Cong weighs options on land bill changes
23 Oct 2012 8:47 AM IST
After the Congress president Sonia Gandhi expressed reservations on diluting the land bill, it is learnt that the bill will now undergo few more changes with respect to the approval required for land acquisition before it is cleared by the cabinet. Sources say that the Congress leadership is mulling over making a few changes: one of the option is that a proposal could be sent to the cabinet, in which approval of two third of land givers is set as a benchmark and increasing this number will be made the prerogative of state governments.
'One of the alternative before us is that we set 66 per cent as the minimum approvals required for land acquisition [from the groups of people whose land is being acquired], and if any state government wants to increase it to 80 or 90 per cent they can do so in their respective states,' said an official from the ministry. Even in the compensation clause, the state governments can be given the right to increase the compensation package. Sources also indicated that the government is weighing the option of keeping the approval limit between 66 per cent and 80 per cent.
Apart from the Congress president's intervention in the matter, a group of farmers under the banner of Kisan Sangarsh Samiti has been protesting against diluting the approval clause. 'Our demand is that 80 per cent of approvals should be required for land acquisition and not 66 per cent, as this will encourage builders to buy property from small and marginal farmers,' said Dushyant Nagar of Kisan Sangarsh Samiti. The group of farmers had recently met the minister of rural development Jairam Ramesh on this issue.
'One of the alternative before us is that we set 66 per cent as the minimum approvals required for land acquisition [from the groups of people whose land is being acquired], and if any state government wants to increase it to 80 or 90 per cent they can do so in their respective states,' said an official from the ministry. Even in the compensation clause, the state governments can be given the right to increase the compensation package. Sources also indicated that the government is weighing the option of keeping the approval limit between 66 per cent and 80 per cent.
Apart from the Congress president's intervention in the matter, a group of farmers under the banner of Kisan Sangarsh Samiti has been protesting against diluting the approval clause. 'Our demand is that 80 per cent of approvals should be required for land acquisition and not 66 per cent, as this will encourage builders to buy property from small and marginal farmers,' said Dushyant Nagar of Kisan Sangarsh Samiti. The group of farmers had recently met the minister of rural development Jairam Ramesh on this issue.
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