Haryana betters its own land acquisition policy

CHANDIGARH - Haryanas land acquisition policy, which has been touted to be the best in the country and protects the rights of farmers, has just got better.

In a pre-Diwali bonanza to the state’s farmers, the Haryana government Wednesday decided to double, and even make higher in some areas, the minimum floor rate (MFR) payable for acquisition of land.

A unique feature added to the policy is the no litigation incentive for farmers which will guarantee them a 20 percent higher price than the MFR if they undertake not to go in for litigation.

The state government has also announced an increase in the annuity amount payable over 33 years as well as its incremental annual hike.

Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda said here Wednesday evening that owners, whose land is acquired, will be given bigger-size plots in case ones residential property is acquired.

The affected farmers would also be offered government jobs, industrial and commercial plots, Hooda told reporters.

I am a farmer myself and so I can understand their sentiments.

Haryanas existing land acquisition policy, announced in 2005 and amended in 2007, is being studied by the central government to implement its finer points for a national level land acquisition policy to safeguard farmers’ interests.

Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi had also acknowledged that Haryanas land acquisition policy was the best in the country and could be implemented by other states.

The new policy would be implemented retrospectively from September 7, 2010, Hooda said.

He said that under the second revision of its policy, the state has now been divided into five zonal brackets, instead of three, for purposes of computing the MFR.

For land situated within the notified limits of Gurgaon Municipal Corporation, the new MFR has been fixed at Rs.72 lakh per acre, including Rs.8 lakh as no litigation incentive. A farmer in Gurgaon will now get up to Rs.72 lakh for an acre of his land.

For land situated within the notified limits of Faridabad and Panchkula Municipal Corporations, areas forming part of the development plans of Gurgaon-Manesar urban complex (excluding the areas falling within the limits of Municipal Corporation Gurgaon) Sohna, and Sonepat-Kundli urban complex, the MFR has been fixed at Rs.54 lakh per acre, including Rs.6 lakh as no litigation incentive.

The MFR for different areas in rest of Haryana has been fixed at Rs.21.6 lakh to Rs.45 lakh per acre for acquisition.

Hooda said that now landowners would be paid annuity amount of Rs.21,000 per acre per annum which will be increased at the rate of Rs.750 every year for a period of 33 years. Earlier, the annuity amount was Rs.15,000 per acre/per annum with an increase of Rs.500 every year.

The amount paid over 33 years worked out to Rs.1,089,000 per acre, Hooda said.

The new policy has also made a provision of offering government jobs to one dependent of a family from whom land has been acquired.

Farmers, whose land is acquired, who buy land elsewhere, will be exempted from paying stamp duty for the new land.

Hooda said that the new acquisition policy will also be applicable to acquisition done for any central government scheme.