The Land Acquisition Act, 1894 is the law which facilitates the Government of India to acquire land in any part of the country. The Land Acquisition Act, 1894 was enacted to amend the law for the acquisition of land needed for public purposes and for Companies and also for determining the amount of compensation to be made on account of such acquisition. Since independence this legislation has been amended several times but the administrative procedures have never been changed. According to the Act, "land" includes benefits to arise out of land, and things attached to the earth or permanently fastened to anything attached to the earth. In general terms, Land Acquisition means taking of land for some public purpose by government or government agency from the individual landowner, as authorized by the law after paying compensation for the losses occurred to the land owner due to the surrender of his land to the government agency. Regarding the Acquisition procedure, the Act states that whenever it appears to the appropriate Government that land in any locality is needed or is likely to be needed for any public purpose or for a company, a notification to that effect shall be published in the Official Gazette.
