NEW DELHI, Aug 29: The much-touted Land Acquisition Bill was taken up in the Lok Sabha today, with UPA ally Samajwadi Party expressing criticism, along with opposition parties, over various provisions of the legislation.
Parties including SP, BJP, BSP, CPI(M) and TMC voiced concern over aspects like adequate remuneration to farmers and the right of farmers to appeal in the bill which seeks to provide “fair and just compensation” to land owners.
SP chief Mulayam Singh Yadav questioned the need for acquiring land of farmers, contending that the bill would “ruin” and “devastate” farmers.
Participating in the debate on the ‘Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Bill, 2012’, he asked, “What is there for farmers except land?”
Yadav, whose party supports UPA government from outside, asked why arable and fertile land is being “targeted” for acquisition.
“When farmers sell land, they (most of the times) do not get remunerative price,” he said, adding that land should not be acquired unless there is requirement, otherwise it would become unproductive.
Initiating the debate, BJP President Rajnath Singh said there are lot of grey areas in the bill.
Despite the proposed bill, there are apprehensions that forcible land acquisition would continue, he added.
Singh said there should be provision for leasing land in the bill. “Lease can happen only when there is consent from the land owner,” he added.
According to him, poor people have been ignored in the bill.
“This is a comparatively better bill. But after studying it in full, I feel the bill is far far away from its objective… This bill is not meeting the objectives it is meant for,” he said.
Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh moved the ‘Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency’ bill for consideration and passage in the Lower House.
BSP member Surendra Singh Nagar said the government is suddenly remembering the bill and farmers since elections are round the corner.
Meanwhile, Singh wondered why only private companies have to seek prior approval for land acquisition while government projects have been exempted.
“There should be a level playing field (for private and government projects). There should be uniformity,” he stressed.
He also emphasised that social and environmental assessments related to land acquisition should be done in a “time bound manner”.
“If there is any objection, the farmer should have the option for legal recourse… With regard to land acquisition problems, the authority should be at the district level, the grassroot level,” Singh said.
According to Singh, there should be a mechanism to ensure that land in excess of the requirement is not acquired. If that happens, the excess land should be returned.
BSP member Surendra Singh Nagar also said fears about farmers opposing land acquisition are “baseless”.
“If they (farmers) are given adequate compensation, they will never stand in the way of industrialisation,” he said.
Congress member Meenakshi Natrajan said the government should streamline information about land records across the country. Without having proper land records, justice cannot be done, she added.
Describing the bill as historic, Natarajan said it would correct the historic wrong of land owners not getting adequate compensation during land acquisition. (PTI)
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