Preamble - RIGHT TO FAIR COMPENSATION AND TRANSPARENCY IN LAND ACQUISITION, REHABILITATION AND RESETTLEMENT (COMPENSATION, REHABILITATION AND RESETTLEMENT AND DEVELOPMENT PLAN) RULES, 2015
RIGHT TO FAIR COMPENSATION AND TRANSPARENCY IN LAND ACQUISITION, REHABILITATION AND RESETTLEMENT (COMPENSATION, REHABILITATION AND RESETTLEMENT AND DEVELOPMENT PLAN) RULES, 2015
PREAMBLE
Whereas certain draft rules, namely the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement (Compensation, Rehabilitation and Resettlement, Development Plan) Rules, 2015 were published as required under section 112 of the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013 (30 of 2013), vide notification of the Government of India in the Ministry of Rural Development (Department of Land Resources), number G.S.R. 547(E), dated the 8th July, 2015 in the Gazette of India, Extraordinary, Part II, Section 3, Sub-section (i), dated the 8th July, 2015 for inviting objections and suggestions from all persons likely to be affected thereby before the expiry of a period of thirty days from the date on which copies of the Gazette containing the notification were made available to the public;
And whereas, the copies of the Gazette containing the said notification were made available to the public on the 8th July, 2015;
And whereas, the objections and the suggestions received from the public on the said draft rules have been considered by the Central Government;
Now, therefore, in exercise of the powers conferred by sub-section (1) and clauses (b), (e), (f), (g), (h), (i), (j), (k), (l), (m), (o), (p), (r), (s), (t) and (u) of sub-section (2) of section 109 of the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013 (30 of 2013), the Central Government hereby makes the following rules, namely:--
Rule 1 - Short title, applicability and commencement
(1) These rules may be called the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement (Compensation, Rehabilitation and Resettlement and Development Plan) Rules, 2015.
(2) They shall be applicable in cases of land acquisition where the Central Government is the appropriate Government as per the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013 (30 of 2013).
(3) They shall come into force on the date of their publication in the Official Gazette.
Rule 2 - Definitions
In these rules, unless the context otherwise requires,-
(a) "Aadhaar number" means a 12-digit unique identification number generated and issued to an individual by the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) after de-duplication of demographic and biometric information pertaining to that individual;
(b) "Act" means the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013 (30 of 2013);
(c) "consent-based Aadhaar authentication service" means electronic authentication carried out by Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI), or agencies appointed by it, after matching the biometric information of an individual at his request or with his consent, with the information maintained by UIDAI in its own central servers, and includes a 'Yes/No' response, or a response containing the demographic information and photograph of that individual;
(d) "section" means section of the Act;
(e) words and expressions used but not defined in these rules and defined in the Act, shall have the meanings respectively assigned to them in the Act.
Rule 3 - Request for acquisition of land
(1) After completion of Social Impact Assessment, wherever applicable and receipt of the recommendations of the Expert Group, if it appears to the appropriate Government that land in any area is required or likely to be required for any public purpose, the Requiring Body or its authorised representative, for whom land is to be acquired shall file the request to the concerned Collector in FORM-I along with the following documents, namely:-
(i) detailed project report;
(ii) sanction letter of project;
(iii) three copies of Record of Rights and revenue maps of the affected areas;
(iv) information about the classification of land that is, irrigated multi-cropped, single cropped, wasteland, etc;
(v) any other information required by the Collector.
(2) A copy of the request filed with the Collector under sub-rule (1) shall be submitted to the Commissioner.
(3) Where the Requiring Body is the Government, the request shall be filed by the Secretary of the concerned Department and in case of Public Sector Undertaking, by Secretary of the Department dealing with such undertaking.
Rule 4 - Action by Collector on receiving request
(1) (a) The Collector, on receiving the request under sub-rule (1) of rule 3, shall constitute a committee of officers consisting of officers from Revenue Department, Agriculture Department, Forest Department, Water Resources Department, Building Department or any other Department as the Collector deems necessary to make a field visit along with the representatives of the Requiring Body to make a preliminary enquiry regarding-
(i) availability of waste or arid land;
(ii) correctness of the particulars furnished in the request under sub-rule (1) of rule 3;
(iii) bare minimum land required for the project;
(iv) whether the request is consistent with the provisions of the Act, and submit a report to the Collector.
(b) The report of the committee referred to in clause (a) shall include the following, namely:--
(i) that the proposed acquisition of land serves public purpose;
(ii) that the extent of land proposed for acquisition is the absolute bare-minimum needed for the project;
(iii) that the acquisition of land at an alternate place has been considered and found not feasible;
(iv) that there is no unutilised land which has been previously acquired in the area;
(v) that the land, if any, acquired earlier and remained unutilised, may be used for such public purpose;
(vi) the recommendations of the committee.
(2) (a) If the Collector, on the basis of the report of the committee referred to in sub-rule (1), other information available with him and instructions issued by the Central Government in this regard, is satisfied that the request is consistent with the provisions of the Act, he shall make a preliminary estimate of the cost of the acquisition as defined in clause (i) of section 3.
(b) The administrative cost under item (A) of sub-clause (vi) of clause (i) of section 3 shall be at the rate of five per cent of the cost of compensation as provided in sub-clause (i) of clause (i) of section3 subject to a maximum of five crore rupees.
(c) The Collector shall inform the Requiring Body to deposit the estimated cost of acquisition or part thereof as specified by the Collector in the designated account of the office of the Collector before the publication of declaration under sub-section (2) of section 19 within such period as may be specified by him and the Requiring Body shall deposit the same within the said period.
(3) The Requiring Body shall deposit the balance cost of acquisition after final estimation is prepared by the Collector and in cases where excess amount is awarded by the Authority or Court, the same shall be deposited as and when so required.
Rule 5 - Publication of preliminary notification
(1) The preliminary notification referred to in section 11 shall be published in FORM II.
(2) A copy of the preliminary notification mentioned in section 11 shall be affixed at conspicuous places in the affected areas and shall also be informed to the public by beat of drum.
(3) After publication of the preliminary notification under section 11, the Collector shall ensure completion of the exercise of updating land records as specified here under:-
(a) delete the names of deceased persons;
(b) enter the names of the legal heirs of the deceased persons;
(c) enter the registered transactions of the rights in land such as sale, gift, partition, etc.;
(d) make all entries of the mortgages in the land records;
(e) delete the entries of mortgages in case the lending agency issues letter towards full payment of loans taken through registered reconveyance of mortgaged property deeds;
(f) make necessary entries in respect of all prevalent forest laws;
(g) make necessary entries in case of the Government land;
(h) make necessary entries in respect of assets on the land like buildings, trees, wells, etc.;
(i) make necessary entries of share-croppers in the land;
(j) make necessary entries of crops grown or sown and the area of such crops; and
(k) any other relevant entries.
Rule 6 - Hearing of objections
(1) The Collector shall issue a notice for inviting objections in FORM III and after hearing all objections and making enquiry as provided under sub-section (2) of section 15 shall submit a report along with his recommendations on the objections to the appropriate Government for decision.
(2) The report of the Collector shall include the following:-
(a) assessment as to whether the proposed acquisition serves public purpose;
(b) whether the extent of land proposed for acquisition is the absolute bare-minimum extent needed for the project;
(c) whether land acquisition at an alternate place has been considered and found not feasible;
(d) there is no unutilised land which has been previously acquired in the area;
(e) the land, if any, acquired earlier and remained unutilised, is used for such public purpose and recommendations in respect thereof;
(f) recommendations on the objections;
(g) record of proceedings;
(h) approximate cost of land acquisition in cases where Social Impact Assessment has been exempted.
Rule 7 - Preparation of Rehabilitation and Resettlement Scheme and public hearing
(1) Upon publication of the preliminary notification under sub-section (1) of section 11, the Administrator shall conduct a survey and undertake a census of the affected families within a period of two months from the date of publication of such preliminary notification.
(2) For the purpose of the survey to be conducted and the census of the affected families to be undertaken by the Administrator, he shall take into account-
(a) the Social Impact Assessment report;
(b) the records of the Panchayat, Municipality or Municipal Corporation, as the case may be, and other Government records.
(3) The Administrator shall get the data verified by door to door visit of the affected families and by site visits in case of infrastructure projects in the affected area.
(4) The draft Rehabilitation and Resettlement Scheme prepared by the Administrator shall, in addition to the particulars mentioned in the sub-section (2) of section 16, contain the following, namely:-
(a) list of affected families with Aadhaar number of its members, if available;
(b) list of displaced families with Aadhaar number of its members, if available;
(c) list of infrastructure in the affected area;
(d) list of land holdings in the affected area;
(e) list of trees, buildings, other immovable property or assets attached to the land or building which are to be acquired;
(f) list of trades or businesses in the affected area;
(g) list of persons belonging to the Scheduled Castes or the Scheduled Tribes, the handicapped or physically challenged persons in the affected area:
Provided that in case a person does not have an Aadhaar number, efforts may be made to get him so enrolled, provided he gives his consent for such enrolment and the claims of the affected families may be facilitated by carrying out consent-based Aadhaar authentication service.
(5) The Administrator shall give wide publicity to the draft Rehabilitation and Resettlement Scheme in the affected area through publication in the following manner, namely:-
(a) in the Official Gazette;
(b) in two daily newspapers being circulated in the locality of such area of which one shall be in the regional language:
Provided that in a place where such media is not available, then this clause shall not apply;
(c) in the local language in the Panchayat, Municipality or Municipal Corporation, as the case may be, and in the offices of the District Collector, the Sub-Divisional Magistrate and the Tehsil, Taluk, Sub-division or Block, as the case may be;
(d) uploaded on the website of the appropriate Government.
(6) The Administrator or an officer authorised by him shall conduct a public hearing in the affected areas by issuing advance notice of three weeks on the date, time and venue mentioned in the said notice in accordance with the provisions of rule 8 of the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement (Social Impact Assessment and Consent) Rules, 2014, dated the 8th August, 2014.
Rule 8 - Publication of the approved Rehabilitation and Resettlement Scheme
The Commissioner shall publish the approved Rehabilitation and Resettlement Scheme by affixing it in conspicuous places in the affected area.
Rule 9 - Development Plan for Scheduled Castes or Scheduled Tribes families
The Development Plan, in cases of a project involving land acquisition on behalf of a Requiring Body which involves involuntary displacement of the Scheduled Castes or Scheduled Tribes families, referred to in section 41 shall be prepared in FORM IV.
Rule 10 - Publication of declaration for acquisition
The declaration referred to in sub-section (1) of section 19 shall be published by affixing a copy thereof in local language at conspicuous places in the affected areas in FORM V.
Rule 11 - Land acquisition award
The land acquisition award referred to in section 23 shall be made in FORM VI and FORM VII.
Rule 12 - Fishing rights of affected families
The fishing rights referred to in column (3) against serial number 9 of the Second Schedule to the Act, shall be allowed by the Fisheries Department in consultation with the Irrigation Department, Revenue Department or any other concerned Department of the Government.
Rule 13 - Recovery of excess amount
In the case of any default or refusal to pay the excess amount as referred to in subsection (3) of section 33, the same shall be recovered as arrears of land revenue under the provisions of the Revenue Recovery Act, 1890 (1 of 1890) and such recovery proceedings shall be initiated within a period of three years from the date on which the excess amount is found to have been paid.
Rule 14 - Recovery of rehabilitation and resettlement benefit
Any rehabilitation and resettlement benefit availed of by making a false claim or through fraudulent means shall be recovered as arrears of land revenue under the provisions of the Revenue Recovery Act, 1890 (1 of 1890).
Rule 15 - Limits of extent of land under sub-section (3) of section 2
The limits of extent of land referred to in clause (a) of sub-section (3) of section 2 shall be twenty hectares in urban areas and forty hectares in rural areas.
Rule 16 - Powers, duties and responsibilities of Administrator
The Administrator shall have the following powers, duties and responsibilities, namely:-
(a) to conduct a survey and undertake a census of the affected families and details of livestock possessed by each affected family in accordance with rule 7;
(b) to prepare a draft Rehabilitation and Resettlement Scheme (hereinafter referred to as the draft Scheme);
(c) to give wide publicity to the draft Scheme in accordance with sub-rule (5) of rule 7 in the affected areas;
(d) to make the draft Scheme available to the concerned persons and authorities;
(e) to organise and conduct public hearings on the draft Scheme;
(f) to submit the draft Scheme to the Collector;
(g) to execute and monitor the Rehabilitation and Resettlement scheme;
(h) to assist the Commissioner in post-implementation social audit of Rehabilitation and Resettlement Scheme; and (i) any other work required to be done for Rehabilitation and Resettlement.
Rule 17 - Rehabilitation and Resettlement Committee at Project Level
(1) The Rehabilitation and Resettlement Committee constituted under section 45 shall follow the following procedures:-
(a) the Committee shall have its first meeting when a draft Scheme has been prepared by the Administrator;
(b) the Committee shall discuss the draft Scheme and make suggestions and recommendations and thereafter, the Committee shall meet to review and monitor the progress of rehabilitation and resettlement once in a month till the process of rehabilitation and resettlement is completed;
(c) for the purpose of carrying out the post-implementation social audits, the Committee shall meet once in three months;
(d) the Committee may visit the affected area and discuss with the affected families if it so requires and also visit the resettlement area to monitor the resettlement process.
(2) The Member-Convener of the Committee shall be assisted by subordinate officers and staff provided by the appropriate Government.
(3) The non-official members of the Committee shall be entitled to travelling and daily allowance at the rate admissible to the Group 'A' Officers of the Central Government.
Rule 18 - Salaries, allowances, etc. of Presiding Officer, Registrar and other officers and employees of Authority
(1) The salary and allowances payable to and the other terms and conditions of service (including pension, gratuity and other retirement benefits) and procedure for the investigation of misbehavior or incapacity of the Presiding Officer of Authority shall be the same as applicable to a District Judge.
(2) The salary and allowances payable to and the other terms and conditions of service (including pension, gratuity and other retirement benefits) of the Registrar of the Authority shall be the same as applicable to an officer of the rank of Deputy Secretary in the Central Government.
(3) The salary and allowances payable to and the other terms and conditions of service (including pension, gratuity and other retirement benefits) of the officers and employees of the Authority shall be the same as applicable to the officers of the Central Government of equivalent rank.
Rule 19 - Procedure of National Monitoring Committee
(1) The National Monitoring Committee constituted under section 48 shall review and monitor the implementation of the rehabilitation and resettlement schemes for the projects within two months of the publication of the approved schemes by the Commissioner under section 18 and thereafter, the meetings of the Committee shall be held once in three months to review and monitor the implementation of the rehabilitation and resettlement schemes.
(2) For the purposes of sub-rule (1), the Committee may-
(a) call for records and information of rehabilitation and resettlement schemes;
(b) call the Requiring Body for discussion as and when required;
(c) ask for report about implementation of its decision.
(3) The non-official experts associated with the National Monitoring Committee shall be paid travelling and daily allowance at the rate admissible to an officer of the rank of Joint Secretary in the Central Government.
Rule 20 - Manner of return of unutilised land
(1) When any land acquired under the Act remains unutilised for a period of five years as referred to in section 101, the same shall be returned to the original owner or owners or their legal heirs, as the case may be, or to the Land Bank by issuing a notice to the Requiring Body for whom the land was acquired and by giving an opportunity of being heard and by passing necessary order in writing by the Collector in this behalf for this purpose.
(2) After passing the order by Collector under sub-rule (1), the Collector shall take the possession of the acquired land for the purpose of returning the same to the original owner or owners or their legal heirs, as the case may be, or to the Land Bank.
(3) If the land is being returned to the original owner or owners or their legal heirs, as the case may be, the compensation paid to them excluding solatium shall be returned and deposited by them in the designated account of the office of the Collector as specified by him before taking possession of the land and the amount so refunded shall be used towards development of culturable wastelands.
(4) If the Requiring Body does not handover possession of the said land to Collector, the Collector shall be competent to take the help of the concerned Executive Magistrate and police force to take the possession after giving prior notice to the Requiring Body.
