Govt. open to considering amendments to Land Acquisition Bill: Naidu

Union Minister for parliamentary Affairs Venkaiah Naidu on Monday said that the government is open to considering amendments to the Land Acquisition bill, calling for opposition parties to forward their suggestions for the same.

"The government could consider deleting social infrastructure projects from the exempted categories, states coming out with land banks of vacant lands for acquistion for developoment projects, hassle free mechansim for redressal of grievances of land losers, mandatory employment for losers of livelihoods on account of land acquisition etc. The Minister of Rural Development, Birendra Chowdhary, who is a farmer himself, would come forward with official amendments in this regard," Naidu said in the Lok Sabha. The Government's decision to issue an ordinance on land acquisition is not a unilateral one but is based on the suggestions and views of all the states, reflecting their collective yearning for an enabling legislation that will not stifle development," he added.

During his intervention in the House, Naidu also referred to letters written by former Maharashtra chief minister Prithivraj Chavan and union commerce minister Anand Sharma.

Naidu further denied that the government was working in favour of the corporate sector and called for a 'practical' approach to the issue.

"The government led by Narendra Modi is for the poor people, farmers, youth, women and the weaker sections and will not do anything against their interests. The central government is deeply committed to protecting the interests of the farmers who have been at the receiving end all along being unorganised. I urge all parties not to politicise the issue of land acquisition," he said.

"Without compromising on the remuneration to be paid to land owners against acquisition of their land, the Government has proposed some amendments to the Land Act of 2013 to facilitate development by adding only five more categories to be exempted from the provisions of the Act of 2013. Around 13 more categories have been brought under the purview of the new Bill which would immensely benefit the farmers. Experience has shown that it would be next to impossible to complete infrastructure projects like laying of new railway lines in five years and hence, an amendment has been proposed in this regard," he added.

The minister further said that Congress leader Mallikarjuna Kharge's suggestion of referring the bill to the Standing Committee is not feasible as the ordinance lapses on April 5 and is to be replaced by an Act of Parliament by March 20, when the House will be adjourned for a month.