Land Markets and Land Acquisition
As part of our Urban Workshop Series, the Centre for Policy Research (CPR) and Centre de Sciences Humaines (CSH), Delhi are organising a Workshop on "Land Markets and Land Acquisition" by Sanjoy Chakravorty of Department of Geography and Urban Studies, Temple University, Philadelphia.
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In India there are distinct markets for urban and rural land. Urban land markets are characterized by many transactions and good information on prices. The constraints in urban land markets include laws on rents ceilings, renter rights, and land use change. Rural land markets are characterized by few transactions and secrecy and misinformation about prices. The constraints are many, including ceiling laws, tenancy laws, laws on Adivasi land, and fragmented holdings. These propositions are established with evidence from a variety of urban and rural settings. Next, the presentation examines the implications of the proposed Land Acquisition and Rehabilitation and Resettlement bill on these two types of markets for two types of land users—capital intensive projects like power plants and land intensive projects like highways. The argument is made that the proposed bill has the potential to generate spiralling prices in both urban and rural land markets and restrict the provision of many kinds of public goods. Alternative approaches to get to win-win situations for land acquisition are discussed.
Sanjoy Chakravorty is Professor in the Department of Geography and Urban Studies at Temple University. His current empirical work focuses on India, especially contemporary issues like industrialization and urbanization and his theoretical work focuses on the spatial distribution of development outcomes. His recent books are “Fragments of Inequality: Social, Spatial, and Evolutionary Analyses of Income Distribution” (Routledge) and “Made in India: The Economic Geography and Political Economy of Industrialization” (OUP), co-authored with Somik Lall. He is finishing a book called “The Price of Land: Acquisition and Conflict in India”. Prof. Chakravorty received his Ph.D. in Urban and Regional Planning from the University of Southern California and a degree in civil engineering from Jadavpur University.
This is the twenty third in a series of Urban Workshops planned by the Centre de Sciences Humaines (CSH), New Delhi and Centre for Policy Research (CPR). These workshops seek to provoke public discussion on issues relating to the development of the city and try to address all its facets including its administration, culture, economy, society, and politics. For further information, please contact: Marie-Hélène Zerah at marie-helene.zerah@ird.fr or Partha Mukhopadhyay at partha@cprindia.org
