BHUBANESWAR:The State Government, which was opposed to the amendments proposed by the Centre in the Land Acquisition Act, has said it is ready to support the Bill if changes proposed by it are accepted.
In its proposal submitted to the NITI Aayog, the State Government maintained that profit making projects should provide shares to gram panchayats and people from whom land is acquired and make them shareholders.
The proposal of the State Government should be incorporated as a clause in the Bill, Additional Secretary in Revenue and Disaster Management Department J Lakra said in a letter to the NITI Aayog.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi had presided over a meeting of the governing council of NITI Aayog on July 15 at New Delhi which deliberated on the issue. Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik skipped the meeting as he was busy with the final meeting for Rath Yatra preparations at Puri. On the other hand, Finance Minister Pradip Amat was not allowed to attend the meeting which triggered a controversy.
The BJD had also made it clear that it is prepared to support the Union Government in Parliament if the proposal to make those who lost land partners in projects is accepted. As the BJD now has 20 Lok Sabha and seven Rajya Sabha members, the Centre needs its support in Parliament to pass the amendments.
The BJD had announced in its 2014 election manifesto, “In addition to whatever has been provided in the Land Acquisition Act, the State Government will make it mandatory for industries to provide shares to gram panchayats and people from whom land is acquired and make them shareholders in the projects, so as to ensure continuous income.”