In a significant move that is likely to avoid delay of smaller projects beset by bottlenecks in land acquisition, the State Government has decided to directly negotiate with land owners for purchase.
With the State Government facing tough time over land acquisition also for smaller projects, Development Commissioner Jugal Kishore Mohapatra has asked the concerned officials to go in for direct purchase from land owners in a bid to maintain transparency.
It is decided that smaller projects relating to minor irrigation, power distribution centres, drinking water supply, connectivity from the State Highway and others small projects need such approach for land acquisition.
Principal Secretary of the Water Resources Department Suresh Chandra Mohapatra, Principal Secretary of Rural Development CJ Venugopal, Commissioner-cum-Secretary of Energy Pradeep Kumar Jena and Secretary of Works Subhendu Kumar Ray attended the meeting.
These departments are facing delay in availing of land required for small projects and it has led to project cost escalation, which has become a major problem for them.
JK Mohapatra undertook a comprehensive review of the land acquisition system for small projects requiring land up to 25 acres. The land acquisition process for smaller projects is taking more than two years in many cases, pointed out senior officials.
The delay in land acquisition is posing a lot of problems for small projects, which only require smaller patches of land. Keeping this in view, it was decided to offer the price stipulated by the Bench Mark Valuation plus 1.75 times over the value to the land owners, said an official.
And such an approach is expected to ease the cumbersome process of land acquisition and save time for projects, which would be executed in a time-bound manner, said the official.
Officials admitted that the present land acquisition system is time-taking and the new land acquisition policy adopted by the Central Government would further delay the process. To avoid such delay, officers were asked to go in for direct approach in land acquisition, which would speed up the implementation of small infrastructure projects within the targeted time, added the officer.