Land bill report expected in August first week: Speaker

The joint committee of parliament looking into the contentious land bill is expected to give its report in the first week of August, Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan said here on Monday.

The committee, headed by BJP parliamentarian S.S. Ahluwalia, was given extension till the first week of August after it sought some more time, she told media persons after a luncheon meeting with leaders of all parties in the Lok Sabha on the eve of the beginning of the monsoon session of parliament.

"It (the report) is expected to come in the first week of August," she said.

She said the committee wanted to hold more consultations and also talk with the government for its views.

The speaker said the committee had earlier sought extension for a week but now sought more time.

The committee, set up during the budget session, was to submit its report on the first day of the monsoon session.

The Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement (Second Amendment) Bill, 2015, which has been brought by the National Democratic Alliance government, is opposed by the Congress and other parties.

The Congress does not want changes in the measure passed by its United Progressive Alliance government in 2013.

The monsoon session of parliament will continue till August 13.