LAND GRABBING AND ENCROACHMENTS : SERIOUS ISSUE

Land-grabbing and encroachment has been a major concern for the government. Talking tough on the incidents of land grabbing, Hon'bleSupreme Court of India has cautioned the judiciary to be careful in granting title to the claimants on ground of adverse possession of such land. The court also took note of the connivance of land grabbers with the authorities to raise illegal constructions and regularisation of their illegalpossession. Hon'ble Apex Court observed"No amount of vigil can stoр encroachments and unauthorised occupation of public land by unscrupulous elements, who act like vultures to grab such land, raise illega 1 construction s and, at times, succeeded in manipulating the state apparatus for getting their occupation/possession and construction regularised.It is our considered view that where an encroacher, illegal occupant or land grabber of public property raises a plea that he has perfected title by adverse possession, the court is duty bound to act with greater seriousness, care and circumspection. Any laxity in this regard may result in destruction of right/title of the state to immovable property and give upper hand to the encroachers, unauthorised occupants or land grabbers."

Experts on the revenue law and administration are sceptical whether the government would be able to deal with the land-grabbing menace properly. Our existing law is not tough enough to deal with landgrabbers. It's high time the government should enact a stringent law to deal with land encroachment. According to revenue law experts from the State of Odishathe existing Orissa Prevention of Land Encroachment Act, 1972, lacks teeth to effectively deal with encroachment. The law deals with the government land only, and the revenue and civil courts can only evict an encroacher. Under the law encroachment is a not a cognizable offence punishable under the law and the courts do not have criminal powers.This situation looks to have become the main source Ο f corruption of corrupt practices on part of the Estate/Land Wings. In addition, big pieces of lands, which may include compact blocks, under the possession of various departments not being used for the purposes for which it was given to them and later taken over /grabbed by unscrupulous persons and the departments cannot get physical retrieval in their favour. This fact becomes more important and rather painful when the government itself proceeds to acquire private lands/properties for public purpose under the Land Acquisition Act, after making payments of heavy amounts to the property-owners/occupiers in terms of compensation.

This state of affairs is very alarming which warrants special attention of the concerned authorities. In this connection, a vigorous campaign also needs to be launched against the mafia irrespective of their status or political affiliations. The government should also make out a sustainable policy underlying a methodology as how to get the state land back from these encroachers. It may also be plausible to invoke lodging complaints in the respective courts for their dispossession, in addition to other criminal proceedings as provided under the law for the actions. After having inflicted convictions/punishments upon such offenders by the courts, the lands could be retrieved through a legal process under the Court orders. Itis noteworthy that habitual offenders in this arena occasionally prefer to indulge in the protracted litigation by instituting frivolous cases/suits, with intent to procure status-quo or stay orders from the courts. Once they succeed to obtain a stay order, they always try to linger on those cases for years on flimsy grounds. District collectors or sub-divisions are vested with certain powers to eject the trespassers and squatters with punishment/imprisonment, to be awarded by the magistrate.

More importantly, concerted efforts and effective strategy need to be adopted for the preservation of the remaining lands from the reach of unscrupulous elements having ill designs and ulterior motives. It is relevant to mention here that such illegal occupations are quite impossible to happen without the connivance of the lower functionaries under the aegis of their high-ups, with an obvious purpose of indulging in corruption or corrupt purposes to satisfy their ill designs and, in certain cases, under the directions of their political masters. Appeasement has no place in upholding Law. Public demonstration and succumbing to the illegal demand on local sentiments brings inconsistency to the law on the subject and parallelly strengthens the manipulators in the state apparatus for dealingthe individual cases as per the requirements /consideration leading to corrupt practices.Apart from above, if the competent authorities reach at a conclusion that the criminal action, in terms of their forcible dispossession, or removal of encroachments, including that of the old structures/constructions existing thereon, is not to be initiated, owing to certain ground-realities i.e. dislodging of poor and shelter-less families or likelihood of erupting any law & order situation, a workable plan/policy duly backed by the legal framework should alternatively be devised to dispose of such pieces of state lands at the market rates or through open auctions, the first right to be given to the actual encroachers.Though this action need discouragement still in extreme conditions it will, no doubt, legalise their possession by giving them proprietary rights on one hand and deposit of heavy amounts to the government exchequer on the other.

Housing and occupational needs are key factors for rising cases of land encroachment in urban areas. Urban slums are the best example to show that how urban poor are fulfilling their housing needs by encroachment in areas which are vulnerable for health and life.One thing to be noticed with serious concern is that there exists no credible data/record as to the available state lands with the concerned departments at the district or provincial level, with exactitude, and the extent of pieces of lands under unauthorised occupation. With the change of manual systems to that of computerisation of land records, this aspect has been changed. There seems to be marginal gaps in between the available record and the ground situations. A detailed survey with special reference to urban areas is, therefore, required to be carried out on war-footing so that the state property could be protected for its best utilisation. At a time when the country is passing through an upheaval, there is a real need to either retrieve the state properties for better utilisation in the years to come or to procure maximum monetary benefits in terms of earning heavy revenue into the government treasury. The cases under litigation must be sorted out with a deep eye towards uncalled for stay orders issued by various courts, without leaving this work at the mercy of lower formation or the state counsels.

Now-a-days it is a burning issue and the authorities particularly in Delhi NCR are taking action against the land-grabbing and encroachment. Demolition and Sealing of illegal structures and other actions are being initiated. One thing to be noticed with serious concern is that there exists no credible data/record as to the available state lands with the concerned departments at the district or provincial level, with exactitude, and the extent of pieces of lands under unauthorised occupation. With the change of manual systems to that of computerisation of land records, this aspect has been changed. There seems to be marginal gaps in between the available record and the ground situations. A detailed survey with special reference to urban areas is, therefore, required to be carried out on war-footing so that the state property could be protected for its best utilisation. At a time when the country is passing through an upheaval, there is a real need to either retrieve the state properties for better utilisation in the years to come or to procure maximum monetary benefits in terms of earning heavy revenue into the government treasury. The cases under litigation must be sorted out with a deep eye towards uncalled for stay orders issued by various courts, without leaving this work at the mercy of lower formation or the state counsels. 

(Source: AMDA News Bulletien)

URBAN LOCAL BODIES - THE FINANCIAL HEALTH

Census documents states that the Urban Population in India had reached 38 crore in 2011. The present trend makes it to reach 47 crore by the census 2021. It has cast upon the need for manifold infrastructural development to cope with the situation of rapid urbanisation in India. With the increasing industrialization and urbanization under the impetus of development and planning, the local authorities form a growing part of the expanding public sector with powers to raise and spend considerable amounts of public funds for development purpose. Local authorities form an important segment of public sector in India. The contribution of the local bodies' income in general and capital formation is of considerable signiicance, in view of their large number and the area with population they cover.

The inancial health of urban local bodies (ULBs) in India is not encouraging. The functions and inances of urban local governments are provided through the Acts passed by the state legislatures and any mismatch or discrepancy between the two is likely to create abnormal condition affecting the development programmes in the urban areas. If we look into the receipts side of inancial resources of urban local bodies generally we ind that adequate revenue do not reach the coffers of the ULBs. There may be many reason suggested by different group of people or researchers from prestigious institutions but it is true that the resources are scarce and unable to meet the expenditure requirements. The local bodies always depend on other two upper tiers of government viz the State Govt. as well as the Union Government for grants and loans for their activities.

The signiicance of inance is too obvious to need any elaboration as no organisation can exist, much less achieve its objectives without at least a minimum of inances. Kautilya, the great philosopher in his compilation “ARTHSHASTRA “has remarked that all undertakings depend upon inance, hence foremost attention should be paid to the treasury. All administrative acts have its inancial implications, either creating a charge or making a contribution to treasury. In fact, inance constitutes the backbone, the life and blood of government; it provides fuel to the administrative machinery. Sound iscal policy is needed and the imprudent inancial management not only brings discredit to the government but also alienates it from the people as well as endanger the existence of the governance.

Financial management differs from inancial administration. Finance Management is provided by the statute and emanates from the law of the land whereas; the inancial administration is carried out through  rules   and regulations made by the state under the authority provided to the state to make rules. The inancial sector is the centre of economic activity and its health affects the entire economy. Municipal governments are directly linked with the availdability and utilization of inancial resources to extend citizen centric services as well as infrastructure for the constituents of the city. Financial administration is to act scientiically in planning, organizing, implementing and evaluating the inancial resources to ensure their best use for the achievement of the objectives, goals and the targets. We in the irst sight conclude that the urban local bodies in India are confronted with lack of proper decentralization of functions and inances, inadequate revenue generation, expenditure shortfalls leading to poor service delivery.

The revenue available to local governments is a key determinant of a city's ability to provide the services citizens need and to meet other expenditure requirements. In cases where revenue is constrained, infrastructure investments often suffer, and government services are reduced as well as the payments towards establishment are deferred. Simultaneously, the need to diversify, grow, and mobilize revenues is one of the most pressing challenges, the city leaders (Municipal authorities) face in various regions of the developed and developing area of the city. Building a solid revenue base depends on a number of factors, including empowering city leaders to grow and diversify their own-source revenue pool to complement external revenue lows (e.g., inter governmental transfers) over which local government oficials lack direct control.

As per the convention the municipal receipts and resources rest on Tax as well as non tax revenues. The tax revenues comprises mainly of Property tax, Profession tax, Sanitation/Conservancy Tax, Scavenging tax, Drainage tax, Education tax, Entry/Terminal tax, Taxes on vehicles, Advertisement tax, Entertainment tax, Pilgrim tax, Environment tax/Land Revenue, Development tax, Passengers & Goods Tax, Timber tax, Tax/toll on animals, Cable Operator Tax, Toll/Tax on bridges/Vehicles and the Octroi besides the other regional or city speciic tax enacted in the municipal council. The evasion of the tax revenue is very much prevalent in India and the municipal bodies ind it hard to impose punishment except to levy the interest on delayed payments. This tax coupled with interest is normally not paid by the citizens for several years. The conclusion remains as the adverse affect on the developmental works. The Property Tax is the biggest and important tax of revenue generation. The municipal authorities need to improve the assessment component, stressing upon mapping of properties using the Geographic Information System (GIS), making the system capable of self-assessment, rationalizing exemptions and improve collections. For the purpose property surveys and usage of GIS technology should be a complete package to ensure full coverage of the properties, Computerization of property taxes, regular revision of rates, more user friendly tax system and making tax enforcement a priority for improving the inancial health of the municipal bodies.

To mobilize non-tax revenues it is the need to establish a strong foundation for iscal governance. It focuses on a wide variety of non-tax revenues, ranging from charges and fees directly related to citizens' use of a service. The overview of the various sources and types of non-tax including own-source revenues used by municipal bodies may be seen in the levies which comprises mainly of Sanitation/ Conservancy Charges, Water charges, Surcharge on Sales Tax, Birth/Death Registration fees, Betterment fees, Mutation fees, Dangerous and Offensive Trade License Fees, Slaughter house fees, Market fee, Fee for ire services, Fees on dogs, Fees for Registration of animals etc., Parking fees, Fee on building application, Duty on transfer of immovable property, Penalty for late tax payment, Stamp Duty, Rent from Municipal Properties, Receipts from Fines, Receipts from Interest etc. This needs a combination of all municipal revenue sources tax as well as non-tax are important for achieving strong municipal inancial health. This is possible when the oficials who seek to evolve and reform the non-tax own-source revenue components within their jurisdiction. The aim is to highlight the merit of empowering city leaders with strategies that help them harness non-tax own-source revenues appropriately for the maximum beneit of their municipalities. 

We easily visualise from the compositions of revenues among the ULBs that expenditures in general fall short of their requirements. Most of the cities generate revenues much lower than their requirements and the appropriation of revenues are also not uniform. Further, the state grants transferred to the municipal bodies are also not used for the purpose they are granted. We also leg behind in assessing relation between size of the city and the quality of management. The performance in revenue generation and expenditure management is at the core of good performance and governance. Good municipal resource generation, utilization and management can bring about  a huge change in the inancial health of municipal body.

(Source: AMDA News Bulletien)