Evolving a Land Acquisition Policy Conducive for a Welfare State - A Study in Literate Kerala

Invoking expropriatory legislation has invariably raised public alarm. Land acquisition may be graded as the most unpopular of such legislations. Controversies, protests and violences have marred almost all land acquisition projects in India. This public resent was reflected in the 2012 Report of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Rural Development, headed by Ms. Sumitra Mahajan, which recommended the government not to acquire land for projects undertaken either for the private companies or for the public sector undertakings. The Committee was of the opinion that of the three principal factors of production, viz., land, labour and capital, since there was no question of the State being involved in the acquisition of labour or capital, there was no logic at all for the government to acquire land. It is often alleged that poor and illiterate people, due to their socio-economic conditions, are exploited through the land acquisition projects. On the other hand, direct land acquisition is often found to be the only method available for governments to implement its welfare measures. In acquiring land, two concepts needs to be harmonised- public purpose and individual rights. The proposed research intends to study how these two concepts can be harmonised from a policy science perspective, for evolving a welfare State. Kerala, the first fully literate State in India, and one of the States that has made big leaps towards a welfare Statehood, is chosen as the field for primary data collection. This Synopsis sets out the framework for conducting the proposed research in the field of policy science aimed at evolving a better policy for land acquisition