Orissa to submit views on Land Acquisition Bill soon

Orissa will submit its comments to the Government of India (GoI) on the National Land Acquisition and Rehabilitation & Resettlement (NLARR) Bill within 15 days. The bill had recently got the nod of Union Cabinet.

“We held a meeting today to discuss about the NLARR bill. The discussions revolved around how the bill can help the state and if further improvements can be brought in the bill. The state government will submit its views to the GoI in 15 days after getting the government order,” said state Chief Secretary B K Patnaik.

Asked if there were specific grounds on which the state opposed the Bill, he said, “If there is any discrimination, we will oppose it. We will ensure that there is no conflict of interest between the Central and state establishments over the bill.”

There are certain provisions in the Bill on which we can comment only after getting the government order, Patnaik added.

Earlier, the state government had taken exception to a provision in the NLARR Bill according to which Social Impact Assessment (SIA) was to be conducted for acquisition of 100 acres of land or more before issue of 4 (1) notification.

The state government had argued that this will benefit the land mafia.