Lok Sabha Question No. 350 (STARRED), answered on 2024-12-19
Subject: Land Acquisition in Odisha
Ministry: TRIBAL AFFAIRS
Asked by: Shri Saptagiri Sankar Ulaka

## MINISTER OF TRIBAL AFFAIRS (SHRI JUAL ORAM)

(a) to (d):  A Statement is laid on the Table of the House.

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## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

## MINISTRY OF TRIBAL AFFAIRS LOK SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO. 350

TO BE ANSWERED ON 19/12/2024

## LAND ACQUISITION IN ODISHA

## *350. SHRI SAPTAGIRI SANKAR ULAKA:

## Will the Minister of TRIBAL AFFAIRS be pleased to state:

- (a) the total extent of tribal land acquired for the Government and non-Government purposes in Odisha during the last five years;
- (b) whether the Government provided any compensation packages to the affected tribal communities and if so, the details thereof along with the number of beneficiaries in this regard;
- (c)  the  number  of  individuals/families  displaced  due  to  these  acquisitions  along  with  the  status  of  their resettlement and rehabilitation and the support and facilities provided in this regard; and
- (d) the measures taken by the Government to ensure that land acquisitions comply with the provisions of the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013 and the Forest Rights Act, 2006?

## ANSWER

## Statement referred in reply to Lok Sabha Starred Question No. 350 for answer on 19.12.2024 regarding 'Land Acquisition in Odisha' by Shri Saptagiri Sankar Ulaka

(a) to (d): Ministry of Rural Development, Department of Land Resources (DoLR) which is Nodal Ministry at the  Centre  for  land  related  matters  has  informed  that  Land  and  its  management  fall  under  the  exclusive legislative  and  administrative  jurisdiction  of  States  as  provided  under  the  Constitution  of  India  (Seventh Schedule- List II (State List)- Entry No. (18).

Further the land acquisition is undertaken by the  Central and State Governments under various Central and State Acts, including the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and  Resettlement  (RFCTLARR)  Act,  2013,  being  administered  by  DoLR.   The  data  of  displaced  /affected families  is  not  maintained  centrally.  However,  the  government   has  been  advising  the  state  governments regarding   safeguards  available  for  the  tribal  communities  under  various  laws.The Special  provisions  under various laws to protect the interest of Scheduled Tribe community, are at Annexure.

Further,  the  Ministry  of  Tribal  Affairs,  being  the  Nodal  Ministry  for  Monitoring   the  legislative  matters  of FRA,  has been issuing  guidelines from time to time on various aspects to ensure proper implementation of the Act.  As  per  FRA  and  rules  made  thereunder,  respective  State  Governments/UT  Administrations  including Odisha  are  responsible  for  implementation  of  various  provisions  of  the  FR  Act.  Additionally  under  other ministry,  the  National  Monitoring  Committee,  a  statutory  body  established  under  the  RFCTLARR  2013 regarding land acquisition, conducts regular review meetings to assess the progress of relief and rehabilitation efforts, as well as grievances related to national projects, and provide recommendations to the implementing agencies.

The  Ministry  of  tribal  Affairs  does  not  Centrally  maintain  data  related  to  tribal  land  acquired  for  the Government and non-Government purposes in the country including Odisha.

## Annexure referred to in reply to part (a) to (d) of Lok Sabha Starred Question No. 350 for answer on 19.12.2024

## Special  provisions  under  various  laws  to  protect  the  interest  of  Scheduled  Tribe  communities  are  as follows:

(1)  Constitutional  provisions  under  Schedule  -V provide  for  safeguards  against  displacement  of  tribal population  because  of  land  acquisitions  etc.  The  Governor  of  the  State  which  has  scheduled  Areas  is empowered to prohibit or restrict transfer of land from tribals and regulate the allotment of land to members of the Scheduled Tribes in such cases. Para 5.2 of the V Schedule of the Constitution has a predominant object of imposing total prohibition on transferring immovable property in a scheduled area to any person other than a tribal.

(2) The Panchayats (Extension to the Scheduled Areas) Act, 1996 (in short PESA) also provides that "The Gram Sabha or the Panchayats at the appropriate level shall be consulted before making the acquisition of land in  the  Scheduled  Areas  for development projects and before re-settling or rehabilitating persons affected by such projects in the Scheduled Areas".

(3) The Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act" (in short, FRA) enacted in 2006 provides adequate safeguards to avoid any displacement of tribal population but also seeks to involve democratic institutions in the process of recognition and vesting of forest rights at the grassroots level.

a) Section 4 (4) of FRA stipulates that the right shall be heritable but not alienable or transferable and shall be registered jointly in the name of both the spouses in case of married persons and in the name of the single head in the case of a household headed by a single person and in the absence of a direct heir, the heritable right shall pass on to the next-of-kin.

b) Section 4 (5) of FRA states that "Save as otherwise provided, no member of a Forest Dwelling Scheduled Tribe or Other Traditional Forest Dweller shall be evicted or removed from forest land under his occupation till the recognition and verification procedure is complete".

(4)  The  Scheduled  Castes  and  the  Scheduled  Tribes  (Prevention  of  Atrocities)  Act,  1989 provides wrongfully dispossessing members of the Scheduled Tribes from their land or premises or interfering with the enjoyment of their rights, including forest rights, over any land or premises or water or irrigation facilities or destroying the crops or taking away the produce there from amount to offence of atrocities and are subject to punishment under the said Act.

(5)  The  Right  to  Fair  Compensation  and  Transparency  in  Land  Acquisition,  Rehabilitation,  and Resettlement Act, 2013 (RFCTLARR Act, 2013) has special provisions for STs, which have been spelled out under Sections 41 and 42.

(i)  The  First  Schedule  of  the  RFCTLARR  Act  provides  for  compensation  for  land  owners.  As  per  Section 3(r)(ii)  of the RFCTLARR, 2013, 'land owner' includes any person who is granted forest rights under FRA, 2006(2 of 2007) or under any other law for the time being in force.

(ii) The Second Schedule of the RFCTLARR, provides for rehabilitation and resettlement for all the affected families  (both  land  owners  and  the  families  whose  livelihood  is  primarily  dependent  on  land  acquired)  in addition to those provided in the first Schedule.

(iii)  The Third Schedule of the RFCTLARR, provide for infrastructural amenities for a reasonably habitable and  planned  settlement  in  the  resettlement  area.  Right  to  Fair  Compensation  and  Transparency  in  Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and RFCTLARR Act, 2013 further spells out the procedure for identification of the affected persons/ families [sub-section (c) of Section 3], determining and calculating the compensation amount (Section 26 to 29), as well as mechanisms for developing rehabilitation and resettlement processes (Chapters V and VI).

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