In an attempt to remove roadblocks in the way of acquiring land for infrastructure projects, the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) has written to the Ministry of Urban Development, seeking exemption from being governed under ?The Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013? for acquisition of small pockets of land.
Simultaneously, the DDA plans to table a proposal in a meeting on July 8 to amend the Delhi Development Act to empower the agency to acquire land at negotiable rates.
?The procedure under the Act is very complicated and if we follow it for acquiring small pockets of land, it will be very time-consuming. Under the Act, it could take years to acquire small pockets of land required for infrastructure projects like construction of roads and landfill sites because the Act lays down, for instance, that social-impact assessment studies need to be carried out before acquisition,? DDA vice-chairman Balvinder Kumar told Newsline.
The Act came into effect in January this year. The DDA says while the Act is fine to govern large-scale acquisition of land, for small-scale acquisition of about two to four acres, the authority should be allowed to acquire land in the national capital through negotiations.
?We are planning to table a proposal seeking amendment to the DD Act, which will empower the DDA to acquire land through negotiation for small pockets. This will be especially important once the land-pooling policy is implemented and a small pocket of land, which may not be part of the land pooled together for housing development, needs to be acquired for the project,? he said.
The land-pooling policy aims at involving private parties in planning and developing land pockets with residential and commercial components, something which was done exclusively by the DDA till now. The profit out of such development will be enjoyed by the land owners, who pool their land for such projects.