1. Summary:

The Indian government has the power to acquire private land for public use (the philosophy of eminent domain). Land acquisition is a very important and absolutely necessary activity that every government must undertake, and it is absolutely imperative that the government have a clear, just and feasible policy regarding land acquisition that provides fair compensation to the parties affected by the acquisition.

A land acquisition policy must be clear on the factors mentioned blow:

1. The definition of public use (or the type of projects that the policy is applicable for):

In general, the definition includes strategic purposes (those relating to Defense), infrastructure projects for development of villages, etc.

2. What all kinds of land can be acquired and how much of it:

In all cases, there are restrictions that the land acquisition must not impair historical or artistic monuments of importance or desecrate religious structures, graveyards, etc. Due to concerns pertaining to food safety, in India, restrictions are often imposed on the acquisition of irrigated multi crop lands.

3. Who the affected parties are (or who are to be compensated):

Land owners are the most obvious affected parties (they are always considered among those to be compensated). But people depended on the land indirectly, like landless labourers working on the land and others who depend on the land for livelihood, are also affected, often adversely.

4. In what form the compensation should be, how much it should be and how it should be apportioned:

In the 1894 Land Acquisition Act land owners were paid 15% more than the market value of their property (again, here one must outline a clear and sensible procedure to evaluate the market value of the property). Parties dependent on the land but not owning the lands were given nothing. In the 2013 Act, twice the