'Land acquisition bill may not be tabled in winter session'

The controversial bill seeking to amend land acquisition laws is unlikely to be tabled in the ongoing winter session of Parliament, the Trinamool Congress today said.

Sudip Bandyopadhyya, chief whip of the Trinamool Congress Parliamentary Party in Lok Sabha, said today that the Land Acquisition (Amendment) Bill might not be tabled this time as the bill had not been listed for discussion.

Trinamool chief and Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee opposes the government's role in acquiring land for private industry whereas the bill seeks to empower the government to acquire 30 per cent of the land in case buyers faced difficulties.

Bandyopadhyya said Banerjee was firm on her stand that there should be no forcible land acquisition from farmers for industry.

"She [Banjerjee] is of the opinion that the government should not remain present as a mediator at any stage in the land acquisition process. It should be held only through negotiations between land owners or farmers and buyers," he said.

"Land acquisition should be totally peaceful and interests of the farmers have to be safeguarded. And this position has been articulated verbally and in writing to the government," he said.

The Railway Minister had recently skipped a meeting convened by Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee to evolve a consensus within the ruling alliance on the bill.

She has also demanded penal provisions to check use of money and muscle power by private developers in acquiring land from farmers.

Besides, she wants the government to return one-tenth of the acquired land fully developed to the owner for commercial use besides a government job for one person of the family which loses the land.