Mamata Banerjee opposes Land Acquisition Bill

Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee is understood to have raised serious objection to the bill relating to land acquisition for industrialisation and rehabilitation of the land losers.

She raised her objections at a meeting of the Union Cabinet last night on the provisions of the Land Acquisition (amendment) Bill 2007 and the Rehabilitation and Resettlement Bill that were on the cabinet agenda.

The Trinamool Congress chief is understood to have opposed a major provision in the bill which provides for private developers acquiring 70 per cent of the land for a proposed industrial project directly from the farmers and land-owners. The remaining 30 per cent is to be acquired by the state government, the bill proposes.

Banerjee, who was in the forefront of the agitations in Nandigram and Singur in West Bengal on the same issue, is understood to have strongly demanded penal provisions to check the use of money and muscle power by private developers while acquiring land from the farmers.

The party feels that these legislations fall short of protecting poor farmers as their rehabilitation and resettlement is not fully guaranteed by the provisions. The TMC had earlier put forward its suggestions on the legislations in writing much before the bills were brought to the cabinet for its consideration, party sources said.

The Union Cabinet met for three hours last night.