GoM on Land Bill remains inconclusive

Most ministers feel that window should be opened for providing benefits with retrospective effect

A 12-member group of ministers (GoM) headed by Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar, formed to vet certain provisions in the controversial Land Acquisition Bill is remained inconclusive today.

A senior minister who was present in the meeting said that lot of issues related to the bill remains to be sorted out for which more meetings will be needed. The bill which has now been renamed as the The Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Bill, 2011 is a watered down version of the earlier draft, The last meeting held in September also could not reach at a consensus because of the differences among some ministers.

The Bill, which in its original form required consent of 80 per cent of the land owners for acquisition, now demands consent of only 66 per cent of affected land owners. Besides, if the original Bill sought to provide benefits of rehabilitation to the people affected by all ongoing projects, the altered form confined itself to new projects. However, sources said most ministers in the GoM are of the opinion that a window should be opened for providing benefits with retrospective effect, a provision that is expected to win over the civil society.

The rural development ministry has already showed its willingness to accommodate some civil society concerns. The ministry has dropped the provision of acquiring land for public-private partnerships, a move welcomed by activists like Medha Patkar.

However, the proposal to reduce compensation is expected to raise many eyebrows. Earlier, the Bill proposed a compensation of four times market value for land in the rural areas. Under the newly introduced sliding rates, the land which is 50 km away from cities gets double the market rate, while that close to cities gets just the rate.

The new version also removes the liability of the acquirer to ensure the rehabilitation and resettlement (R&R) infrastructure work is completed before beginning a project. Now, the payment for R&R costs is enough for the acquirer to start his project.