-Business Standard The ordinance has returned near absolute power of discretion in land acquisition, except in tribal areas, into the hands of the bureaucracy yet again Even after the National Democratic Alliance's land ordinance, governments will still need the consent of tribal gram sabhas in all Schedule V and VI areas of the country before acquiring land for themselves or for public-private projects. While the land ordinance has done away with the need...

-The Indian Express The NDA government's ordinance to amend the land acquisition Act does not merely expand the list of projects that would be exempted from requirements of consent and Social Impact Assessment but also quietly makes other provisions in the law less stringent. It dilutes the requirement that unused acquired land be returned to the original owners, makes it tougher to prosecute defaulting civil servants, reduces the scope of the...

-Business Standard The National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government's land ordinance, approved by the President on Wednesday, has made several amendments to the original law rather quietly. Changes in the retrospective clause of the Bill are important but did not attract enough attention when the ordinance was approved by the Cabinet. In the original 2013 law, if compensation had not been paid for over five years to landowners or the land had not been...

-The Hindu Business Line Move to make the Act more industry-friendly New Delhi: With elections in Jharkhand and Jammu & Kashmir almost over, the Government is likely to consider an ordinance to bring changes in the Land Acquisition Act. Government sources said amendments are likely to include toning down the consent process and removing the mandatory preparation of Social Impact Assessment Study, besides expansion of the exemption list in the existing Act. This...

-The Hindu Tirupati (Andhra Pradesh): Given that about 30 per cent of the national energy goes to conventional cooking, bringing down LPG consumption holds the key. As the likely targets are social welfare hostels and schools, where mass cooking of meals is an integral part of the daily chore, New and Renewable Energy Development Corporation of Andhra Pradesh (NREDCAP) gave a demo at Social Welfare Boys' Hostel here recently on the use...