Vilasrao asks industries for better land deals to farmers

Concerned about the unrest over land acquisition, Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh today asked the industry to adequately compensate the displaced farmers.

"I personally feel that if you acquire a land it should be properly compensated as land is the main source of farmers' bread and butter," Deshmukh said at the National Manufacturing Summit, organised by the Indian Chamber of Commerce here.

He said, Parliament is likely to take up amendments to the land acquisition laws in the Budget session.

With farmers and political parties agitating over land acquisition in different parts of the country, acquiring land for new investments has become a challenge for industries.

Investment plans of many companies, including the Tatas, Reliance Industries, Posco and ArcelorMittal, have been affected by land acquisition problems.

The new policies are aimed at giving a fair compensation, which will be determined by the market price, to the farmers instead of the government deciding the package.