Land Valuation: Stage One of Land Purchase

Prior to purchase of land for the Maharashtra Samruddhi Mahamarg Project, proper valuation of the land being purchased was necessary. During such valuation, the problems faced by the landowners were brought to the notice of the MSRDC. What were these problems, and what role did the MSRDC play in connection to these? This is a brief review on the topic…

While valuating the land to be used for the Maharashtra Samruddhi Mahamarg Project, many complaints and queries were presented to the MSRDC by the landowners. Before any compensation is paid to the landowners whose land is to be used for the purpose of the scheme, the procedure is to first evaluate the land in order to correctly determine the compensation amount. However, there were complaints from some landowners, questioning the correctness of the valuation. Some others complained that their orchards and flowering plants were not recorded properly. Further, objections were raised about the real estate including houses, cow houses and cowsheds not being properly mentioned in the evaluation, or that the main sources of water like wells, pipelines were not properly disclosed. In the land valuation process, all the above-mentioned details are in fact checked and registered in the presence of the landowners themselves.

To register all these details, responsible government officials from various departments are appointed. For example, an officer from the Forest Department is responsible for registering the trees on the main land being evaluated – including details like the type of trees, their age, details about the private land. An officer from the P.W.D. department is responsible for evaluating real estate including houses, cow houses, cowsheds as well as the primary water resources like pipelines, wells and ponds. Whether the land is to be registered as Jirayati land, Bagayati land or Semi- Bagayati land is determined based on the crop cultivation records available with the District Inspector of Land Record. It is required for every landowner to issue crop cultivation records to the District Inspector every year. The non-conformity in these records is one of the main reasons for the complaints coming from the landowners. There are government-prescribed rules for the valuation of land. The same method of valuation applies to the entire land required for the Mahamarg which ensures that everyone gets treated fairly. Even then, following the complaints by the landowners, on determining whether the land is Jirayati, Bagayati or Semi-Bagayati, the following details were once again verified along with the documentation and proof – the other amenities added by the landowner such as pipelines, ponds, temporary or permanent house constructions, etc. Collective efforts were taken to solve the landowners’ questions, including the ones noted above by putting together a new guidance video. It depicts the story of a landowner who realizes it is wise to approach the administration with the necessary documentation in place instead of having no proper documentation and getting into unnecessary arguments with the village communicators. Click on the below link to view this video.