80 pc owners' consent must to acquire land: Panel

After UPA Chairperson Sonia Ga­ndhi’s intervention, a high level ministerial panel has decided to modify the draft Land Acquisition Bill making it mandatory for obtaining 80 per cent of land owners’s consent before acquiring land for private industries or projects under public private partnership.

The percentage  of land ow­n­ers whose consent is a must for acquiring land for private purpose has been raised from 67 per cent to 80 in the  proposed bill, Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar, who heads the Group of Ministers exami­ning the bill, told reporters, adding that consent of land owners was not required for acquiring land for public purpose.

The proposed changes will soon be circulated among 14 members of the GoM for their views and consent, he said after a brief meeting with Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh. “A detailed discussion was held in the last GoM and the changes suggested were discussed and finalised today,” he said.