The much-awaited policy for mandatory rehabilitation of land owners displaced by industrial projects and SEZs might get delayed with the matter being referred to a Group of Ministers.

The Resettlement and Rehabilitation Policy has been drafted by the Union Rural Development Ministry in the backdrop of protests in Nandigram and Singur in West Bengal and Raigad in Maharashtra.

While Union Rural Development Minister Raghuvansh Prasad Singh had hoped that an early clearance from the Law Ministry would pave the way for the policy to be sent to the Cabinet for approval, the decision to refer the matter to a GoM might put a brake on its passage in the ongoing Parliament session.

The Law Ministry is understood to have completed the final draft of the rehabilitation package which comprises an amended Land Acquisition Act, a rehabilitation policy and a rehabilitation law.

The GoM is expected look into several critical aspects of the issue like having an independent arrangement for out of court settlement of small issues involved in land acquisition or having an independent tribunal to deal with such cases.

It will also look into the proportion of land, which the government can acquire for setting up industrial projects.

After the protests, an Empowered GoM on SEZs headed by External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee put a end to compulsory land acquisition for these zones and also fixed a limit of 5,000 hectares on their size.

Changes in land acquisition laws are expected to put an end to compulsory land acquisition for industrial projects.

The draft makes it mandatory for all states to set up rehabilitation councils enjoying statutory backing as it is intended to be routed through the existing Land Acquisition Act, official sources said.

According to the draft suggestions, people whose land are acquired for mega projects should get jobs in the new industries established on their land or equity shares and job to one person from each displaced family in the company which acquires the land.

As per the note, the package will ensure rehabilitation by means of compensation in form of several options. The suggestions include alloting a free house site to an affected family to the extent of loss of the area of acquired house, but not more than 150 sq metres in rural areas and 75 sq metres in urban areas.

Allotting cultivable land to the extent of actual land loss subject to one hectare of irrigated land and two hectare of unirrigated land and a rehabilitation grant equivalent to 750 days minimum agricultural wages is suggested.

It says that if the acquired land is to be used to build houses, the affected family should get an apartment in the project area and if an irrigation project is planned there, the compensation should be in the form of fishing rights. It has been proposed in the draft that the entire compensation be disbursed before work on the project begins.

The rehabilitation councils proposed to be set up would be entrusted with the task of conducting Environmental Impact Assessment and Social Impact Assessment for each project that affects 400 or more families, or 200 or more families in case of tribals, and draw up plans for rehabilitation before displacement.

While the Centre will have an advisory role, the onus of rehabilitation will fall on state governments, which will be free to offer better package.

It is also proposed to have a grievance redressal cell under the chairmanship of the Rehabilitation and Resettlement Commissioner who will be a technical expert.

Before framing the draft, the rural development ministry has elicited legal opinion and consulted state governments besides discussing the matter with social activists like Medha Patkar.

The draft note was circulated among concerned ministries like Tribal Affairs, Forests, Water Resources, Surface Transport, Railways and Commerce for their comments. The decision to constitute a GoM on the matter was taken by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on April 30.

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