With the ambitious National Food Security Bill getting the nod of the Lok Sabha, another big ticket legislation — Land Acquisition Bill — will come up for discussion in the lower House on Thursday. The two legislations have been the key promises of the Congress to the people and are being seen as crucial to the electoral strategy of the party in the next year’s LS elections. The Land Bill apparently enjoys wider political consensus, as after a couple of all political party meets, the government has amended the draft bill to incorporate the suggestions of the Opposition parties in the draft bill seeks to replace the 1894 law. The land bill seeks to provide “just and fair” compensation to families whose land has been acquired for industrial purposes. The draft bill proposes payment of compensation that is up to four times the market value in rural areas and two times in urban areas. It also aims at making affected persons partners in development, leading to an improvement in their post — acquisition social and economic status, as claimed by the government. The bill has been rechristened after its introduction in the Lok Sabha in 2011 as “The Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Bill, 2012” in an apparent bid to be seen sympathetic to the concerns of the farmers and marginal labourers. The bill will for the first time under one law address issues of compensation and resettlement and rehabilitation of those displaced by the acquisition of land. The government has accepted the key amendments suggested by Leader of the Opposition in the LS Sushma Swaraj. The amendments include suggestion that instead of acquisition, land could be leased to developers so that its ownership remain with farmers and provide them regular annual income. In cases where PPP projects are involved or acquisition is taking place for private companies, the bill requires consent of no less than 70 per cent and 80 per cent respectively of those whose land is sought to be acquired, which has been criticised by the industries but strongly defended by Union minister Jairam Ramesh.
