The Narendra Modi government has proposed nine amendments in its Land Acquisition Bill which will be voted on in the Lok Sabha today
The government's move to make nine amendments in its Land Acquisition Bill has won it the support of key allies Shiv Sena and the Akali Dal, which had so far been non-committal on whether they would vote in favour of its land reforms in the Lok Sabha today.
Here are the latest developments:
Sources also said that regional parties like the AIADMK and the Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) would support the government in a vote which will take place soon.
While the BJP is not worried about numbers in the Lower House, it will struggle to pass it in the Rajya Sabha, where it is in a minority, and so has reached out to regional parties, which have supported it in the past on other issues.
The Biju Janata Dal is said to have indicated to the government that it could support its Bill today, though party sources said it would like some more amendments to it. But the AIADMK, the largest regional party in the Lok Sabha, is said to be opposed to the Bill.
In hectic floor management, Parliamentary Affairs Minister M Venkaiah Naidu spoke to Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray and met other leaders of the BJP-led National Democratic alliance or NDA today to secure their support before the vote.
Parties ranged against the Bill - like the Congress, Left, Trinamool Congress and the Janata Dal (United) - are expected to insist on a division vote on the amendments they have sought.
The government has proposed changes that seek to address the criticism that its reforms are "anti-farmer". It has incorporated not just amendments suggested by other parties, but also factored in feedback from farmers' organisations and activists who have opposed its land reforms.
It has proposed to remove social infrastructure projects like schools and hospitals from a list of categories the government wants exempted from requiring the consent of 70 per cent farmers in an area where land is to be acquired. The current law requires that consent for all projects.
It has agreed to reinstate a social impact assessment only for social infrastructure projects. The Opposition and allies like the Akali Dal have protested against the government's move to scrap the social impact assessment clause - mandatory in the current law - for five categories.
The Congress has said it will support no changes to the law its government brought in 2013, without those being referred to a parliamentary committee for review. The government needs the bill passed immediately, or the ordinance or emergency executive order that it seeks to ratify will lapse.
The government says the proposed land reforms balance the rights of farmers with the urgent need to provide land for projects worth hundreds of millions of dollars.
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