How NITI Aayog can remove the Land Bill deadlock

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, according to reports, at the NITI Aayog meeting yesterday, has observed that the critical deadlock over land acquisition is impacting development and slowing down creation of schools, irrigation projects, playgrounds, and other similar facilities in rural areas. At the outset, the government should be congratulated for taking up such sensitive issues which had been put on the back burner by the previous government and were partially responsible for stalled projects leading to slowdown of the economy.

Land is the crucial asset for a family as well as a source of revenue for the local and state governments. Land has inter-generational value which benefits the family, sometimes even the larger joint family, over centuries. The compensation for acquired land as well as proposed employment is only restricted to one person in the family which makes the issue of land acquisition very sensitive to families across the country. Uniform pricing of land as well as stipulating compensation becomes difficult in view of different levels of land fertility and utility as well as tribal/forest/mountainous belts across the widespread geographical ranges in India.

However, for development and growth of the economy, it is necessary that there is some uniformity in law pertaining to land issues across the country despite land being on Concurrent List. In absence of such uniformity, there would be competitive beggar-thy-neighbour strategy that would only weaken the system at large and lead to chaotic conditions in different states, especially with border cities in neighbouring states bearing the brunt of such competitiveness.

One alternative that the government could consider is inviting bids for voluntary contribution of land at stipulated prices from the public and building land banks which can then be used for development of schools and hospitals. In view of the political situation prevailing and the economic compulsion to perform to enhance the status of India in global economy, it may be necessary to achieve consensus on major reform issues that have been identified as bottlenecks to development.

To achieve critical political consensus the government may like to revisit the strategy of wider dissemination of vital knowledge on the subject to the public at large. This can be achieved by setting up consultative committees, state wise, leading to identification of local and regional issues that need to be addressed. Such committees would also help in assessing and assuaging sentiments across the wider population.

Simultaneously, it may be important to ensure proper sequencing of reforms. The sequencing of reforms would help in smooth enactment of Bills and uniform implementation across the wide spectrum of critical ideologies dominant in different parts of the country. It may be helpful to organise public debates on electronic media as well as academic conclaves/conferences based on research. In this context, a barrage of senior level economists and policy makers with local level experience and credibility, probably, as members of the prime minister's economic advisory council can play a crucial role in helping to devise appropriate strategies.