Land Acquisition Law Will Spike Costs, Delay Projects: Experts

According to the proposed law, consent of 80 percent of landowners will be required in case of land acquired by private companies and 70 percent for land acquired under Public Private Partnership (PPP) model for public purpose.
Compensation will be up to four times of the market value in rural areas and two times in urban areas. Land cannot be vacated until the entire compensation is awarded to the affected parties.
“The cost of land acquisition will surely go up for all projects irrespective of them being government or private or PPP, as they will have to adhere to the new norms,” said Sanjay Dutt, executive managing director for South Asia at global property consultancy firm Cushman & Wakefield.
Dutt said the clause of mandatory consent of 80 percent of owners for private projects and consent of 70 percent landowners for PPP projects will delay the process of land acquisition and the projects in turn.
“As land titles are not clearly documented in our country, it will take quite some time to change the current situation. The bill is expected to add to the costs of project substantially,” Dutt said.
The provisions of the new regulations would be applicable in cases of land acquisition of 50 acres or more in urban areas or 100 acres or more in rural areas.
However, some analysts argue that the new regulations would bring more certainty in the land acquisition process, provided the law was implemented properly.
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