New board to plan resettlement of ‘land acquisition displaced’ families
The Union government apparently has efforts underway to set up an all-powerful specialized agency which will shoulder the responsibility of planning resettlement as well as rehabilitation of families displaced by land acquisition.
According to unidentified sources familiar with the matter, the new board to be set up by the government to chart out resettlement and rehabilitation (R&R) plans for ‘land acquisition displaced’ families is tentatively being called the ‘R&R Board.’
As per the details shared by the sources, the ‘R&R Board’ will be a specialized body which will be set up on the lines of central agencies with specific mandates, like the National Disaster Response Force for calamities.
Though the process of setting up the board is currently underway, the board will not only plan the resettlement of the displaced families, but may also have the authority to decide whether the acquisition of any land requires Social Impact Assessment, which is a mandatory process to ascertain the cost and rationale of the acquisition.
The imminent setting up of the ‘R&R Board’ will mean that all linear projects – such as railways and ports etc – will probably be exempted from the scope of the land acquisition law. However, the Union government may retain the provision that no land can be put to use without settling the R&R aspects.
Source – The Times of India (Delhi)
land acquisition, National Disaster Response, resettlement and rehabilitation, social impact assessment, Union government
