Records show that more than 99 per cent of the ‘consent awards' (compensation awarded for giving up land) in land-acquisition cases have been mutually beneficial leaving all parties happy, according to Mr Pankaj Dwivedi, Special Chief Secretary and Chief Commissioner for Land Acquisition, Government of Andhra Pradesh.

“Rest of them land up for final settlement and also get resolved through further discussions and possibly through court cases,” he said.

Speaking at an interactive session on Draft Land Acquisition & Rehabilitation Bill, 2011 hosted by the Federation of Andhra Pradesh Chamber of Commerce and Industries, Mr Dwivedi said the Parliamentary Select Committee will review all the inputs provided by stakeholders.

He, therefore, wanted active participation of the industry as the Bill takes shape.

The Bill lays emphasis on rehabilitation and settlement. The recent disputes with regard to allotment of land to Tata Motors project at Singur in West Bengal, Posco project n Orissa and land allocations in the Delhi-Noida region have highlighted various issues relating to land allocations, he said.

Referring to the Andhra Pradesh Government's efforts to streamline the process of land allocation and compensation to the displaced, Mr Dwivedi said the State is open to suggestions.

These would be incorporated depending upon their applicability and feasibility.

A senior advocate, Mr Dushyanth Reddy, said wide variance between market value and the value of registration and lack of appropriate data on this issue cause lot of hardship to people.

The issue also relates to different levels of compensation in rural and urban areas.

As someone who is engaged in land-compensation cases, he said this needs to be addressed immediately as it has a bearing on early settlement.

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