GoM wants land Bill provisions to apply 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, met in New Delhi on Thursday, but did not take any decision on the draft legislation.

The meeting took place amid criticisms from civil society activists that the rural development ministry had watered down some provisions of the Bill, which has been renamed as The Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Bill, 2011. Industry representatives, however, welcomed the changes.

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 felt 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 are enough for the acquirer to start his project. “The Bill, if accepted in the current form, will not only increase the conflicts surrounding land across the country, but will also prove fatal for it (government) in the next general elections,'' the National Alliance of People's Movement (NAPM), led by Patkar, said.

NAPM appealed to the GoM to “heed the voices of the people and not investors”. However, industry representatives welcomed the changes in the draft legislation, but added things won’t improve unless compensation was brought down further and larger projects were brought under the public purpose definition. They welcomed the provision to make the compensation one-off.

After the changes, the acquirer can put all the compensation funds in an account and ongoing commitments like benefits and annuities will be administered by an agency established under the Act. If it is true, it is welcome, said an industry source.  Sreelatha Menon  n New Delhi