesses and parties, effecting the
attachment of movable and immovable properties, consolidating appeals, maintaining forms,
books, accounts, entries and registers and maintaining costs which are incidental to the
proceedings.

Appeals:

The appeals lie in the following ways:

  If the order was passed by the Revenue Officer the appeal lies to the Sub-Divisional
Officers.
 If the order was passed by the Sub-Divisional Officer it shall lie to the Collector.
 If the order was passed by the Collector it shall lie to the Board of Revenue.
 If the order was passed by the Settlement Officer it shall lie to the Settlement
Commissioner.
 If the order was passed by the Commissioner or the Settlement Commissioner it shall lie
to the Board.

An appeal cannot lie in cases from an order where:

 “admitting an appeal or application for review on the grounds specified in Section 5 of

the Limitation Act, 1963; or
 Rejecting an application for review;
 Granting or rejecting an application for stay;
 Of an interim nature;
 Relating to appointment under sub-section 2 of Section 104 or sub-section 1 of Section
106.”

Appeals to the Sub-Divisional Officer, Collector, Settlement Officer or Settlement

Commissioner only lies for 45 days from the order was made, while the period is 60 days when it
comes to the Commissioner and 90 days when it comes to the Board.

The Appellate authority can either admit the appeal or summarily reject it. If they admit it, the
Authority fixes a date and serves a notice on the respondent to appear. Both the parties will be
heard and the authority can give any order they deem fit.

Land and Land Revenue:

“Land” is an account on which the holder of the land is called “Bhoomiswami”. This
“Bhoomiswami” has rights and duties related to this land and the revenue is paid related to this
land. He can also transfer, lease, mortgage or sell this land.

The State has exclusive ownership of all lands and this includes all things on the land like mines,
flowing water, forests, quarries and minerals, as well as any sub-soil.
“Land revenue” is the money which the State Government has to be paid for the land. The
exemption for this is given to land used for agriculture. The revenue payable is divided according
to the activities carried out on it like dwelling houses, agriculture, economic purposes,
commercial purpose and industrial purposes.

Functions under CGLRC:

1. Collection of Land Revenue:

Land revenue is collected by the State according to the purpose for which the land is being used
for. “Land use” is divided into Commercial, Residential, Government, Industrial and
Agricultural. The Revenue Officer assesses the land and if the land is not used for the previous
purpose this is called “diversion”. The purpose of “land use” changes from agricultural to
commercial, for example and this will be called “diversion”. This application has to be sent to
the Sub-Divisional Officer who assesses the land. After the “diversion” has been done, the land
revenue will be determined as per the guidelines of the Collector.

There is one a single class of tenure holder under the Act and that is “Bhoomiswami”. One who
holds the land as per the provisions of the Act is called the “Bhoomiswami” and if anyone who
are a government leaseholder and if their lease is more than 10 years, they too are considered
“Bhoomiswami”.

2. Surveying of land:

Surveying of land helps to find the kind of land and it is demarcated by a “survey number”. The
information received helps in diversification of land and helps in rearranging new “survey
numbers”. These “survey numbers” help to make new field maps and makes new records of the
land rights by filing in the new “survey numbers”. The Officer who does this work is known as
the Settlement Commissioner in non-urban areas.

In urban areas, where land is held by the “Bhoomiswami” or lessee of the Government, the
Collector assesses the plot and determines the revenue or the rent which is applicable. In an
urban area, the land is divided into plots which are further divided into block numbers. The
assessment of the plot number is done to find out what purpose should the land be used for. This
assessment term is for 30 years as per the Act.
3. Maintain Land Records:

To help maintain records, villages in Tehsil are demarcated into Patwari circles and the Collector
now appoints Patwari for the circles. These circles can also be rearranged into a Revenue
Inspector circle. The duties these people have is to prepare and maintain land records. To help
maintain land records, a field map of the village is drawn up and this finalizes the survey
numbers, wastelands, plot numbers and Abadi in the villages. The maps are drawn up by the
Settlement Officer and the Collector.

To help maintain land records, a “Record-of-Rights” is created and maintain in all the villages.
This contains the names of the Bhoomiswamis, occupancy tenants in government lease, nature of
land use and rent, and liabilities which the holder has to pay.

If there are any changes in the Land Records, then there has to be an application given to the
Tehsildar or Patwari if there is any new acquisition of the rights of the land. The Patwari can go
forward with the mutation of the acquisition of the rights of the lands and this is made in the
Field Book. This change shall be informed to the Tehsildar in 30 days and the Tehsildar can
object to the change by a paper publication. After all the concerned persons are heard by the
Tehsildar, the entries are made in the Field Book.

4. Occupancy Tenancy:

Occupancy tenancies are like holding lands under a tenancy agreement. This does not include
sub-tenant. The rent is paid every agricultural year. The rent is maximum under the provisions of
the Act and is paid to the Bhoomiswami.

5. Consolidation of Holdings

This is an act of redistributing lands in a village so that a single Bhoomiswami can have plots
continuously which helps in cultivation. This is a task allotted to the Consolidation Officer who
is a Revenue Officer above the rank of the Tehsildar. The process is started when 2 or more
Bhoomiswami approach the Consolidation Officer. The Collector can also start this process by
approaching the Consolidation Officer. A consolidation scheme is submitted by the
Bhoomiswami or is drawn up by the Consolidation Officer. When this scheme is agreed upon,
this shall become applicable and the redistribution of land shall take place. The Consolidation
Officer demarcates the boundaries, draws up a new field map and records-of-rights. The rights of
the Bhoomiswami now will depend on the new consolidated holdings he has.

Conclusion

The Chhattisgarh Land Revenue Code, 1959 helps in paying and collection of land revenue and
it also treats land as an account and this land has its own rights and obligations. Land revenue is
a significant part of the civil law of the country.
SACE ANSWER 2

Introduction

Since the very beginning India has faced the problem of creating growth in the economy while
keeping in mind different aspects of being socially inclusive, sustainable ecologically and being
politically correct and being in line with the Rule of Law.

The state has “eminent dominant” which gives it the power to acquire property in exercise of its
sovereignty. This is done in cases where the land belongs to a private person and it is acquired
for a public reason after giving a proper compensation and making sure the process is according
to the “procedure established by law”. The requirements of giving compensation and for public
purpose has been introduced to make sure that any individual is not deprived of his property and
is not disproportionately supporting “public good” without being given a compensation.

In India, land acquisition by states have always been a matter of much controversy. Land is very
important for a livelihood as well is important as an economic resource. Land is also central to
the identity of the community and the culture of the people who occupy such identity.

India has seen a series of land related legislations since the colonial era starting with the Bengal
Regulation I of 1824 to the Land Acquisition Act, 1994 (hereinafter the “Old Act”). This old Act
previously was only functional in the territory of British India while the princely states had their
own laws. After independence, the old act extended to the rest of India.

India became a republic in 1950 and had adopted its Constitution where Article 13(2) laid down
that the colonial laws would apply in India, including the Land Acquisition Act, as long as these
laws do not go against the fundamental rights. This old Act was in force for 120 years and was
amended with time to go along with the changes1.

The erstwhile Article 31 of the Constitution talked about the procedure and public purpose which
will empower the state’s “eminent domain” power of acquiring land and thereby this was given

1
Binod Mishra, Sec. 24 of RFCTLARR Act 2013 Retrospective Effect Clause for Transition of Land Acquisition
Proposals from LA Act 1894 to RFCTLARR Act, SSRN Electronic Journal (2014).
constitutional protections. This Article was, however, a hotbed for political and legal issues and
saw various amendments before it got abolished off the Constitution by the 44 th Amendment Act,
1978. This amendment however included a new Article 300A which laid down that a person’s
property should not be taken away without following a valid law and it should follow the proper
rule of law.

According to the Constitution, the political structure is federal with a unitary bias. As per the 7 th
Schedule to the Constitution, the powers are divided into unitary, concurrent and state lists.
“Land” falls under the State List and “acquisition and requisitioning of property” falls under the
Concurrent List.

Post-independence a lot of laws related to land were enacted to abolish zamindari systems and to
bring about an agrarian reform, slum clearance and to help in resettlement of refugees. The old
Act was last enacted in 1984.

1990s saw a lot of economic reforms after liberalization and there was a huge surge in
acquisition of land by the states. This raised a public outcry and the increasing complexity of the
conflicts related to land gave way to several legislative efforts. In 2007 there was a
comprehensive amendment which was brought about in the Land Acquisition Act but it was
repealed and replaced in 2011 and eventually gave away to the Right to Fair Compensation and
Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013 (hereinafter the
“LARR Act”).

The old Act was highly undemocratic in that it had the concept of “forced acquisition” by which
if an authority required to acquire the land, they could do so without any consideration for the
persons being displaced. The old Act talked about the process of issuing a notice and holding an
inquiry but they were only seen as formalities and were not complied with strictly.

There was a provision for hearing before any acquisition process took place arbitrarily however,
this was like a negotiation which was done to keep the mouths of those being displaced shut by
giving them a meager amount of compensation based on the market value of the property. This
value was a circle rate and was largely miscalculated.
The government could acquire any private land for “public purpose” but what is “public
purpose” was defined very broadly and this gave a leeway for the government to acquire any
land under the guise of “public purpose”.

Another misused clause was that of “grave urgency” under which the authorities did not have to
hold any inquiry and they can only issue a declaration and acquire the land after giving only 80%
of the estimated compensation.

Another important lacunae in the old Act was that of lack of rehabilitation and resettlement
provisions to help those who lost their land. The provision of compensation but without any time
limit shows how weak the law was2.

Attempt at redressing the imbalances by the LARR Act, 2013:

The LARR Act brought about the following changes to remove doubts and streamline the
process:

 “Person interested” were defined as those people who have an interest in the land and this
includes easement rights and tenancy and not only actual title. “Affected family” includes
people who are dependent on the land for their main source of income. Thereby, the law
widened the group of people who are eligible to get compensated.
 The LARR Act laid down what comes under “public purpose” in great detail and this was
done to remove the government’s discretion when it came to acquiring land for
illegitimate purposes.
 The LARR Act came out with new provisions of consent of all the persons who are
involved and interested, and this is required before the land acquisition process is
followed through, 70% is required for an acquisition which is made directly by the
government and 80% is required for a PPP (public private partnership). It also contains
provisions for social impact assessment in detail, which should be conducted before the
land is acquired and this also ensures that public participation is high. There also will be a
Social Impact Assessment report carried out by an independent group which contains
representatives of gram panchayats and village assemblies and experts on social science.

2
P.S. Reddy, The Land Acquisition (RFCTLARR) Act, 2013-The Antecedents and Precedents., 1 Indian Journal of
Finance and Economics 61-69 (2020).
  This act also limited the situations where the urgency clause can be invoked and it was
limited to defense, national security, emergency due to natural calamity and other
emergency which requires the permission of the Parliament.
 The LARR Act came out with a much better formula for paying compensation when land
is acquired, twice the value of the average of the registered sale deeds in rural areas and
four times the value of the average of the registered sale deeds in the urban areas. This
also includes a “solatium amount” which is given along with the market value and this
was increased from 30% to 100%. There are provisions awards for rehabilitation and
resettlement and it includes giving a constructed house.
 Section 24 of the LARR Act talks about this act being applied retrospectively in cases
where the acquisition is pending under the old Act.

Aims of the LARR Act:

 While working with the Gram Sabhas and local self-governing institutions it is necessary
to make sure that the process of land acquisition is informed, transparent and
participative.
 Compensation given to the affected families should be fair and just.
 Rehabilitation and resettlement provisions should be provided to those affected.

Market Value:

Market value means the estimation of the amount of any liability or asset which it will fetch in
the market when the willing seller sells it to a willing buyer. Here both the parties should have
acted without any compulsion and should have made informed choices.

In Maj. Gen. Kapil Mehra v. Union of India (UOI) 3, the Apex Court talked about what will be
the reasonable market value an acquired land can fetch. The following factors should be looked
into by the Land Acquisition Officer when the market value is being fixed:

 The exact geographical location of the land.

 The purpose for which the land is being used currently.
 The advantages of the land which is available.
 The market value of the other land which are available in the same area/locality/village.
3
Maj. Gen. Kapil Mehra v. Union of India (UOI), 2014(145)DRJ497.
The Court in the case of Viluben Jhalejar Contractor v. State of Gujarat 4, laid down the
procedure to be followed for determination of market value of the land to be acquired:

 “(17) Section 23 of the Act specifies the matters required to be considered in determining
the compensation; the principal among which is the determination of the market value of
the land on the date of the publication of the notification Under Sub-section (1) of
Section 4.
 (18) One of the principles for determination of the amount of compensation for
acquisition of land would be the willingness of an informed buyer to offer the price
therefore It is beyond any cavil that the price of the land which a willing and
informed buyer would offer would be different in the cases where the owner is in
possession and enjoyment of the property and in the cases where he is not.
 (19) Market value is ordinarily the price the property may fetch in the open market if sold
by a willing seller unaffected by the special needs of a particular purchase. Where
definite material is not forthcoming either in the shape of sales of similar lands in
the neighborhood at or about the date of notification Under Section 4(1) or otherwise,
other sale instances as well as other evidences have to be considered.
 (20) The amount of compensation cannot be ascertained with mathematical accuracy. A
comparable instance has to be identified having regard to the proximity from time
angle as well as proximity from situation angle. For determining the market value
of the land under acquisition, suitable adjustment has to be made having regard to
various positive and negative factors vis-a-vis the land under acquisition by placing the
two in juxtaposition…”.

Reliance placed by Court, on sale deeds of a smaller residential area to determine the market
value of a larger agricultural land as per the case of Haridwar Development Authority v.
Reghubir Singh and Ors5.:

“When the value of a large extent of agricultural land has to be determined with reference
to the price fetched by sale of a small residential plot, it is necessary to make an
appropriate deduction towards the development cost, to arrive at the value of the large
4
Viluben Jhalejar Contractor v. State of Gujarat, (2005) 4 SCC 789.
5
Haridwar Development Authority v. Reghubir Singh and Ors, (2010) 11 SCC 581.
 tract of land. The deduction towards development cost may vary from 20% to 75%
depending upon various factors. Even if the acquired lands have situational advantages,
the minimum deduction from the market value of a small residential plot, to arrive
at the market value of a larger agricultural land, in the usual course, will be in the
range of 20% to 25%. In this case, the Collector has himself adopted a 25% deduction
which has been affirmed by the Reference Court and the High Court. We, therefore, do
not propose to alter it.”

In the case of The State of Tripura and Ors. v. Dinabandhu Debnath and Ors 6., the High Court of
Tripura held

“Law in respect of determination of market value of the land acquired under the
provisions of the L.A. Act, is fairly well settled and the best method to determine
the same is to consider the prices obtained by contemporaneous sale deeds whether of
the same land or of lands in the vicinity. Various factors may be taken into consideration,
namely the size and shape of the land, the locality and its situation, the tenure of the
property, the user, the potential value and the rise or depreciation of valuation of
the land in the locality. Where sale instances of comparable lands are available on
record, the court can safely take into consideration such sale instances and make
the award relying on such sale transactions. It is also a settled law that where there are
several exemplars with reference to similar lands the highest exemplars should be taken
into consideration for determination of compensation.”

Social Impact Assessment:

Chapter II of the LARR, 2013 and Chapters II and III of the RFCTLARR (Social Impact
Assessment and Consent) Rules, 2014 lay down the provisions for SIAs to determine the
practicability of the project when it comes to social costs. The findings deal with public purpose,
whether any other site was taken up for consideration and have been found not of use, what costs
of social impact are and how to mitigate them and etc. Transparency has been made an important
part by making sure all reports, findings and plans are made public, in the local language and are
put up in the offices of the Panchayats and Municipal Corporations.
6
The State of Tripura and Ors. v. Dinabandhu Debnath and Ors, manu/tr/0044/2015.
The public is also a large stakeholder as the SIA consults them at various stages to find out the
negatives and positives of the project and gather data by holding hearings in public in the
affected area. The public hearing provides the public with all the details of the project, findings
of the SIA report, feedbacks on such report and to get additional information from the public.

According to the LARR Act, there needs to be 70% of consent of landowners for PPP projects
and 80% of consent of landowners for projects by private companies. This consent needs to be
free and without duress and the landowners should be given informed choice. They will be made
aware of their rights and if willing, will enter into an agreement regarding the terms of
rehabilitation, resettlement and compensation.

Retrospective Application of the LARR Act, 2013

In the case of Ramji Veerji Patel & Ors v. Revenue Divisional Officer and Ors 7. it was observed
that:

“The provisions contained in the Act, of late, have been felt by all concerned; do not
adequately protect the interest of the land owners/persons interested in the land. The Act
does not provide for rehabilitation of persons displaced from their land although by such
compulsory acquisition, their livelihood gets affected. For years, the acquired land
remains unused and unutilized. To say the least, the Act has become outdated and needs
to be replaced at the earliest by fair, reasonable and rational enactment in tune with the
constitutional provisions, particularly, Article 300A of the Constitution".

This old Act of 1894 was replaced by the new LARR Act of 2013 and clause 18 provides its
objective as:

“The benefits under the new law would be available in all the cases of land acquisition
under the Land Acquisition Act, 1894 where award has not been made or possession of
land has not been taken”.

If an award had been made under section 11 of the old Act, LARR Act, section 24(1) provides
that the new Act will not be applicable in those cases. The section 24(2) provides:

7
Ramji Veerji Patel & Ors v. Revenue Divisional Officer and Ors , MANU/SC/1288/2011.
 “Notwithstanding anything contained in sub-section (1), in case of land acquisition
proceedings initiated under the Land Acquisition Act, 1894, where an award under the
said section 11 has been made five years or more prior to the commencement of this Act
but the physical possession of the land has not been taken or the compensation has not
been paid the said proceedings shall be deemed to have lapsed and the appropriate
Government, if it so chooses, shall initiate the proceedings of such land acquisition afresh
in accordance with the provisions of this Act:

Provided that where an award has been made and compensation in respect of a majority
of land holding has not been deposited in the account of the beneficiaries, then, all
beneficiaries specified in the notification for acquisition under section 4 of the said Land
Acquisition Act, shall be entitled to compensation in accordance with the provisions of
this Act”.

As per this, the benefits of the LARR Act will be given in those cases where the, under the old
Act, the award had been made five years or more prior to the commencement of the LARR Act
in 2013 (before 01.01.2009), but here the compensation had not been paid or the property had
not been possessed physically.

In the Delhi Development Authority v. Sukhbir Singh and Ors 8. case, the Apex Court has
allowed the relief under sec. 24(2) of the LARR Act to be sought by the land owners because the
award under the sec 11 of the old Act had been passed in the year 1997, this is before
01.01.2009. The following conditions were laid down which allows for availing the help under
sec. 24(2) of the LARR Act, 2013:

 Land Acquisition should have been initiated under Land Acquisition Act, 1894.
 Award under Section 11 should have been made 5 years or more prior to the
commencement of the 2013 Act, i.e. award should have been made on or before
01.01.2009.
 Physical possession has not been taken or the compensation has not been paid.

8
Delhi Development Authority v. Sukhbir Singh and Ors, MANU/SC/0986/2016.
In the case of Pune Municipal Corp. and Anr. v. Harakchand Misrimal Solanki and Ors 9., the
Supreme Court ruled that if there were any proceedings under the old Act of 1894 which had
lapsed, then the new acquisition process would be initiated under the new LARR Act which will
help the landowner get more higher amount of compensation.

The court, while explaining the object of sec. 24(2), in the case of Delhi Development Authority,
observed,

“The picture that therefore emerges on a reading of Section 24(2) is that the State has no
business to expropriate from a citizen his property if an award has been made and the
necessary steps to complete acquisition have not been taken for a period of five years or
more. These steps include the taking of physical possession of land and payment of
compensation. What the legislature is in effect telling the executive is that they ought to
have put their house in order and completed the acquisition proceedings within a
reasonable time after pronouncement of award. Not having done so even after a leeway
of five years is given, would cross the limits of legislative tolerance, after which the
whole proceeding would be deemed to have lapsed”.

The Supreme Court in M/s Competent Automobiles Limited v. UOI and Ors10. observed that:

“The said award must predate the commencement of the Act i.e. 1-1- 2014; by at least
five years (or more) i.e. the award must have been passed on or before 1-1-2009...Each
and every deeming operation under Section 24(2) requires unambiguously and
unvaryingly that a factual conclusion be drawn about the passing of the award under
Section 11 of the 1894 Act, on or before 1-1-2009.”

Conclusion:

This RFCTLARR Act, 2013 is definitely a great step towards the right direction of providing the
landowners and affected families with fair compensation. However, the certain provisions in the
Act and how they have been implemented is not ideal. When it comes to protection of the rights
of women this legislation is not progressive whatsoever because of the views of the committee
who deal with R&R are nothing less than patriarchal.

9
Pune Municipal Corp. and Anr. v. Harakchand Misrimal Solanki and Ors. AIR 2014 SC 982.
10
M/s Competent Automobiles Limited v. UOI and Ors. AIR 2015 SC 3186.