Daijiworld MediA Network - Mumbai

Mumbai, Apr 15: The Maharashtra Cabinet, chaired by Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, on Tuesday, approved a new interest rate for delayed land acquisition compensation. Under this decision, if there is any delay in the payment of compensation for land acquisition, interest will be charged at a rate of 1 percent above the current repo rate.

According to a government release, the decision comes under the provisions of the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency Act, 2013, which was enacted for land acquisition related to public, government, and semi-government projects. The Act ensures fair compensation and rehabilitation for landowners, significantly reducing opposition to land acquisition.

Previously, the Act provided for interest payments of 12 percent under Section 30(3), and 9 percent and 15 percent under Sections 72 and 80 in case of delayed compensation. However, these interest payments were burdening the government exchequer, increasing the overall cost of projects. The new policy will standardize interest payments to a single rate—one percent above the repo rate—if there is a delay in compensation payments.

In another decision, the Cabinet approved the commencement of three new engineering degree courses at Puranmal Lahoti Government Technical Institute in Latur from the academic year 2025-25. The institute will also be renamed to Puranmal Lahoti Government Institute of Engineering and Technology, Latur.

The new courses include Nuclear Power and Telecommunication Engineering, Computer Engineering, and Artificial Intelligence and Data Science. Each course will have an admission capacity of 60 students. Additionally, the Cabinet sanctioned the creation of 36 new teaching posts and 31 non-teaching posts to support the new courses, with an expenditure of Rs 26.61 cr over the next four years to cover salaries and costs for books, furniture, computers, and other necessary equipment.