Land Acquisition Act is a fraud, ought to be scrapped: SC

Frowning at increasing incidents of government forcibly acquiring land for industrialization and residential schemes, the Supreme Court observed that the Land Acquisition Act ought to be scrapped as it is a “fraud” devised by some “sick people”. In a morale booster to the Narendra Modi government in Gujarat, the apex court complimented it for its land acquisition policy since there are “no complaints of any forcible acquisition” whereas issues of farmers and poor being uprooted are pouring in from all other states

A bench of justices G S Singhvi and H L Dattu cautioned that if remedial measures are not initiated then in another five years muscle men would take over the private land and utter chaos would prevails as the prices of land are shooting up everywhere. “The Act has become a fraud. It seems to have been devised by people with a sick mind who have scant regard for the welfare of the common man,” Justice Singhvi heading the bench observed.

The apex court made the scathing observations while dealing with a bunch of petitions filed by aggrieved farmers from Uttar Pradesh’s Hapur district on the forcible acquisition of 82 acres of land by the state for developing a leather industry.

Cabinet Approves tabling of Benami Transactions (Prohibition) Bill, 2011in Parliament

New Delhi: The cabinet on Thursday approved a proposal to enact a new law to strictly deal with benami transactions or property purchased in someone else's name.

The cabinet, at a meeting chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh approved the tabling in Parliament of the Benami Transactions (Prohibition) Bill, 2011 to replace the Benami Transactions (Prohibition) Act of 1988.

"The Bill contains elaborate provisions dealing with the definition of benami transaction and benami property, prohibited benami transactions, consequences of entering into a prohibited benami transaction and the procedure for implementing the benami law," a statement released after the meeting said.

Properties held by a coparcener in a Hindu undivided family and property held by a person in fiduciary capacity are excluded from the definition of benami transaction.

A coparcener is an individual who holds property inherited from an ancestor, while a fiduciary is an individual who holds property in trust.

Further, properties acquired by an individual in the name of spouse, brother or sister or any lineal ascendant or descendant are benami transactions which are not prohibited. Consequently, they are not subject to penal provisions.

Broadly speaking, if the real beneficiary of a property is not the person in whose name it is bought, such transactions are termed as benami, a Persian word meaning without name.

Benami transactions are the major source of black money. The government is under intense pressure to deal strictly with such transactions.

According to the proposed Bill, if "any person enters into a benami transaction in order to defeat the provisions of any law or to avoid payment of statutory dues or to avoid payment to creditors, the beneficial owner, benamidar and any other person who abets or induces any person to enter into such benami transaction, shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term which shall not be less than six months but which may extend to two years and shall also be liable to a fine".

"A benami property shall also be liable for confiscation by the Adjudicating Authority after the person concerned has been given due opportunity of being heard," the statement said, reports IANS.

Reputation Management is the Key for Indian Developers: JLL

At a time when Indian real estate is perceived as low on transparency, ‘reputation management’ may be the next big thing on the radar of property developers. That is, if they were to trust the advice of global real estate consultant, Jones Lang Lasalle (JLL). In an interaction with Business Standard here today, UK-based JLL chief marketing officer Charles Doyle said ‘safeguard reputation management’ using the social media and networking tools would help Indian developers project their brands and businesses in a transparent manner. An example could be consumers venting their anger on social networking sites like Facebook or YouTube over property project delays.

If developers track those posts, and follow up with their own tweets or blogs explaining the reasons behind the delay, they could perhaps save their brand from getting a bad name, according to JLL. At this point, however, the response from the developers’ community is not too encouraging. A recent survey had shown that Indian real estate was perceived as the most corrupt of sectors, citing lack of transparency. Although JLL did not name any specific company, Doyle said foreign developers were not keen to enter India in the residential segment due to lack of transparency in the sector.

On the same issue, National Housing Bank chairman and managing director RV Verma told this newspaper, “The real estate sector definitely has to have greater transparency. It has to generate confidence among international investors.” According to Doyle, use of a tool like ‘safeguard reputation management’ was a global phenomenon. “Nothing is local any longer,” he added. JLL executives advocate use of innovative technology tools to promote and market property, rather than through ‘traditional’ and ‘clinical’ means like billboards, newspaper advertisements, or intrusive SMSes to end-consumers.

Use of podcast, tweets, Facebook, YouTube, tech-savvy mapping systems on the i-pad and i-phone, Bluetooth and barcoding are among the many ways that property developers can market their products, they said. Indian developers must look at using these innovative tools to tap non-resident Indian investors as well, Doyle said. He emphasized that India, with its fast growing young population and increasing acceptability of technology tools, was poised to go on to the next level.