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VOL. 11, ISSUE 11 (2025)
From compensation to co-ownership: Reimagining justice in land acquisition and infrastructure development in India
Authors
S Ragupathi, Thamizhselvi Karunanidhi
Abstract
The compulsory
acquisition of land for public purposes, especially for infrastructure projects
such as national highways and toll-gate operations, represents one of the most
intricate intersections of property rights, economic policy, and distributive
justice in India. Although the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in
Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013 (hereinafter
“RFCTLARR Act”) was conceived as a curative framework promising fairness and
enhanced compensation over its colonial predecessor, its underlying philosophy
remains largely unaltered. The statute continues to operate within the paradigm
of one-time compensation - a notion deeply rooted in the logic of the 1894 Act.
While the quantum of payment has evolved, the conceptual foundation has not:
landowners are still treated as transient stakeholders, compensated once and
permanently detached from the enduring economic value generated by the
infrastructure constructed upon their land. This legal architecture, though procedurally
sound, fails to preserve any continuing stake for the dispossessed and severs
local communities from the long-term value created through their contribution.
This paper advances a re-envisioned framework that shifts the discourse from
compensation to co-ownership. It argues for an equity-linked model in which
affected landowners receive participatory rights through shareholding in
toll-operating concessionaires, periodic revenue entitlements, or collective
community trusts, thereby ensuring that they remain beneficiaries of the
infrastructure they have enabled. Drawing upon constitutional jurisprudence
under Article 300A, statutory analysis of the RFCTLARR Act, and comparative
paradigms such as Japan’s land readjustment schemes, Singapore’s value-capture
mechanisms, and India’s experiments with land pooling in Delhi and Amaravati,
the paper proposes a hybrid model. By integrating baseline compensation with
structured equity participation, it aligns the constitutional mandate of
fairness with the realities of public–private partnerships, aspiring toward a
more inclusive and participatory model of infrastructure development.
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Pages:1-7
How to cite this article:
S Ragupathi, Thamizhselvi Karunanidhi "From compensation to co-ownership: Reimagining justice in land acquisition and infrastructure development in India". International Journal of Law, Vol 11, Issue 11, 2025, Pages 1-7
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