Haryana mulls land bank for projects

Geetanjali Gayatri

Tribune news Service

Chandigarh, December 24

Forced to drop land acquisition proceedings in Rewari keeping public sentiment in mind, Haryana is now actively considering creation of a pool to meet its land requirements for various projects while exploring the models for land acquisition being followed in other states.

Sources said that Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar, during the course of discussion on Rewari land acquisition, suggested that Haryana should consider setting up a corporation to acquire land and allocate it to departments for their respective projects when the need arises.

Khattar is learnt to have expressed the opinion that the state, instead of acquiring land on a project basis, should create a pool of all land available for various projects so that such opposition as was witnessed in Rewari cannot derail projects.

On the suggestion of the Chief Minister, various models of acquisition being followed in different states are being studied to speed up the process as also to make it hassle-free.

The Haryana State Industrial Infrastructure and Development Corporation (HSIIDC) which acquires land for industrial projects has already studied the processes being followed in Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat and Punjab.
“While creating a land bank for future projects is being explored, the new land acquisition Act provides that the consent of the land owners is a must to acquire land. We are studying various models where consent is inherent while the long-drawn process of land acquisition can be curtailed and shrunk,” says Financial Commissioner and Principal Secretary, Industries, Devender Singh.

In one such model being studied by the government that is under consideration, land is bought by the government through direct negotiations with the seller. Sources said under this plan, a committee headed by the divisional commissioner or the DC negotiates with the land owners considering the market price.

“Once the deal is final, the rates are approved by the Cabinet. In carrying out negotiations, the spirit of the new land acquisition Act is also kept intact since it means that we have the consent of land owners. The advantage comes from the fact that the time to acquire land is cut down substantially,” an official said.