|
Land Acquisition Processes & Requirements
 A
Property and Land Acquisition Report has been prepared
following extensive mapping and database work completed by
the Jamaica Survey Department since 1999.
The amount of
property required for the implementation of the entire
Project (both Phases) has been estimated to be approximately
23,830 hectares which is currently subdivided into 1,826
land parcels that are under the ownership of either the
Government of Jamaica, individuals and/or corporations.
Of the total
amount of the land requirement, approximately 55% is
currently under the control of the Government of Jamaica
through its various Departments and Agencies. The Government
of Jamaica intends to pass the right to use this land to the
Developer via appropriate agreements that are to be executed
between the various public sector land owners and the
relevant government agency for the exclusive and beneficial
use of the required extent of the public properties for
highway purposes.
It is the
responsibility of the Government of Jamaica to make
available and/or purchase additional land as may be required
for the implementation of the Project.
The Government has pursued
a systematic and effective land acquisition programme
whereby the land required for Phase 1 is acquired on a
timely basis.
The National Road Operating
and Constructing Company (NROCC), a wholly owned company of
the Government of Jamaica is the agency responsible for land
acquisition. NROCC has established a land acquisition task
force to manage, co-ordinate and carry out the land
acquisition process. The land task force will be provided
with an appropriate budget to retain in-house legal counsel,
land surveyors, appraisers, mediators and advisers.
With respect to privately
owned property within the limits of the required
right-of-way, the task force will follow the following
acquisition procedures.
- Establish and set out
the exact centerline of the right–of-way and limits of
land required based upon the horizontal alignment
defined in the Illustrative Solution adjusted for actual
field conditions encountered
- Perform a legal survey
of each parcel to be acquired
- Prepare a parcel plan
showing the limits of the property required
- Prepare a Property
Valuation Report in co-ordination with the Land
Valuation Department
- Present offers to the
property owners
- Execute land transfer
agreements and assume vacant possession of the
properties
The Government of Jamaica
intends to use various means of compensation for the
acquisition of lands along the corridor. These include:
- Cash purchase
- Swapping of lands
- Land Bonds
In the event that a
property owner does not agree to the recommended offer and a
negotiated settlement is unlikely, the matter can be
resolved in the following manner. The Government can
initiate expropriate proceedings in accordance with the Land
Acquisition Act, 1947 as amended. The procedure is as
follows:
The Minister responsible
for Crown Lands, if it appears to him that any land is
required for a public purpose will cause a notice to that
effect to be published in the Gazette and serve a copy of
such notice on the owner of the land and the Commission of
Lands (“Commissioner”) shall cause notice of that
notification to be posted at the locality.
The Minister will authorise
his officers to go onto the land to ascertain whether the
land is suitable for the purposes for which it is required,
to carry out surveys and to delineate the boundaries of the
land to be taken.
When the Minister is
satisfied that the land is in fact suitable, he will issue a
declaration to that effect and instruct the Commissioner to
take proceedings to acquire the land.
The Commissioner will then
cause the land to be surveyed and valued and enter into
negotiations for the purchase of same by negotiations and
agreement (private treaty).
If there is no agreement by
private treaty within a reasonable time (reasonableness to
be determined by the Commissioner of Lands), the
Commissioner will invite all interested persons (by way of
notices served on occupants of the land and posted at
convenient places on or near the land) to present to him in
writing at a specific time and place, the nature of their
interests in the land and the amount and particulars of
their claims to compensation of such interests.
On the day specified, the
Commissioner will enquire into the value of land and the
interests of persons claiming compensation and will make an
award as to the true area of the land, the compensation for
the land and the apportionment of the compensation to the
persons interested.
Any interested person
(“interested” as defined by the Act) who is dissatisfied
with the award may within a specified time request that the
Commissioner refer the matter for the determination by the
Supreme Court of Judicature of Jamaica.
The Minister will direct
the Commissioner to take possession of the land and at the
time the Commissioner takes possession the land will be
vested in the Commissioner of Lands and a notice to that
effect will be published in the Gazette.
After an award has been
made, the Commissioner shall pay to the persons interested
the compensation awarded. If the persons interested do not
consent to the award; or if there is no one to transfer the
land; or if there is any dispute as to the right to receive
compensation or as to the appointment of it, the
Commissioner will deposit the amount in the Supreme Court of
Jamaica.
In the case where a
property owner cannot be identified or if the ownership of
the property is in dispute, the property will be acquired
under provisions of the Land Acquisition Act, 1947.
Under the scenario where a
property has been legally acquired but vacant possession is
not provided, the Government of Jamaica will evict squatters
pursuant to the provisions of the Land Acquisition Act,
1947.
The Government is not
required by law to resettle persons who have been
disrupted/uprooted/displaced due to land acquisition. The
law nobly requires that they be compensated. In addition,
only those persons who can show either a registered
Certificate of Title or some other means of legal ownership
are entitled to compensation. Illegal occupants/squatters
are not so entitled.
|
