NEW DELHI: Rejecting the Congress charge of doing a ‘U-turn’ on the Land Ordinance, the Centre on Monday said that the decision not to repromulgate the Ordinance was intended to break the political stalemate over the issue and it would not impact the NDA Government’s reform agenda.
Commerce Minister Nirmala Sitharaman along with the Union Minister for Rural Development Chaudhary Birender Singh asserted that the decision was not a setback to the government. Rather, the states would now have more flexibility to come up with their own land acquisition laws, they said.
Sitharaman said that the restoration of the 2013 Land Law will not impact the reform agenda of the government though land acquisition will be delayed. “There is no setback. It is not going to affect our commitment for reform. The government is committed to development, to create jobs... Reforms are required.,” she said.
Singh said, “That the Ordinance has lapsed does not mean that nothing will happen again. If there is some recommendation with consensus from the Joint Committee of Parliament, something new can happen. We have to see what report the Committee gives.”