Land Acquisition Bill passed in LS

216 votes in favour and 19 against. Left parties, AIADMK and BJD members stage a walk-out

Anita Saluja

New Delhi:The path-breaking Land Acquisition Bill, which seeks to provide just and fair compensation to farmers while ensuring that no land can be acquired forcibly, was passed by the Lok Sabha with overwhelming majority on Thursday.. The Bill was passed with 216 votes in favour and 19 against. Left parties, AIADMK and BJD members staged a walk-out. Trinamool Congress voted against the Bill while main Opposition BJP as also SP and BSP supported the legislation.

"The Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Bill, 2012" stipulates mandatory consent of at least 70 per cent for acquiring land for Public Private Partnership (PPP) projects and 80 per cent for acquiring land for private companies. The Bill, which will replace over a century-old law, proposes compensation that is up to four times the market value in rural areas and two times the market value in urban areas. "I am happy that Land Acquisition Bill has been passed", said Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi.

After the Food Security Bill, the dream project of UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi, it was the turn to please Rahul Gandhi, when the Congress-led UPA government succeeded in passing the historic Land Acquisition Bill.

It has been more than two years, when Rahul Gandhi took up cudgels on behalf of the agitating farmers in Bhatta Parsaul in Uttar Pradesh, protesting against the land acquisition by the then UP Chief Minister Mayawati. Unlike Sonia, however, Rahul Gandhi did not speak during the debate though he was present at the time of voting on the Bill.

Both the Bills are termed as the vote-getters for the Congress, the reason why Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh walked an extra mile to incorporate the suggestions made by the Opposition. A series of meetings were held by the Union Minister with Leader of Opposition Sushma Swaraj, before she finally agreed to give her nod to the controversial Bill.

The Bill, moved by Jairam Ramesh and renamed as “The Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Bill, 2012,” states that it will “ensure a humane, participatory, informed consultative and transparent process for land acquisition for industrialization, development of essential infrastructural facilities and urbanization with the least disturbance to the owners of the land and other affected families and provide just and fair compensation to the affected families whose land has been acquired or proposed to be acquired or are affected by such acquisition and make adequate provisions for such affected persons for their rehabilitation and resettlement thereof, and for ensuring that the cumulative outcome of compulsory acquisition should be that affected persons become partners in development leading to an improvement in their post acquisition social and economic status and for matters connected therewith or incidental thereto be taken into consideration.”

Among the main demands put forth by the BJP and agreed to by the government was that the land could be leased to developers, so that its ownership could remain with the landowners that could fetch them a regular income. BJP President Rajnath Singh, while congratulating the Minister for carrying out umpteen suggestions, admitted that the Bill has in the process deviated from its main goal, with JD (U) MP Rajiv Ranjan terming the Bill as “toothless.” In his reply, the Rural and Development Minister stated that though officially, 158 amendments have been accepted; only 28 of them are the main amendments. Of these, 13 were from the Standing Committee, 13 from the GoM and two amendments from Leader of Opposition Sushma Swaraj. TDP Parliamentary Party leader Nama Nageshwar Rao complimented the Minister for agreeing to the suggestions by his party. As many as eight suggestions were given by the TDP. In one of them, the Minister in his note wrote “Agreed, it was an excellent decision.”

The Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Bill, 2011, replaces the 1894 Act that was brought about by the Britishers. Only thrice, the Bill was amended in the past – in 1962, 1967 and 1984. As per the Bill, it becomes mandatory for the developers to get the consent of up to 80 per cent of people whose land is acquired for private projects. For public-private partnerships, or the PPP model, the approval of 70 per cent of land owners is essential. The proposal asks for compensation of up to four times the market value in rural areas and twice the value in urban areas. There is the general apprehension that the property purchase costs would rise at least 40 to 60 per cent.

Almost all the Speakers, who participated in the debate, urged upon the UPA government to acquire the land only if it was barren and not to touch the irrigated land. “If you will acquire irrigated land, eventually land under agriculture will sharply decline,” remarked Rajnath Singh, cautioning the government that otherwise it will be forced to bring in future Agricultural Land Conservation Act, on the lines of Forest Conservation Act. He asked the government to compensate the farmers with retrospective effect and not to undervalue the land of the farmers by ensuring that they get the cost as per the market value.