Third Schedule Land Acquisition Act 2013: Provision of Infrastructural Amenities

The Third Schedule to the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013 sets out infrastructural facilities and basic minimum amenities for resettlement of displaced populations. Its purpose is to support a reasonably habitable and planned settlement and a reasonable standard of community life while reducing the disruption caused by displacement.

Statutory references: The Third Schedule is linked in the Act to Sections 33(2), 39(1) and 106(3). The Schedule identifies the infrastructure and basic amenities to be provided for resettlement, as appropriate.

Purpose of the Third Schedule

For resettlement of populations, the Third Schedule requires infrastructural facilities and basic minimum amenities to be provided at the cost contemplated by the statutory framework so that the resettled population in the new village or colony can secure a reasonable standard of community life and the trauma involved in displacement can be minimised.

The Schedule states that a reasonably habitable and planned settlement should have, at a minimum and as appropriate, the specified facilities and resources.

Main Categories of Resettlement Infrastructure

Access and transportInternal roads, all-weather connectivity, easement arrangements and suitable public transport links.

Water and sanitationSafe drinking water, cattle water, drainage, sanitation and individual toilet facilities.

Livelihood supportGrazing land, irrigation support, Fair Price Shops, agricultural storage and protection of specified forest-based livelihood access.

Education and nutritionSchools and Anganwadi services for children and mothers.

Health and veterinary careSub-health centres, Primary Health Centres and veterinary services.

Community infrastructurePanchayat Ghars, community centres, places of worship, assembly spaces, playgrounds and land for traditional tribal institutions.

UtilitiesHousehold electricity or non-conventional energy connections and public lighting.

Other civic facilitiesPost offices, burial or cremation grounds and security arrangements where needed.

Complete List of 25 Infrastructure Amenities

The following table retains the Third Schedule's 25 components in a clearer, mobile-accessible format. The final column is retained because the Schedule provides for details of the amenities provided by the acquirer of land to be recorded.

Serial No.	Component of infrastructure amenities provided or proposed	Details of amenities provided
1	Roads within the resettled villages and an all-weather road link to the nearest pucca road, with passages and easement rights adequately arranged for all resettled families.
2	Proper drainage and sanitation plans executed before physical resettlement.
3	One or more assured sources of safe drinking water for each family as per norms prescribed by the Government of India.
4	Provision of drinking water for cattle.
5	Grazing land as per the proportion acceptable in the State.
6	A reasonable number of Fair Price Shops.
7	Panchayat Ghars, as appropriate.
8	Village-level Post Offices, as appropriate, with facilities for opening savings accounts.
9	Appropriate seed-cum-fertilizer storage facility, if needed.
10	Efforts to provide basic irrigation facilities to agricultural land allocated to resettled families, whether from the irrigation project, by developing a cooperative, under a Government scheme or through special assistance.
11	Suitable transport facilities for new villages established for resettlement of displaced persons, including public transport through local bus services with nearby growth centres or urban localities.
12	Burial or cremation ground, depending on the communities at the site and their practices.
13	Sanitation facilities, including individual toilet points.
14	Individual single electric connections, or connections through non-conventional sources such as solar energy, for each household and for public lighting.
15	Anganwadis providing child and mother supplemental nutritional services.
16	School as per the provisions of the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009.
17	Sub-health centre within a two-kilometre range.
18	Primary Health Centre as prescribed by the Government of India.
19	Playground for children.
20	One community centre for every hundred families.
21	Places of worship and chowpal or tree platform for every fifty families for community assembly, of numbers and dimensions consonant with the affected area.
22	Separate land earmarked for traditional tribal institutions.
23	Forest-dweller families to be provided, where possible, with forest rights over non-timber forest produce and common property resources available close to the new settlement; where continued access near the place of eviction is possible, their earlier livelihood rights are to continue.
24	Appropriate security arrangements for the settlement, if needed.
25	Veterinary service centre as per norms.
Note: Details of each component of infrastructural amenities mentioned in the second column against serial numbers 1 to 25 should be indicated by the acquirer of land.

Important Legal Terms

Rehabilitation and Resettlement

Rehabilitation and resettlement under the 2013 Act covers the statutory measures and entitlements intended to address the consequences of acquisition and displacement for affected families. The Third Schedule focuses specifically on infrastructure and basic amenities for resettlement areas.

Affected Family

"Affected family" is a defined expression under Section 3 of the Act. The statutory definition extends beyond a simple ownership test and should be read directly with the facts of the acquisition when determining entitlements under the Act.

Requiring Body

"Requiring Body" is also defined in Section 3. It refers to the body within the statutory definition for whose purposes land is acquired. The responsibilities arising in an acquisition must be determined from the Act, applicable rules, the rehabilitation and resettlement scheme and the particular acquisition documents.

Connection with Sections 33, 39 and 106

Section 33 concerns correction of awards by the Collector and refers to the Schedules within its statutory framework. Section 39 contains an additional compensation safeguard in cases involving displacement of Scheduled Castes or Scheduled Tribes, including the requirement addressed by Section 39(1). Section 106 provides the statutory mechanism concerning amendment of the Schedules, subject to the conditions stated in that section.

Official Legal Source

RFCTLARR Act 2013 - India Code

This page provides general legal information. For a particular acquisition or rehabilitation and resettlement scheme, the current Act, applicable rules, notifications, State provisions and approved scheme should be checked together.