Thiruvananthapuram: The draft of a new Kerala land acquisition policy, brought out by the Congress-led state government on Wednesday, suggests provisions to ensure that land owners enjoy the benefits of future jump in the real estate value of the property they part with for developmental projects.
The draft says at the time of land acquisition, the government will issue infrastructure development bond equal to the value of the property agreed to by the owner, who can encash the same at any time in the future in the prevailing real estate market. Another suggestion is to set apart a quantum of project shares for those whose land would be acquired for a particular project.
However, the above suggestion would be considered on a case-to-case basis, says the draft.
Releasing the draft, Revenue Minister Thiruvanchur Radhakrishnan said the suggestions were meant to make acquisition attractive for the land owners. At the same time, the existing system of acquiring land after paying the entire compensation has been retained in the new policy.
Due to the high density of the population in urban as well as rural areas of the state, successive governments in Kerala were facing an uphill task on land acquisition front. Widening of the national highways, too, has come to a halt due to stiff resistance to land acquisition.
The minister said the bond and its expected accretion of value would create an atmosphere conducive for speedy execution of projects. Those who would hand over the land would naturally desire fast execution of the project, which in turn, would bring in better value for their bonds.
Courtesy - indianexpress.com