Jodhpur-Pali Industrial Smart City (JPMIA): Land Acquisition Status

How land was acquired: government transfer, not a fresh farmer buyout

Unlike many new industrial cities where private agricultural land is bought from farmers under the 2013 land acquisition law, JPMIA's core site was assembled mainly by transferring land that was already recorded as government or village-common land. Although discussions about the Jodhpur-Pali-Marwar Industrial Area (JPMIA) in Rajasthan started a decade ago, it was only in October 2020 that the Pali District Collector officially transferred all government land from nine revenue villages to the JPMIA Development Authority.

NICDC's own project page, last updated in August 2025, states that with 100% land in possession of the state government, JPMIA offers an investment potential of ₹7,500 crore and an employment potential of 40,000 jobs. The Rajasthan government's tender documents for the site's infrastructure works also confirm the project sits within a single district: Area (JPMIA) in Pali District, Rajasthan.

The legal basis used for transferring the village common land was the state's investment-region law rather than a case-by-case farmer compensation process: As per Section 27(2) of Rajasthan Special Investment Regions Act, 2016, land vested in a local body can only be transferred through a notification after a hearing with the local authority, which was not followed, according to a formal land-conflict challenge filed over part of this transfer.

Villages and district covered

All the land transfer activity documented for JPMIA falls within Pali district. The nine villages, namely Dungarpur, Singari, Dhundhali, Doodali, Neembli Patelan, Neembli Bramnan, Danasani, Rohat and Dalpatgarh had their government land handed to the JPMIA Development Authority in October 2020.

The project's own 2042 Master Plan flags three of these settlements — Rohat, Singari and Dhundhli — as the villages most exposed to development pressure once construction begins, noting that with the rollout of infrastructure and development activities during this pilot phase, it is expected that great development pressure will be placed on adjoining Abadi Areas. These include Rohat, Singari and Dhundhli. The plan commits to protecting these residential (Abadi) pockets with green buffers rather than clearing them, stating that the 2042 land use plan is designed to ensure absolute minimum requirement for resettlement of the existing population, and that the identified 'Abadi' areas and existing water bodies will be protected with green buffers and strict planning controls to prevent unauthorised developments and activities.

No village count or list has been reported for Jodhpur district specifically in connection with JPMIA's land transfer — every documented village so far is in Pali district.

Compensation rates: no confirmed per-acre or per-bigha figure reported

Current reporting does not carry a published cash compensation rate (per acre, per bigha or per hectare) for JPMIA, and none should be assumed. This is consistent with the acquisition model used here: because the bulk of the site was government or panchayat-vested land rather than privately owned farmland, it was moved by administrative transfer rather than through the market-value-plus-solatium compensation route used under India's national land acquisition law for private holdings.

Where private or common land rights were affected — as with the gauchar (pasture), agor (water catchment) and oran (sacred grove) lands — the dispute has centred on the legality of transferring the land at all, not on the price paid, because these categories are legally protected. A challenge specifically states that in 2021, all the villagers of Dungarpur filed a case against the transfer of 864.6148 hectares of "public utility" land which included land reserved for gauchar (pasture), agor (water catchment areas) and orans (sacred groves) to the JPMIA Development Authority, and that these lands are protected under Section 16 of the Rajasthan Tenancy Act, 1955, and cannot be allotted or transferred. If and when official compensation schedules for any remaining private plots are published, this page will be updated with the exact rate and unit.

Budget allocated

NICDC's official project listing puts the site's overall investment potential — not the acquisition or development budget — at an investment potential of ₹7,500 crore and an employment potential of 40,000 jobs, current as of the page's August 2025 update.

For the first construction stage, one current-affairs report on the project states that in the first stage 640 hectares will be developed at a cost of Rs 465 crores, delivered under an Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) model, with an agreement already finalized between RIICO and NICDC. This figure has not been independently confirmed on NICDC's own site and should be treated as a reported, not officially verified, number pending confirmation.

RIICO and NICDIT have already floated a formal EPC tender for site works, referenced as Ref. No.: 2025-26/RIDCO/02 ... Area (JPMIA) in Pali District, Rajasthan, uploaded in late July 2025 — indicating construction procurement, not land acquisition, is now the active workstream.

Disputes and farmer/village pushback

The clearest documented conflict concerns village common lands, not individually owned farm plots. Villagers of Dungarpur argue the transfer bypassed local governance: the petitioners argued that since the land was under the Gram Panchayat's jurisdiction, the local [authority should have been given a hearing before the transfer was made]. Their case rests on the position that lands reserved as gauchar (pasture), agor (water catchment areas) and orans (sacred groves) fall in the category of public lands, which is different from government land. It was illegal to transfer them in the name of Jodhpur Pali Marwar Industrial Area (JPMIA) Development Authority.

The broader legal argument cites multiple state laws: various Rajasthan land laws (Rules of 1957, Rules of 1955) prohibit pasture land from being used for agricultural or industrial purposes, and no proper legal process was followed before the land was mutated in favor of the industrial project. As of the most recent reporting available (dated May 2025), this litigation over the Dungarpur land was still an active conflict rather than a resolved one; no settlement or court ruling has been reported since.

Current stage, right now

As of NICDC's last update on the project page (5 August 2025), the land-assembly stage is complete for the core site: 100% land [is] in possession of the state government. Environmental clearance has also already been secured — Environmental Clearance has already been obtained from the MoEF&CC.

The project has moved into the infrastructure procurement stage: RIICO/NICDIT have issued a construction tender (ref. 2025-26/RIDCO/02, uploaded 30 July 2025), and a separate report dated October 2025 states that tendering has already been completed for its establishment for the EPC works, with technical evaluation of bids reported to be underway. Meanwhile, the legal dispute over the transfer of common/pasture land in Dungarpur village remains open per the most recent land-conflict tracking available (May 2025), meaning land-related friction has not fully ended even though the state describes possession as complete.