The New Land Acquisition Act, passed by Parliament during the monsoon session last year, came into force today. The law, which replaces the Land Acquisition Act of 1894, is aimed at providing just and fair compensation to farmers.

The archaic Act of 1894 suffered from various shortcomings, including silence on the issue of resettlement and rehabilitation of those displaced by acquisition of land.

The Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act stipulates mandatory consent of at least 70 per cent of affected people for acquiring land for Public Private Partnership projects and 80 per cent for acquiring land for private companies. It received Presidential assent on September 27th.

Now, state governments will have to soon set up at least six bodies, including the state-level Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Authority, to hear disputes arising out of projects where land acquisition has been initiated by the state or its agencies.