Land acquisition bill deferred till Budget session

The controversial Land AcquisitionBill is set for further delay as its consideration was todaydeferred by the Lok Sabha till the next session bowing to thewishes of Opposition members.

Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kamal Nath said the Billwill be taken up for consideration as the first measure in thebudget session.

His statement came following pleas by BJP member RajnathSingh, Mulayam Singh Yadav (SP), Basudeb Acharia (CPI-M) andSaugata Roy (TMC) for more time to discuss the provisions ofthe Bill which will have a wide ranging impact on farmers andindustries.

The Bill provides for a fair compensation to land ownersin both rural and urban areas with the stipulation thatconsent of 80 per cent of the people for acquiring land forprivate industry is necessary.

Despite Sonia Gandhi-led National Advisory Council pushingfor the law for long, the Bill has been hanging fire forsometime. It was referred to a GoM in the wake of differencesin the Cabinet over certain provisions in the Bill, which hasbeen described by Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh asa balanced one.

The Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and ResettlementBill, 2011 was introduced in Parliament in September last yearand was referred to a Parliamentary Standing Committee whichsubmitted its recommendations in May.

Opposing the introduction of the Bill in the current session, Rajnath Singh said the Bill is being moved when thesession is coming to an end in two days.

"This is not a simple Bill. It should not be hurriedthrough. Had it been brought at the beginning of this session,we would have agreed to a discussion. Moreover, not allrecommendations of the Standing Committee have been acceptedin the Bill. So either the session should be extended or theBill brought in the next session," Singh said.

Mulayam Singh Yadav (SP) spoke on similar lines and saidthe law will have an impact on farmers. "We want this Bill betaken up in the next session. It is an important Bill as landunder agriculture is going down while the population isgrowing. The Bill should be discussed in the next session," hesaid.

Pressing for deferment of the Bill, Acharia complainedthat copies of the proposed legislation were circulated tomembers only this afternoon and it has been brought hurriedlybefore the House. He pointed out that 155 amendments have beenmoved with the Bill.

Saugata Roy said the Land Acquisition Bill was notmentioned in today's list of business and only one day wasgiven to study the amendments.

He said the Bill had gone to the Standing Committeeearlier but all its recommendations have not been included.

Hence it should be discussed in the next session.

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