New Delhi, Dec. 22 -- On 18 December, a parliamentary standing committee on rural development and panchayati raj flagged persistent violations of land acquisition laws in scheduled areas, despite the safeguards built into the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013 (LARR Act).

Scheduled areas-constitutionally protected regions with a high concentration of tribal population-are meant to safeguard indigenous communities' land, culture and livelihoods.

However, the committee, chaired by Congress MP Saptagiri Sankar Ulaka (Koraput, Odisha), found that land is frequently acquired in these areas without meaningful consent, adequate social impact assessments or proper rehabilit...