STATE POWER OF EMINENT DOMAIN AND TRIBAL LAND RIGHTS IN INDIA: A CRITICAL ANALYSIS OF THE CURRENT LAWS
Keywords:
Eminent domain', Land Acquisition, Right to Fair Compensation, , Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act 2013.Abstract
Land acquisition in India has traditionally been the subject of widespread disputation due to the multitude of dimensions that the significance of land occupies within Indian society. As the importance of land and the conflicts relating to it take a more central and important role in our country’s politics and growing economy, the state’s power of eminent domain becomes critical to analyse in light of its capability to simultaneously effectuate redistributive justice and have a detrimental effect on already marginalised communities. Over the last few years with the increase in protests ensuing in states like Orissa, Andhra Pradesh, Assam and Maharashtra over the forceful land acquisition by the government and the inadequate compensation provided for the same, it becomes important to analyse the doctrine and understand its legal and political basis in India. In an attempt to analyse the same, this paper enters into a discussion on the doctrine of eminent domain and traces its origin in India, through a study of pre-constitutional law and the colonial philosophy behind the development of the doctrine. It questions whether the doctrine of eminent domain as it stands today mirrors its colonial roots and traces the dominant colonial outlook portrayed through the land acquisition laws in India. The paper also dwells on the land rights of Indigenous tribes and Adivasis in India, who continue to suffer dispossession of their land, displacement and destruction of their tribal way of life. Lastly, the paper attempts to examine the adequacy of the current laws in addressing the tribal question and provides a glimpse into a possible way forward.
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References
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