FILE: Prime Minister Narendra Modi with senior BJP ministers (Press Trust of India photo)
The government today cleared the contentious land ordinance for the third time after failing to win parliamentary approval for the crucial reform championed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The ordinance, or emergency executive order which seeks to make land purchase easier for industrial and key infrastructural projects, was set to lapse on June 3.
The ordinance was approved at a cabinet meeting today chaired by PM Modi. It will replace an existing ordinance that implemented the land acquisition bill pending parliamentary approval, and needs the President's signature to take effect.
"The land ordinance has been cleared again by the cabinet to maintain continuity and we will ensure that farmers don't face hardship on compensation," union minister Ravi Shankar Prasad told reporters after the meeting.
The government had issued the ordinance twice since December after facing continuous resistance from the Opposition, especially in the Rajya Sabha, where it is in a minority. To build consensus over the bill, the government introduced several amendments and later agreed to refer it to a joint parliamentary committee to examine compensation clauses and resettlement of farmers during the recently concluded Budget session.
The Congress, which has led the Opposition's campaign against the bill, today dubbed the Cabinet's decision as an "affront to Parliament" and condemned what it called the "sinister design" of the Modi government to "surreptitiously push through" the ordinance after agreeing to get it re-examined through the joint parliamentary panel.
The land acquisition bill has been a key focus of the Modi government's reform efforts. But the Opposition has resolutely blocked it, calling it "anti-farmer".
Billions of dollars of investment in industrial projects across the country are tied up due to conflicts between farmers and companies trying to buy land.
The government's efforts to push through the bill have been severely criticised by the Opposition which has accused it of ignoring the plight of farmers, especially at a time when unseasonal rains have damaged crops.