What is the Right To Fair Compensation Act

When it comes to land acquisition and similar activities, there are constant possibilities of corruption and monetary loss. The Indian Parliament passed the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act in 2013 to serve this purpose. It aims to provide fair compensation to those who lose their lands unethically in India.

Do you wish to find out more about the Right to Fair Compensation Act? Keep reading this article for a complete overview.

The Indian Government passed the RFCTLARR Act on 29th August 2013 to handle activities related to land acquisition, rehabilitation and resettlement in India. It brings more transparency in this process, helping those who lose their lands unfairly. As its name suggests, this law ensures the right to fair compensation to Indian citizens if their lands are taken away.

In most cases, the Government setting up infrastructure projects like factories or buildings might snatch land. Residents of those lands are left homeless. As per this Act, such people shall receive proper compensation. The compensation is four times the market value of their share in rural areas and twice the same value in urban areas.

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Knowing about the objectives of an act to learn more about it. Here are the objectives of the Land Acquisition Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act:

• Collaborate with the local self-government and Gram Sabhas of India to develop a high-quality land acquisition process.
• To develop a humane, informed and transparent process of land acquisition.
• To ensure the least disturbance caused to land owners and affected families while completing infrastructural projects of the Government.
• To provide just and fair compensation to the affected families who lose their lands to such projects.
• To ensure adequate provisions for the affected citizens to find rehabilitation and resettlement and improve the post-acquisition social and economic status of affected individuals while taking help from them. 

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The Act's primary purpose related to the right to fair compensation mainly aims at ensuring fair and transparent land acquisition in India. Its public purposes are listed below:

• Strategic purposes pertaining to the military, naval, air force, and armed forces of the Union.
• Same purpose with work related to the central paramilitary forces, national security or defence of India or State police.
• Infrastructural purposes, which include the following:
  • Items listed under the Department of Economic Affairs (Infrastructure Section), which excludes private hospitals, hotels and educational institutions.
  • Projects from the government collaboration with a farmers' Union in fields like a supply of inputs to agriculture, agro-processing, cold storage facilities, warehousing, marketing infrastructure for agriculture, etc.
  • Projects from the National Manufacturing Policy, such as those related to mining activities, manufacturing and national investments.
  • Sports, tourism, healthcare, and transportation-related projects.
  • Projects for sanitation, water harvest and water conservation.
  • Projects for government-aided and sponsored education and research institutions.
  • Infrastructural facilities, as notified under the Central Government of India.
  • Projects for housing affected families or such income groups as the Government specifies.
  • Residential projects for those affected by natural calamities or government projects and who lost their homes.

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It is essential to understand the kind of compensation this Act offers if you wish to redeem it. Regarding affected landowners, here is the compensation policy under the Right to Fair Compensation Land Acquisition Act:

• In a rural area, a landowner who lost land will get a constructed house as specified in the India Awas Yojana.
• If this issue arises in an urban area, A constructed house will be provided. The house will have at least 50 sq meters of plinth area.
• Affected families may receive a subsistence allowance of Rs 3000 per month for the first year of the acquisition. (Specific to landowners)
• One affected family member can get an additional entitlement to a job or claim an upfront payment of ₹500000. Even a monthly annuity totaling ₹24000 per year can be given every year for 20 years with indexation.

It is important to note that the three choices stated above must be the affected land owner’s legal right and not the land acquirer.

• They can seek an upfront compensation of ₹50000 for transport and shifting purposes.  (Specific to land owners)
• The government also offers these families an upfront resettlement allowance of ₹50000.  (Specific to landowners) 

Nearly 22% of Indian citizens include SC/ST citizens. Here are some additional benefits that these citizens can get under this Act:

• Each affected family can claim up to an additional land equivalent to the land acquired or 2.5 acres of land whichever is lower.
• There is also a provision of free land for community and social gatherings under this law.
• They can receive up to ₹50000 as additional assistance.

Apart from that, Schedule III of this Act offers other additional services, such as schools, roads, health centres, safe drinking water, places of worship, burial and cremation grounds, etc.

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The RFCTLARR Act is authentic, passed by the Indian Parliament to protect the affected families’ interests because of land disputes and acquisitions. It affects both rural and urban households in India if their lands are in question. Here are the features and benefits of this Act to show its importance in India:

• More than half of Indian citizens make a livelihood from farming lands. The provisions of this Act, therefore, protect the interests of a large group of people.
• Agriculture contributes largely to the overall GDP of India. However, it has been dropping lately due to the issues of unfair land acquisition. This Act will address this issue by ensuring proper utilisation of lands.
• A project can start only if at least 80% of affected families agree and give their consent. Any labourers, artisans or farmers whose work is affected by this acquisition must also provide their consent. Only then can the project start.
• Rural families that suffer from the loss of land can now seek just compensation. This means farmers and landowners will no longer face losses from government projects or unfair land acquisition.
• According to this Act, Government should avoid acquiring fertile and multi-cropped farmlands. If they do so, developing an equal size of farmland for agriculture is mandatory. It ensures the food security of its residents.
• The concerned authority will return the acquired land to its original owner if a project does not start five years from a stipulated start date. This Act makes the head of the department accountable for ensuring such matters.

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While the Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act has successfully improved the land acquisition and maintenance process, it also receives criticism for some of its shortcomings. Here are some problems with this Act that require attention:

• This Act aims to protect the citizens' livelihoods and avoid hampering them unless it is done in the public interest or the affected citizens receive rehabilitation from the Government.
• Some people believe this Act mainly favours landowners and hardly considers the interests of the poorer citizens who need affordable schooling, hospitals, employment opportunities, etc.
• This Act makes an upfront payment to affected families. However, it causes more families to create issues by seeking more money and obstructing a project's progress.
• There is no limit to the total compensation provided to all the affected people in this Act. Moreover, there is no limit to the number of claimants to the compensation. As a result, there can be an unfair provision of government funds in such cases.
• This Act might restrict free market transactions between willing sellers and buyers. It prevents organisations from moving on with projects as they have to compensate with four times the market value.
• This bill suggests that land can be acquired due to public purposes. However, it fails to define this purpose, as anything and everything can come under it.

Thus, the Right to Fair Compensation Act is a beneficial initiative from the Indian Parliament. It aims to ensure that the land acquisition process is fair and transparent. People who lose their lands to infrastructural projects are subject to receiving complete compensation for their losses. Moreover, farmers losing their jobs can also find new employment as per this Act.