The Lok Sabha on Tuesday cleared the contentious land acquisition Bill, along with nine amendments proposed by the government. Though these amendments convinced some National Democratic Alliance (NDA) partners and parties such as the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) to come on board, these failed to dissuade the Congress and most Opposition parties, which walked out at the time of voting on the Bill.
However, in a reversal for the government, the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha insisted the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Amendment Bill be referred to a select committee, which is for scrutiny. For the government, in a minority in the Upper House, this is a possible indication of the fate that awaited the land Bill in the Rajya Sabha.
In the morning, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, Parliamentary Affairs Minister M Venkaiah Naidu and Rural Development Minister Chaudhary Birender Singh briefed NDA MPs on the amendments proposed by the government. Following this, the debate in the Lok Sabha on the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement (Amendment) Bill, 2015, was resumed.
The Congress termed the amendments to the Bill “cosmetic changes”. Along with the Congress, other Opposition parties, including the Janata Dal Parivar, the Left parties and the Trinamool Congress, are set to demand the Bill be referred to a select committee in the Upper House.
The amendments included specifying only land up to one km on either side of a railway line or highway can be acquired for industrial corridors. The list of exempted categories omitted social infrastructure. According to the amendments, the Bill will no longer cover land acquisition for private hospitals and schools; and any government will need to ensure the least required land is acquired for a project, carry out a survey of its wasteland and maintain a record on it. According to another amendment, compulsory employment will be provided to at least one member of a family of a ‘farm labourer’. Also, hearings or grievance redressal will be held in the district in which the land acquisition is carried out.
During the debate on the Bill, Chirag Paswan of the Lok Janshakti Party (LJP), an ally of the Bharatiya Janata Party, said following the amendments, his party had decided to support the Bill. The BJD’s Bhartruhari Mahtab withdrew some of his party’s amendments, following the government’s amendments.
Ranjit Singh Brahmpura of the Shiromani Akali Dal, an NDA member, maintained the consent of landowners should be made mandatory for any land acquisition. He said, “Care should be taken that only barren land is acquired, not fertile land. Also, compensation must be provided at market rates.” The Shiromani Akali Dal later came on board in terms of agreeing to the provisions of the Bill.
Other allies such as the Telugu Desam Party and Apna Dal supported the government on the Bill. The Congress, Trinamool Congress and Left parties vociferously opposed it, demanded it be referred to a parliamentary standing committee.
Replying to the debate, Birender Singh said the NDA government wouldn’t do anything that was anti-farmer, adding it would ensure their interests were protected. He said a false notion was being created that the amendments to the Bill would hurt farmers and rob them of their livelihoods. “But the fact is it is through the old land acquisition Act that Opposition parties want the farmers to remain poor and deprived, while we want them to join the development process,” he said.
No comments:
Post a Comment