New bureaucrats heading distts to get training on land acquisition

NEw new delhi: All fresh prescribed district-heading bureaucrats testament feature to undergo training on land acquisition, according to a new plan being drawn up by a committee of secretaries, a move aimed at minimising hurdles in the execution of large infrastructure projects.Delays in acquiring land, especially for highways, and numerous state-specific land laws underline the complexity of executing large projects, which tend to spark conflicts with poor farmers and indigenous people in the world’s fifth largest economy.Infrastructure remains a priority area for the Narendra Modi-led government, whose ambition is to make India a developed nation by 2047. Improving infrastructure will be key to achieving that goal.The Union government has focused squarely on building roads, highways, bridges and airports, committing to a capital expenditure of ₹11.2 lakh crore for the financial year 2025-26.“District magistrates and collectors are on the forefront of the process of land acquisition and they must be familiar with legal processes involved in acquiring land, especially resettlement and rehabilitation of project-affected communities. Administrative failure to comply with the rule of law often complicates matters,” a senior bureaucrat with knowledge of the matter said, requesting anonymity.A revamped course module is being prepared by the Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration, an elite institution that trains Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officers, to “equip young officers with the necessary skills, knowledge and training to manage the processes involved in land acquisition”, the official cited above said.To quicken the pace of industrialisation, India will need to focus on fixing stickier problems, like land policies, which continue to hold back investment.Currently, the Centre sponsors a fixed number of bureaucrats to get trained in land acquisition in the Hyderabad-based Administrative Staff College of India, said Manoj Govil, secretary (coordination) in the Cabinet secretariat.The move to train all young officers in-charge of districts is aimed at enhancing their skills needed while overseeing acquiring land parcels for large projects, he said. Large projects have often been hobbled by massive cost and time overruns in the world’s fifth largest economy.An analysis of a total of 7,156 issues resolved through the federal Pragati portal, a digital governance system, showed that nearly three-fourths of the problems were related to land acquisition, forest clearances and issues over right of use, especially involving railway and road projects, according to recent media briefing by Cabinet secretary TV Somanathan.