JOIN USA meeting of a Group of Ministers to vet the Land Acquisition Bill remained inconclusive on Thursday, with differences persisting on the contentious issues like its retrospective applicability and the proposed mechanism to determine the prices of the land to be acquired.
Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar, who heads the 14-member GoM, told journalists that the panel would meet again and finalise its recommendations on the Bill after his return from a visit to Vietnam on October 4.
While several ministers wanted the Bill to have a window for its retrospective applicability, others insisted that it should be applicable only to projects that would come up after it was passed by Parliament.
The original Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Bill, which was introduced in Parliament on September 7 2011, had the provision of retrospective applicability. The provision, however, was done away with in the modified version – renamed as The Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Bill – being considered by the Government.
Last month, the Union Cabinet deferred a decision on the modified Bill twice, with several ministers arguing that the modified bill could turn to be a “growth inhibitor”. The Prime Minister finally constituted the GoM headed by Pawar to look into the proposed legislation.
With the Congress’ troublesome ally Trinamool Congress now out of the ruling UPA, the Ministry of Rural Development has offered to dilute the consent clause of the Bill, lowering the percentage of land-owners who need to agree to part with their land for a project from 80 per cent to 66 per cent to enable the governments to step in for acquisition of land. West Bengal Chief Minister and Trinamool chief Mamata Banerjee has insisted on the provision for mandatory requirement of the consent of 80 per cent land-owners for the governments to acquire land.
Urban Development Minister Kamal Nath, who is a member of the GoM, told journalists that the Bill should have provisions for proper evaluation of the land to determine the quantum of compensation to be given to the landowners. “The circle rate (minimum rate fixed by the government) should not be the basis for calculating the compensation, as it may be depressed and may not reflect the actual value of the land. Rather, the Gram Panchayats should determine the value of the land depending on its agricultural yield,” said Kamal Nath.
The original Bill provided for compensation to the owner at the rate of four times of the market value of the land. But, according to the modified version, the compensation for land losers would be twice the market rate in urban areas and 2-4 times the market rate in rural areas and it would include 100 per cent solatium.