TN govt opposes Chapter III of the Right to Fair Compensation & LARR Bill

Consent clause should not cover land acquisition for private hospitals and private educational institutions: Jayalalithaa

The Tamil Nadu government has opposed the chapter III of The Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition and Rehabilitation and Resettlement Bill, 2011 (LARR Bill), as it compromises the interests of farmers.

While expressing her inability to attend the second meeting of the Governing Council of Niti Aayog held in the national capital today to deliberate on the LARR Bill, Tamil Nadu chief minister J Jayalalithaa, in a letter to the Prime Minister, said farmers in the state were strongly opposed to the provisions of the Act.

“We believe that the present amendments take away the important safeguards of farmers and the agriculture sector. Hence, I urge the Government of India not to press these amendments,” she said.

According to the provisions of chapter III, consent of 80 per cent of the land owners has to be obtained if the land is being acquired for a private project. If the land is proposed to be acquired for public-private-partnership projects, it requires the consent of 70 per cent of the land owners.

The chief minister also said a social impact assessment had to be made and added there should be a limit on acquiring agricultural and multi-cropping land for commercial purposes. “I had also strongly opposed the amendment proposed in the Ordinance that the consent clause should not cover land acquisition for private hospitals and private educational institutions”.

However, these provisions would not apply to projects in defence and defence production, rural infrastructure including electrification, affordable housing and housing for the poor, industrial corridors, infrastructure and social infrastructure projects, including projects under public private partnership (PPP), where the ownership of the land continues to vest with the Union government.