Land Acquisition Bill passed by Rajya Sabha

5092013

Updated on : 05-09-2013 11:59 AM

The historic Land Acquisition Bill on Wednesday moved another step closer to becoming a law with Rajya Sabha approving the legislation which seeks to provide fair and just compensation to farmers and to those who lose livelihood on account of acquisition.

The new law will apply to all Special Economic Zones to be set up from now onwards, the government said while rejecting apprehensions over it, saying states were free to improve upon it by even raising the requirement of consent from 80 per cent to 100 per cent. The Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Bill, 2012, which got the nod of Lok Sabha last week, was passed by the Upper House by 131-10 votes with four new official amendments, proposed by opposition parties, including BJP. The bill will go back to Lok Sabha for approval of the new amendments, which include dilution of retrospective clause with regard to acquisition of land for irrigation projects.  The bill, which will replace over a century-old law, stipulates mandatory consent of at least 70 per cent for acquiring land for Public Private Partnership (PPP) projects and 80 per cent for acquiring land for private companies. It proposes compensation upto four times the market value in rural areas and two times the market value in urban areas.  Replying to a six-hour debate, Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh sought to address the concerns over the “urgency clause” in the bill, saying it is for use only in case of natural calamities and national security and cannot be invoked in case of land acquisition for private parties. Compensation in this case will be higher, he said.  Ramesh the government would not like multi-crop land to be acquired to the extent possible but it has been left to the states to decide the ceiling in this regard. Responding to a host of issues raised by members and concerns expressed, he promised to accommodate the maximum possible the suggestions in the rules to be notified for the new law. At the same time, he said the new law may be amended after three-four years if the next government wishes.  “I don’t think there is any room for amending this law,” he said. Giving details about the bill pushed by Rahul Gandhi, the Rural Development Minister said the new law provides for compensation not only to the farmers but also to the landless people who may lose their livelihood. There is a separate clause for dalits and tribals, he said about the law which will replace the Act of 1894.  He underlined that under the earlier law, land could be acquired after “consulting” Gram Sabhas while the new legislation provides for “consent” of Gram Sabhas. Ramesh made it clear that there will be no forcible acquisition under the law. After 20 years of enactment of the new law, the government will not required to acquire land, which is not the case now.  “This is the first time that legal validity has been given to rehabilitation and resettlement,” he said. The law provides for monitoring mechanisms at the central and state levels which will also address complaints, if any. Disputes will have to be settled in a time-bound manner. Government moved as official amendment BJP’s suggestions that retrospective and social impact assessment clauses should not be applied for acquisition of land for ongoing irrigation projects. Government also moved the amendment to specify that either compensation or rehabilitation and resettlement (R&R) will be given to farmers whose land is acquired for irrigation projects. However, farmers, whose land is acquired for other projects, will get the benefits of both compensation and rehabilitation and resettlement.