Fresh Prez nod for promulgation of land ordinance

President Pranab Mukherjee on Friday approved the re-promulgation of the land acquisition ordinance, which would have lapsed on Sunday as the bill replacing it was not passed in Parliament.

The Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Ordinance—the 11th by the Modi government since it came to power in May last year—includes the nine amendments to the Bill passed by the Lok Sabha during the first part of the Budget session.

The ordinance's re-promulgation ensured that the amendments would remain in force, enabling easier purchase of land for the private sector for infrastructure projects.

The Modi government had faced massive protests by a united Opposition, which contended that the amendments would allow acquisition of farmers’ land without their consent or any social impact assessment.

After pushing the amendments through in the Lok Sabha, the Centre did not bring the Bill in the Rajya Sabha, where it is in a minority. As many as 14 Opposition parties stood together protesting against the “draconian” law.

As per the Constitution, an ordinance has to be replaced by a Bill within six weeks of its tabling in Parliament.

The government also got the President to prorogue the Rajya Sabha, a Constitutional necessity for re-promulgation of the Ordinance.

It was only the seventh time since India became a republic that one of the Houses was prorogued while in recess during the Budget session.

The Congress, meanwhile, dubbed the re-promulgation of the Ordinance as a step taken by the government in “utter disregard to Parliament”.

“The government is using tyranny of majority to obliterate Parliamentary institutions, and the move shows the obstinacy of the prime minister to favour some capitalists,”, AICC in-charge of the communications department Randeep Singh Surjewala told reporters here.