Kerala govt. issues guidelines for departments to procure land for public purposes

The State government has issued guidelines to the various departments for land procurement for public purposes through negotiated purchase.

The guidelines are meant to simplify procedures for the acquisition and disposal of land for public purpose so as to avoid time and cost overruns in project completion and to minimise litigation over compensation by duly conducting negotiations.

The purchasing department or authority has to submit an application for the valuation of the land , to the District Collector, along with survey numbers, the extent required and proper alignment sketches. If contiguous land is to be purchased for the project in more than one district, the application has to be submitted to the District Collector in whose jurisdiction the major portion of the project land is situated, as per a circular issued recently.

Purchase committee

The purchasing department has to conduct a joint verification and survey with the District Collector and the tahsildar concerned for identification of the land required for acquisition. The government will constitute a district-level purchase committee (DLPC) in every district for this purpose. The District Collector will verify the title, non encumbrance certificate, basic tax receipt, building tax receipt, possession certificate, and other relevant records.

After categorisation of lands, the committee will arrive at the basic value of the land. Price escalation up to 50% over the basic value of land will be allowed. Any increase beyond the basic value of land negotiated and agreed by the purchase committee will be based on specific merit and sound reasoning to be recorded in writing.