Acquisition of land for SEZ now under new land act: Ramesh

Acquisition of land for SEZs would now come under the purview of the new Land Acquisition Act, Union Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh said today.
The new law would help check developing real estate business on SEZs in future, he told reporters here.
He said the Centre would soon bring out rules and guidelines for land acquired for SEZs denotified later.
"If any SEZ is denotified, the land use will be decided by the state government as it is a state subject," he said.
The new law, however, would not be applicable to private sale of land, Ramesh said, adding it has to be acquired by the government for public purpose.

The new law could also be used retrospectively in certain specific cases.
It would also prevent forcible acquisition of land and benefit farmers, landless labours and the tribal community in particular, the minister said.