New Delhi:
After a parliamentary panel recently recommended some drastic changes to the contentious Land Acquisition Bill, the government has reportedly overruled some of its key suggestions, including those that greatly restricted its role in acquiring land from villagers or farmers.
NDTV has, in its possession, details of the revamped Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Bill that the Centre intends to table in the Monsoon Session of Parliament. Sources say that the government, in the revised bill, has overruled a key recommendation of the parliamentary panel that proposed that land could not be acquired for any for-profit enterprise. It further said that private players would have to acquire land directly if their ventures involved any element of profit. The government, whose role was thus limited to social sector projects, has widened the ambit of "public purpose" in the reworked bill, according to sources. This would now enable it to buy land for production of goods and services for social and physical infrastructure and human development projects, thus indicating that land can be acquired for industrialisation and urbanisation.
The "no-profit" clause that was part of the draft bill tabled in Parliament by the Standing Committee on Rural Development in May this year had drawn reservations from the National Advisory Council (NAC), headed by Sonia Gandhi, which has also worked on its own version of the Land Acquisition Bill. The NAC had pointed out that it was imperative that the process of land acquisition was a win-win situation for all parties concerned, calling for a balance between the interests of the people and industrialisation and urbanisation.
The concerns seem to have been paid heed to as the government, sources say, can also acquire land for projects based on public-private partnership - for building physical infrastructure such as roads and bridges or social infrastructure like schools and human development projects like low income housing.
Sources add that the government also disagrees with the parliamentary panel's suggestion that land would have to be bought in the open market for profit-making ventures. The committee had said that it would be upto the companies to win the consent of the land-owners. But the Centre as well as the NAC reportedly contend that this could lead to large-scale cheating with a real risk of the land mafia taking over.
Compensation for land - which is one of the key aspects of land acquisition - has also been dealt with in the present draft. The government has, as per sources, introduced the concept of sliding scales which would reflect the distance of the proposed project from urban areas. Sources say that while compensation for the urban areas will be double the market rate, it could be anywhere between 2-4 times the market price for rural areas it could be between. Importantly, the marker rate will be determined by the states before the process of acquisition begins. The draft also provides for compensation to be doubled for multiple displacements.
The government's draft, sources add, also says that land which has not been used will have to be returned after five years as against 10 years proposed earlier.
The consent of Gram Sabhas will have to be taken but for projects like road, rail and power, consultations may suffice.
The changes were arrived at after the Planning Commission and the Rural Development Ministry held a series of meetings with the Prime Minister's Office and Congress General Secretary Rahul Gandhi. The involvement of Mr Gandhi is significant in that land acquisition - an emotive issue with farmers - had featured prominently in his high-decibel campaign against the Mayawati-led BSP government in Uttar Pradesh for the assembly elections in the state that his party fared poorly in.
All the proposed changes are part of a draft Cabinet note that will need the concurrence of all ministries concerned. That could be a tough one for the government, given how politically-explosive the issue of land acquisition is coupled with the compulsions of coalition politics.
NDTV has, in its possession, details of the revamped Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Bill that the Centre intends to table in the Monsoon Session of Parliament. Sources say that the government, in the revised bill, has overruled a key recommendation of the parliamentary panel that proposed that land could not be acquired for any for-profit enterprise. It further said that private players would have to acquire land directly if their ventures involved any element of profit. The government, whose role was thus limited to social sector projects, has widened the ambit of "public purpose" in the reworked bill, according to sources. This would now enable it to buy land for production of goods and services for social and physical infrastructure and human development projects, thus indicating that land can be acquired for industrialisation and urbanisation.
The "no-profit" clause that was part of the draft bill tabled in Parliament by the Standing Committee on Rural Development in May this year had drawn reservations from the National Advisory Council (NAC), headed by Sonia Gandhi, which has also worked on its own version of the Land Acquisition Bill. The NAC had pointed out that it was imperative that the process of land acquisition was a win-win situation for all parties concerned, calling for a balance between the interests of the people and industrialisation and urbanisation.
The concerns seem to have been paid heed to as the government, sources say, can also acquire land for projects based on public-private partnership - for building physical infrastructure such as roads and bridges or social infrastructure like schools and human development projects like low income housing.
Sources add that the government also disagrees with the parliamentary panel's suggestion that land would have to be bought in the open market for profit-making ventures. The committee had said that it would be upto the companies to win the consent of the land-owners. But the Centre as well as the NAC reportedly contend that this could lead to large-scale cheating with a real risk of the land mafia taking over.
Compensation for land - which is one of the key aspects of land acquisition - has also been dealt with in the present draft. The government has, as per sources, introduced the concept of sliding scales which would reflect the distance of the proposed project from urban areas. Sources say that while compensation for the urban areas will be double the market rate, it could be anywhere between 2-4 times the market price for rural areas it could be between. Importantly, the marker rate will be determined by the states before the process of acquisition begins. The draft also provides for compensation to be doubled for multiple displacements.
The government's draft, sources add, also says that land which has not been used will have to be returned after five years as against 10 years proposed earlier.
The consent of Gram Sabhas will have to be taken but for projects like road, rail and power, consultations may suffice.
The changes were arrived at after the Planning Commission and the Rural Development Ministry held a series of meetings with the Prime Minister's Office and Congress General Secretary Rahul Gandhi. The involvement of Mr Gandhi is significant in that land acquisition - an emotive issue with farmers - had featured prominently in his high-decibel campaign against the Mayawati-led BSP government in Uttar Pradesh for the assembly elections in the state that his party fared poorly in.
All the proposed changes are part of a draft Cabinet note that will need the concurrence of all ministries concerned. That could be a tough one for the government, given how politically-explosive the issue of land acquisition is coupled with the compulsions of coalition politics.
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