The ghost clause

The industry is exercised over a retrospective clause in the recently passed land acquisition Act but Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh is keen to emphasise that he prefers to refer to it as bhootlakshi pravdhan, the Hindi translation of the term. That was because, he said, he has been discussing the law in Hindi wherever he travelled. Plus, he told an anxious gathering at the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry, the term offers differing perspectives. He said the provision that applies compensation under the new law to five-year-old cases may be a bhoot (in this case spectre) to the industry but it was a boon to potential land-losers. He hastened to add that the provision would not create a "GAAR-type situation", referring to the draconian tax anti-avoidance rules that the government recently gave a quiet burial.