A critical analysis of the Land Acquisition Act (LARR) 2013

This paper attempts to critically examine the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013 and to explore whether this new act leads to social gain, through ensuring fairness and preserving the rights of individuals, or it merely acts as a burden on the system, causing inefficiencies at individual and social level. This paper also analyzes the impact of this act on industrialization and urbanization which is crucial for economic development. The analysis shows that this act will neither ensure that farmers are adequately compensated for their lost assets, nor guarantee that a scarce resource like land will be put to its most productive use. It will adversely affect the growth of Indian economy by significantly raising the costs of projects, making them economically unviable.