Can the collector acquire our land and construct a road on it without our permission?
Land acquisition is a process by which the government acquires private land for public purposes such as development, infrastructure, or urbanization. The government has to pay fair compensation to the affected landowners and provide them with rehabilitation and resettlement facilities. However, land acquisition can also be a source of conflict and litigation, especially when the landowners do not consent to the acquisition or are dissatisfied with the compensation or rehabilitation.
One of the common questions that landowners have is whether the collector can acquire their land and construct a road on it without their permission. The collector is an administrative officer who represents the state government in a district and has various powers and functions under different laws. One of these powers is to acquire land for public purposes under the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013 (LARR Act).
The LARR Act lays down certain conditions and procedures for acquiring land for public purposes. According to Section 4 of the LARR Act, whenever it appears to the appropriate government that land in any area is required or likely to be required for any public purpose, a notification (also known as preliminary notification) shall be published in the official gazette, two daily newspapers circulating in that locality of which one shall be in regional language, local language of affected area; upload on website of appropriate government; inform Gram Sabha at village level; affix at conspicuous places in affected area.
The notification shall state that:
- The appropriate government intends to acquire land for a public purpose
- The details of district or area within which such land is situated
- The reasons necessitating such displacement
- A summary of social impact assessment report
- Particulars of administrator appointed for rehabilitation & resettlement
- Particulars of authority appointed for hearing objections
The notification shall also state that any person interested in such land may within sixty days from date of publication raise objection to proposed acquisition.
After issuing this notification, Section 6 of LARR Act requires that an officer designated by appropriate government (also known as Collector) shall conduct enquiry into objections raised by interested persons; hear objection within time limit specified by appropriate government; submit report along with recommendations on objections & record thereof within time limit specified by appropriate government.
Based on this report, Section 7 of LARR Act provides that if appropriate government satisfied after considering report & recommendations submitted by Collector & after hearing objectors if they desire so then declare by notification (also known as declaration) published same way as preliminary notification stating:
- That particular land needed for public purpose
- An estimate amount likely required for compensation
- A statement indicating whether rehabilitation & resettlement scheme prepared under section 16
The declaration shall also state clearly that:
- Land covered by declaration shall vest absolutely with central/state govt free from all encumbrances
- Where amount determined exceeds Rs 100 crore then prior approval central govt necessary before issuing declaration
Therefore, according to these provisions, it can be seen that:
- The collector cannot acquire any land without issuing a preliminary notification under Section 4 of LARR Act
- The collector has to give an opportunity to hear objections from interested persons under Section 6 of LARR Act
- The collector has to submit a report with recommendations on objections under Section 6 of LARR Act
- The collector cannot issue a declaration under Section 7 of LARR Act without considering the report and recommendations submitted by him/her under Section 6 of LARR Act
Hence, it can be concluded that:
The collector cannot acquire our land and construct a road on it without our permission
However, there are some exceptions and exemptions under which the collector can acquire our land without following these procedures or obtaining our consent. These are:
1) Urgency clause: Under Section 40(1) read with section 2(2)(a)of LARR act , if central govt satisfied due urgency situation arising out natural calamities/war/national security/defence etc then may direct Collector though no social impact assessment done yet but take immediate possession any waste/arid/land belonging central/state govt/corporation owned/controlled central/state govt/informal sector etc subject condition compensation paid accordance first schedule & rehabilitation & resettlement provided accordance second schedule
2) Consent clause: Under section 2(2)(b) read with section 41(3), if private company requests appropriate govt acquire its behalf then consent at least
