Deprecated (16384): The ArrayAccess methods will be removed in 4.0.0.Use getParam(), getData() and getQuery() instead. - /home/brlfuser/public_html/src/Controller/ArtileDetailController.php, line: 150
 You can disable deprecation warnings by setting `Error.errorLevel` to `E_ALL & ~E_USER_DEPRECATED` in your config/app.php. [CORE/src/Core/functions.php, line 311]
Deprecated (16384): The ArrayAccess methods will be removed in 4.0.0.Use getParam(), getData() and getQuery() instead. - /home/brlfuser/public_html/src/Controller/ArtileDetailController.php, line: 151
 You can disable deprecation warnings by setting `Error.errorLevel` to `E_ALL & ~E_USER_DEPRECATED` in your config/app.php. [CORE/src/Core/functions.php, line 311]
Warning (512): Unable to emit headers. Headers sent in file=/home/brlfuser/public_html/vendor/cakephp/cakephp/src/Error/Debugger.php line=853 [CORE/src/Http/ResponseEmitter.php, line 48]
Warning (2): Cannot modify header information - headers already sent by (output started at /home/brlfuser/public_html/vendor/cakephp/cakephp/src/Error/Debugger.php:853) [CORE/src/Http/ResponseEmitter.php, line 148]
Warning (2): Cannot modify header information - headers already sent by (output started at /home/brlfuser/public_html/vendor/cakephp/cakephp/src/Error/Debugger.php:853) [CORE/src/Http/ResponseEmitter.php, line 181]
LATEST NEWS UPDATES | Land bill draft vetoes Mamata on govt role by Basant Kumar Mohanty

Land bill draft vetoes Mamata on govt role by Basant Kumar Mohanty

Share this article Share this article
published Published on Jul 2, 2011   modified Modified on Jul 2, 2011

The Union rural development ministry has retained in the draft of an amendment a partial government role in land acquisition for private investors, vetoing the diametrically conflicting views of Mamata Banerjee and a panel headed by Sonia Gandhi.

The draft finalised by the ministry to amend the land acquisition act has stuck to the 70-30 formula under which the private investor is expected to buy at least 70 per cent of the required land directly from the people. The government can acquire the remaining 30 per cent, according the draft.

Mamata, the most important UPA ally, had insisted that the government should have no role in land acquisition for private investors — a stand that has been reflected unequivocally in the recommendations made by a panel to the chief minister.

The Sonia-led National Advisory Council (NAC) had swung towards the other extreme, advocating 100 per cent acquisition by the government to ensure that farmers and other land dependants are not exploited by investors and brokers.

The rural development ministry has taken a near-middle path and its draft is now being vetted by the law ministry. The draft will have to be cleared by the cabinet, which has the power to suggest changes, before it is tabled in Parliament in the upcoming monsoon session.

“We are disappointed. We do not agree with the 70-30 formula. The idea behind 100 per cent acquisition by the government was that the affected people get proper compensation,” NAC member N.C. Saxena said.

Even if the draft gets past Parliament without changes, Mamata’s Bengal policy will not be affected. The draft says the government “can” acquire up to 30 per cent, which means it is an option that the administration can either activate or ignore.

“As the draft bill only says that the government can acquire up to 30 per cent of land, it leaves to state governments to take a call on whether they should at all acquire land or how much land they should acquire. If a state government so likes, it need not acquire any land. It is the discretion of the state government,” a source said.

However, by proposing that the government should have the right to acquire 30 per cent of the land, the rural development ministry has upheld the administration’s right to forceful acquisition without explicitly saying so.

Forceful acquisition is something Mamata has been opposed to tooth and nail. The rural development ministry has sought to soften the undeclared blow by offering a compensation package, though it is not as lucrative as the one mooted by the Sonia panel.

The NAC had said that as registered deeds are undervalued, compensation should be six times that of the registered sale deed and should include a solatium.

The rural development ministry’s formula touches upon three price parameters — the circle rate fixed by the state government for an area, an average sale price of 50 per cent of high-valued land transacted in last three years in an area and the highest price paid by a private entity for purchase of land in an area.

The highest among the three price parameters will be taken as the compensation amount for a piece of land. The draft also stipulates a solatium that will not be less than 60 per cent of the compensation amount. State governments can raise the solatium but it cannot be below the 60 per cent threshold.

The draft bill has accepted the NAC’s suggestion that if the land remains unused for five years from acquisition, it will be returned to the original owners.

The NAC had suggested that the proposed land acquisition amendment bill and the resettlement and rehabilitation bill be clubbed into to single comprehensive legislation.

The ministry has rejected this suggestion on the ground that the rehabilitation law is also meant for consequences arising out of factors other than just land acquisition. For instance, the rehabilitation law will kick in during natural calamities.

The Telegraph, 3 July, 2011, http://www.telegraphindia.com/1110703/jsp/nation/story_14191087.jsp


Related Articles

 

Write Comments

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

*

Video Archives

Archives

share on Facebook
Twitter
RSS
Feedback
Read Later

Contact Form

Please enter security code
      Close