Legislations related to Land Management

Various legislations that can be utilized for acquisition; development

and control of land are

Land Acquisition Act, 1894

It is used for building up of an adequate stock of urban land for public interest purposes such as road
widening, development of open spaces and other facilities.

The procedure described under this Act is complicated and leads to delays. The Land
Acquisition(Amendment and Validation) Act 1967 has tried to overcome some of the difficulties.

However, the provision introduced by the Act that compensation be made as per market value of the
land on the day of notification is causing a big drain of resources of development authorities and
sometimes impeding efforts for urban development.

Some development acts have made provisions for the constitution of tribunals and their decision in
matters of acquisition are made final. Land Acquisition Act has been substantially amended in 1984 to
make it more useful.

Legislations related to Land Management
Town Planning Acts

These are legislated by respective State Governments. Most States in India have legislated Town
Planning Acts.

Even in those States where Town Planning Acts do not exist, either the legislation of the neighboring
state is adopted for the purpose of town development, or there are other legislations under which Town
Planning can be undertaken.

These Acts lay down procedures for the preparation of Master Plans coordinated set of proposals for
physical development of the whole city rather than parts of it, taking into account not only the present
needs but also the future requirements.

Some States are now beginning to replace Town Planning Acts by Regional and Town Planning Acts to
be able to integrate planning of the city with that of its region.
Legislations related to Land Management
The Municipal Acts

These acts have jurisdictions over municipal limits and cannot be applied to areas outside the limits.

These acts contain many provisions for controlling development of land and building activity,
licensing of trades and factories, prohibiting public nuisance and pollution, demolition of
unauthorized and dangerous buildings, construction of drains and other such works.

Often municipalities are accused of not checking unauthorized construction and violation of building
bylaws.

But their non-effectiveness results often from dilatory procedures of enforcement as laid down by the
Act or low penalties for violations.

There is a need for greater and swifter powers for the municipal staff in this regard and also
streamlining building codes and by-laws so that they are easily enforceable
Legislations related to Land Management
Improvement Trust Act

This Act, unlike the Municipalities Acts, empowers Improvement Trusts to have
jurisdictions to include peripheral areas beyond municipal limits of a city by preparing
Town Expansion and Improvement Schemes.

Trusts are empowered to undertake land acquisition, development and disposal of land.

The main drawback of Improvement Trust Act is that schemes framed under the Act are
piecemeal and do not take into consideration the integrated nature of development for a
city of city region.

Many other similar Acts exist such as Housing Board Act, Slum Clearance Board Act,
and Development Board Act.
Legislations related to Land Management
Development Authorities Acts

These acts have been used to create area-wide urban development authorities.

These have statutory powers to acquire land, prepare development schemes and implement them.

There are unified agencies with access to experts in all fields related to urban development and hence
not dependent on parastatal or sectoral agencies.

These are generally created by abolishing Improvement Trusts, but sometimes exist simultaneously
with them.

The basic difference in the concepts of Improvement Trusts and Development Authorities is that the
latter is geared to deal with more dynamic situations and is concerned with overall planning and
development rather than piecemeal planning through the medium of planning schemes as is the case
with the Improvement Trusts.

Development authorities have jurisdiction over much larger areas as compared to Improvement Trust.
However, these authorities do not have power to prepare a regional plan.
Legislations related to Land Management
The Urban Land (Ceiling and Regulation) Act 1976 (ULCRA)

This Act was enacted to exercise social control over the scarce resource of urban land with a view to
ensuring its equitable distribution amongst the various sections of society and also avoiding speculative
transactions relating to land in urban agglomerations.

The major effect of the urban land ceiling act has been to freeze large areas of land in legal disputes.
These areas are not available for development or redevelopment.

An additional negative impact of the act was to prevent private developers to assemble land for
subsequent development.

The act gave a de facto monopoly on land development to government developers such as housing
boards or Development Authorities.

The hurdles faced during implementation of the Act have taken away the spirit and purpose of the Act.
Legislations related to Land Management
The Delhi Urban Arts Commission Act 1973

This Act was enforced with a view to control aesthetic quality of urban environment.

Besides promoting those qualities in the environment which bring value to the community, one of the
main objectives of the Commission is to preserve the character and quality of our heritage by
maintaining the integrity of those areas.

Though the Commission has been doing some valuable work, it is also criticized by many urban
planner, as another hindrance in the implementation of plans. Such Commissions have later been
created in a couple of more cities in India.
Legislations related to Land Management
Taxation Laws

These are laid down in the municipal acts whereby municipal bodies levy property taxes, octroi,
terminal and toll taxes, and taxes on trades, animals and vehicles.

The other two levies which the local authorities often mention but fail to realize are betterment charges
and unearned tax on land.

The octroi is being gradually abolished, whereas, there are several problems related to collection of
other types of taxes