Rajya Sabha passes land acquisition bill NEW DELHI: The land acquisition bill was approved by the Rajya Sabha on Wednesday with the government declaring that it was a necessary legislation and not an election one, even as the main opposition BJP expressed reservations about some of its provisions. The bill stipulates mandatory consent of at least 70% of landowners for acquiring land for public private partnership (PPP) projects and 80% for private firms. The Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Bill, 2012, passed by Lok Sabha last week, was approved by the upper House by 131-10 votes with four new official amendments proposed by opposition parties, including BJP. The new law will apply to all special economic zones to be set up from now, the government said, adding that states were free to improve upon it by even raising the requirement of consent from 80% to 100%. Replying to a debate on the bill, rural development minister Jairam Ramesh said the government was only walking the middle path between industrialization and benefits for farmers and tribals. Incomplete irrigation projects would stay out of the purview of the new law which provides retrospective implementation; also, in irrigation projects, the government will be able to pay cash compensation in lieu of land as against the mandatory clause of land for land. Since these irrigation-related amendments were made after the bill was passed by Lok Sabha, the legislation will go back to the lower House for its consent for it to become law. "It is wrong to say compensation will be paid only to owners of the land. The bill envisages compensation also to those who will lose their livelihoods from any land acquisition,' Ramesh said. Initiating the debate on the bill earlier, Vinay Katiyar (BJP) stressed the need to ensure that farmers have the right to appeal and demanded adequate compensation to farmers. As land was the main source of livelihood for farmers, it was necessary to take 100% consent for acquiring farm land for any purposes, he said. He said the land acquired, if not used for more than five years, should be returned to farmers and should not go to the government land bank. He suggested removal of certain clauses, saying these were anti-farmer and suggested setting up of an authority and fast-track courts for speedy disposal of land acquisition-related disputes. Katiyar said adequate compensation should be given to farmers. Even jobs and extra land should be given to farmers as part of the rehabilitation package. He suggested population control saying land is scarce natural resources. The bill will replace the archaic Act of 1894 which suffers from various shortcomings including silence on the issue of resettlement and rehabilitation of those displaced due to acquisition.
Posted on: Thu, 05 Sep 2013 02:46:43 +0000
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