Land acquisition bill put off till Budget session

The introduction of the controversial land acquisition Bill in Parliament will not happen till the Budget session next year on the demand of opposition parties, who want more time to study its propositions.

Parliamentary affairs minister Kamal Nath said the bill would be taken up for consideration as the first measure in the Budget session.

His statement came following pleas by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) member Rajnath Singh, Mulayam Singh Yadav (SP), Basudeb Acharia (CPI-M) and Saugata Roy (TMC) for more time to discuss the provisions of the Bill which would have a wide ranging impact on farmers and industries.

Last week, rural development minister Jairam Ramesh had said that the Bill – formally called the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquistion, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Bill – would be introduced within days, after the cabinet cleared its proposals last Thursday. However, this is not going to happen.

The Bill provides for a fair compensation to land owners in both rural and urban areas if their land is sought to be acquired for private industries, with the stipulation that consent of 80 per cent of the people involved is necessary.

The Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Bill, 2011 was introduced in Parliament in September last year and was referred to a Parliamentary Standing Committee, which submitted its recommendations in May. The bill has been hanging fire since then, and will continue to do so till next year.