Eminent Domain And The Struggle For Land Justice In Gorkhaland With Lessons From Bodoland, Jharkhand And Telangana
- IJLLR Journal
- Dec 26, 2025
- 2 min read
Neev Agarwal, Jindal Global Law School, OP Jindal Global University
ABSTRACT
The legitimacy of the State in a democracy like India rests upon its ability to protect the natural faculties and property rights of its citizens. Yet, this protective role is inherently conflicted by the State’s power of eminent domain, through which private property may be compulsorily acquired for public purposes. This paper examines this tension within the context of Gorkhaland in North Bengal, where land acquisition policies intersect with long-standing demands for cultural autonomy, tribal protection, and self- governance. Focusing on the 2025 West Bengal Gazette Notification mandating the diversion of 30% of plantation land for non-plantation uses, the study highlights how development-oriented policies disproportionately affect indigenous tea garden labourers and tribal communities who lack formal land titles due to leased land arrangements. Despite statutory safeguards under Article 300A of the Constitution, the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013, and the West Bengal Land Reforms Act, 1955, affected populations often remain excluded from compensation, rehabilitation, and participatory consent mechanisms.
Through a comparative analysis of land governance models in Bodoland, Jharkhand, and Telangana, the paper demonstrates how varying degrees of statutory protection, constitutional recognition, and political autonomy shape outcomes of land acquisition. While Bodoland illustrates the potential of Sixth Schedule institutions in safeguarding indigenous land rights, Jharkhand underscores the importance of strong tenancy laws rooted in cultural identity. Telangana, conversely, serves as a cautionary example where political autonomy without community consent facilitates arbitrary land use. Drawing from these models, the paper proposes a hybrid framework for Gorkhaland that integrates constitutional recognition, state- specific statutory protections, community consent, and fair compensation. Such a model seeks to reconcile development imperatives with the preservation of indigenous land, identity, and autonomy.
