KOHIMA: The Nagaland Pradesh Congress Committee (NPCC) has maintained that if the draft of National Land Acquisition and Rehabilitation and Resettlement Bill was passed in Parliament, it would lead to all round development of the country and called upon all political parties, irrespective of regional and national, to vote for safe passage of the draft Bill.
In a release, NPCC President S I Jamir said the Congress-led UPA Government on July 30 unveiled the new draft bill the National Land Acquisition and Rehabilitation and Resettlement Bill, 2011.
It sought public comment and suggestions alike ‘preferably’ before August 31, 2011, before introducing it in Parliament.
He said the Government so far has been using the Land Acquisition Act of 1894 along with other 18 similar laws for governing the land acquisition processes. He said those laws have become “somewhat obsolete and outdated” owing to developments over the years.
Mr Jamir said the move to introduce the new draft Bill was timely since Government has been facing “many kinds of controversies and clashes” for acquisition of land for both private and government projects. “
This move received far greater impetus by the initiatives of Congress General Secretary Rahul Gandhi in his fight for farmers in Uttar Pradesh and elsewhere in the country, The Bill envisages, among other rehabilitative packages, the payment of land compensation based on not less than two times the value of current market rate in urban areas and not less than six times in the rural areas and the job in the projects or compensation of Rs 2 Lakh for the member of the land-seller and tenant.
The draft Bill, NPCC president said, was also one of the “pro ‘aam Admi’ or poor and rural public policies of the Congress” keeping in mind the need of fast pace development of the country, he said. (UNI)