Ending its ambivalence on the land acquisition policy, the UPA government is set to come out with a brand new law which will be marked by a narrower definition of ?public purpose? for the acquisition of land by the state, and a provision that the government would retain 51% ownership of any land acquired by it for private industries. Further, the displaced would have the right of first refusal to buy back the land at concessional rates in case the industrial project has not made any headway five years after the acquisition.

The government, which was rather silent on the issue due to lack of political consensus even within the ruling coalition, has apparently decided to bite the bullet now, as it thought it was ?now in a position? to build a collective opinion on the matter. The trigger for the move could be the conclusion of the assembly polls in five states and the farmers? stir in Uttar Pradesh?s

Gautam Budh Nagar district over ?inadequate compensation? for the Yamuna Expressway and projects linked to it.

Home minister P Chidambaram on Thursday said the government would be introducing a new Land Acquisition Bill in the coming session of Parliament. ?We must have a new land acquisition law. The government has drafted a new Bill that has provisions for better compensation, rehabilitation and other measures. But it was not possible to build a consensus on the law; now we are in a position where this is possible,? he said.

Significantly, Rashtriya Lok Dal chief Ajit Singh met rural development minister Vilasrao Deshmukh, who said that he would be ?holding another meeting on May 20 to finalise the Bill?.

According to top sources in the government, the new Bill will have very strict definitions of what constitutes public purposes for which the government can acquire land.

It will require the government and the private industrial house acquiring the land to make sure that individual notices are sent to all those proposed to be displaced, and if there is no forward movement in the project for five years, the displaced will have the right of first refusal to buy back the land at compensation rates.

In the existing draft amendment Bill, there is a provision that industrial houses would have to acquire 70% of the land required for a project with the government allowed to acquire the remaining 30% for contiguity purposes.

?There is a new suggestion that of the 30% land that the government acquires, 51% should retain government ownership in order to have flexibility on resettlement issues,? said a source. The more important meeting for both Deshmukh and the UPA would be with Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee, who has made it public that she would want the proportion of land left to be acquired by the government to only 10% of the total land. This appeared unacceptable to the government earlier, but sources add that efforts are on, through finance minister Pranab Mukherjee to find a way out or at least make it a 80:20 split between private and government acquisition. ?The real shape of the bill will be available only after Mamata Banerjee is on board,? said a senior minister.

Key suggestions that could be part of new Land Acquisition Bill

* Social impact assessment for every 100 households displaced in the plains, and for every 25 households displaced in tribal areas

* Of the 30% of the land which the govt acquires for private parties, 51% should be in government ownership

* If, for five years no progress is made on a project, land owners have the first right of refusal on buying back the land at compensation rates

* Individual notices to be sent to all oustees before acquisition process commences