NEW DELHI: Amid a raging controversy over land acquisition norms, Government has firmed up the draft of a new bill which makes consent of 80 per cent of land owners mandatory before purchase of land.
The new draft Acquisition Bill, which is expected to be unveiled in the next few days, includes recommendations of Sonia Gandhi-led National Advisory Council (NAC) and goes even a step further.
“In many ways it is an improvement of what the NAC has said,” N C Saxena, a prominent member in the Sonia Gandhi-led panel, said after a discussion on the draft bill chaired by Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh here today.
“It has improved upon the NAC’s recommendation because we had suggested 70 per cent and they (Rural Development Ministry) are now saying 80 per cent (land owners) should say yes to the acquisition,” Saxena said.
Asked whether the Ministry has approved the NAC’s recommendation that government must acquire 100 per cent land, Saxena said NAC had never recommended that.
“NAC’s recommendation was enabling up to 100 per cent (land acquisition). It didn’t say that you have to (acquire) 100 per cent (land),” he said.
Further clarifying that the proposed legislation is not a “compelling law,” Saxena said, “This is enabling law, which means depending upon the project, depending upon the state government’s viewpoint, the state government may acquire zero per cent or 100 per cent or any amount in between”.
There is a raging controversy over land acquisition in Greater Noida where farmers have been staging protests demanding higher compensation, prompting the Government to speed up efforts to bring in a land bill. (PTI)