Two thousand acre cap for land to industries
Only 15 per cent of agriculture land acquisition will be allowed
By : DC Correspondent
Update: 2014-10-16 04:32 GMT
Hyderabad: Telangana state government is planning to fix the cap at 2,000 acres to acquire land for any industry. Besides, only 15 per cent of agriculture land acquisition will be allowed to ensure that agriculture activity is not hampered and to ensure food security.
The government plans to bring in a new law on land acquisition to this effect in the ensuing Budget session.
Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao, who reviewed the new land acquisition policy at Secretariat on Wednesday, directed the officials to deposit money in the banks in advance to pay compensation for land owners during acquisition.
He asked them to ensure that land owners do not run around government offices for years to get compensation. “I know the pain of those who lose their lands on account of acquisition. I am also one of the victims. My family suffered a lot after we lost valuable land on account of Maneru dam,” Mr Rao said.
He asked officials to adopt a ‘humanitarian approach’ while dealing with people who lose lands for irrigation project and other government development programmes. Mr Rao said, “There is a huge gap between market rate and registration value.
I propose we should pay more than the registration value as compensation. We should consider paying double the registration value in urban areas, one-and-half-times more in other areas and two times more in scheduled areas.”
He asked officials to set up state-level and district-level committees to finalise compensation and complete payment at the earliest. Mr Rao opined that land acquisition is mandatory to take up irrigation projects and other development programmes but the government should ensure that the acquisition process does not turn into a bane for displaced people.
He asked officials to draft a new land acquisition and rehabilitation bill which should suit the needs of Telangana.