10.8.13

Land Acquisition Bill update

The Union Cabinet cleared the amendments proposed by the BJP to the land acquisition bill, readying another attempt to get the flagship legislation passed in Parliament.
The government is looking to check profiteering by individuals who have bought land in bulk in the hope that they would get high compensation once the proposed land acquisition amendment bill is passed.
Also, it would provide a clause in the bill that would encourage states to lease the land instead of its acquisition.
The bill is likely to be moved in Parliament in the ongoing monsoon session.
The twin changes were proposed by the leader of opposition in Lok Sabha, Sushma Swaraj and were accepted by rural development minister Jairam Ramesh as part of consensus building to push through the legislation that has been lying in limbo for five years.
It has been proposed that 40% compensation for acquisition of land that changed ownership after September 5, 2011, would accrue to original proprietor while the rest would go to the owner from whom the government acquires the land. Swaraj had alleged that land mafia was on a buying spree after the land bill was introduced in Parliament on September 5, 2011, in anticipation of its passage fetching higher compensation.
It was felt that giving part compensation to owners who held the land before September 5 would undo the profiteering.
The new clause will kick in if land involved is above the threshold limit that puts “purchase through private negotiations” under the ambit of the acquisition law and if it is acquired within three years of the commencement of the new Act.

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