Land Acquisition Officer

Your role, objectives, private information and round-by-round instructions.

1. Who are you?

You are the government officer responsible for coordinating the land-related process for the proposed industrial and renewable energy complex in Badakichab village. The developer wants approximately 120 hectares. You must assess the records, identify affected people, explain the applicable legal process and ensure that decisions are properly documented.

2. Your objectives

Ensure that the process follows applicable laws and procedures.
Verify land ownership, actual use and community claims.
Identify affected households, including landless and customary users.
Prevent avoidable disputes and procedural violations.
Maintain public trust and administrative accountability.

Remember: Your job is not to make the project happen at any cost. Your job is to ensure that the administration acts lawfully and fairly.

3. Your private information

CONFIDENTIAL — DO NOT SHARE THIS PAGE

The preliminary revenue records indicate:

73 hectares of private agricultural land.
35 hectares classified as grazing land.
12 hectares classified as community forest.

But the records do not establish who currently uses all these lands. You do not yet have complete information about:

Customary and seasonal users.
Forest rights claims and their status.
Landless households dependent on agricultural labour.
Women collecting forest produce.
Whether the village falls within a Scheduled Area.

You must not assume that a revenue classification settles questions of ownership, rights or actual use.

4. Your opening statement

"The administration will examine the proposal and the land requirements. Before any decision, we must establish the land status, identify affected people and follow the applicable legal procedures. The project proposal does not automatically authorise land acquisition or possession."

5. Your round-by-round instructions

Round 1 — The project arrives

Your task: Receive the developer's proposal and identify the information required before proceeding.

"Please submit the project details, land requirement, location map, alternatives considered and expected impacts. We cannot determine the process without these details."

Ask: What documents and approvals must be examined first?

Round 2 — Who uses this land?

Your task: Explain why official records must be checked against ground realities.

"Revenue records are an important starting point, but they may not capture every user or customary claim. We need a ground-level verification exercise."

Ask: Who will conduct the survey, and how will users be identified?

Round 3 — The common land dispute

Your task: Establish the status and use of grazing land and community forest.

"We cannot treat common land as unused land simply because it is not privately owned. We need to document its users, functions and applicable protections."

Ask: What records, maps and community evidence are needed?

Round 4 — Gram Sabha meeting

Your task: Convene or facilitate the appropriate village-level process, where legally required.

"The meeting must be properly convened, informed and documented. We must establish which legal provisions apply to this village and this project. A signature sheet alone is not proof of a valid decision."

Ask: Was adequate information shared? Was the meeting properly convened? Were the relevant people able to participate?

Round 5 — Whose rights need protection?

Your task: Identify rights and legal safeguards that may apply.

"We must examine whether the Forest Rights Act, PESA or other protections apply. Claims and rights must be addressed through the relevant legal process, not assumed away."

Ask: Have forest rights claims been recognised or settled? Are there pending claims? Does the area fall within a Scheduled Area?

Round 6 — Compensation and rehabilitation

Your task: Explain that compensation may not address every livelihood loss.

"We need to identify not only landowners but also people whose livelihoods depend on the land. Compensation, rehabilitation and livelihood restoration must be examined under the applicable framework."

Ask: What happens to landless workers, grazing-dependent families and forest produce collectors?

Round 7 — Objections

Your task: Receive and examine objections fairly.

"Every objection must be recorded and examined. We should not dismiss concerns as obstruction without checking the facts and the legal position."

Ask: Which issues require further verification, corrective action or a change in the proposal?

Round 8 — Final decision

Your task: Recommend whether the process can proceed, must be paused or needs redesign.

"The administration must make a reasoned decision based on verified facts, applicable law and the record of consultation, objections and safeguards. We should not recommend possession while essential legal issues remain unresolved."

Decide:** Proceed, pause, seek further information, require redesign or recommend that the proposal be dropped.

6. Your strategic choices

A — Verify and follow procedure
Conduct field verification, identify users, examine legal protections and document decisions.
B — Rely mainly on records
Use existing revenue records and proceed quickly, while leaving some questions for later.
C — Prioritise project timelines
Treat unresolved claims and objections as obstacles and recommend rapid processing.

7. What does success mean?

A lawful decision is not necessarily a decision to approve the project. Success means that the administration has verified the facts, applied the relevant laws, heard affected people and given reasons for its decision.