Land acquisition is the power of the union or a state government in India to acquire private land for the purpose of industrialization, development of infrastructural facilities or urbanization of the private land, and to compensate the affected land owners for their rehabilitation and resettlement.
Laws that govern land acquisition include the Indian Tramways Act, 1886, the Damodar Valley Corporation Act, 1948, the National Highways Act, 1956, the Coal Bearing Areas Acquisition and Development Act, 1957, the Petroleum and Minerals Pipelines (Acquisition of Right of User of Land) Act, 1962, The Land Ports Authority of India Act, 2010, the Metro Railways (Construction of Works) Act, 1978, the Railways Act, 1989 and the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013 (LARR) and which came into force from 1 January 2014. Until 2013, the Land Acquisition Act of 1894 governed land acquisition in India. On 31 December 2013, the President of India promulgated an ordinance with an official mandate to "meet the twin objectives of farmer welfare; along with expeditiously meeting the strategic and developmental needs of the country". An amendment bill was then introduced in Parliament to endorse the Ordinance. Lok Sabha passed the bill, which awaits passage by the Rajya Sabha. On 30 May 2015, the President of India promulgated the amendment ordinance for third time. Union Government of India has also made and notified the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement (Social Impact Assessment and Consent) Rules, 2014 under the Act to regulate the procedure. The land acquisition in Jammu and Kashmir is governed by the Jammu and Kashmir Land Acquisition Act, 1934.
