The Union Cabinet on Monday cleared the Land Acquisition Bill, with provisions that would make it easier for companies to buy land. The Bill allows land owners to claim compensation of only four times the market value of the plot they sell, as against six times proposed in an earlier version of the Bill, recommended by the Sonia Gandhi-led National Advisory Council. Also, if the land acquired is not used for the stated purpose, it will not be returned to the original owner as proposed earlier, but go to the state land authority. The Bill will be introduced in Parliament on Wednesday.
The Bill provides for acquisition of 5% of multi-crop land in a district as a ‘last resort’, with the rider that an equal area of wasteland within the district will have to be developed. Earlier, rural development minister Jairam Ramesh had opposed acquisition of multi-crop land for industrial purposes.
Linear projects like railways, canals and power lines will not be covered under the Bill. The Cabinet also trimmed possibilities of evoking the ?urgency clause? by restricting its use to defence, natural calamities and in ‘rarest of rare’ cases.
The Bill says resettlement and rehabilitation will be mandatory for private purchase of land with an upper limit of 100 acres in rural areas and 50 acres in urban areas. Also, acquisition for ?public purpose? is allowed even when private companies produce goods for public or provision of a public services, with consent of 80% of project-affected people.
The law will take effect retrospectively; so, in those projects where compensation has not been made under Land Acquisition Act, 1894, and where possession has not been taken, displaced persons would get R5 lakh in case the company was unable to provide jobs. Further, 2.5 acres of alternative land will be provided to SC/ST population regardless of loss of land. Earlier, Jairam Ramesh had proposed providing 5 acres of alternative land for SC/ST population.
Opposing the acquisition of farm land for private sector, Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar said the state should purchase land only for ?public utility? purpose.
Last week, Ramesh had met West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee to get her consent for the proposed law. Banerjee has been critical of the government acquiring land for industrial houses. The law would supersede 18 existing land-related laws concerning highways, SEZs, defence, railways, etc.