Lok Sabha set to debate Land Acquisition Bill today

After passing the Food Bill, Lok Sabha will take up tomorrow another landmark legislation of the UPA - the Land Acquisition Bill - that seeks to provide 'just and fair' compensation to families whose land has been acquired for industrial purposes.

The much-talked about bill proposes payment of compensation that is up to four times the market value in rural areas and two times the market value in urban areas.

Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh will move the Bill, which aims at making affected persons partners in development, leading to an improvement in their post- acquisition social and economic status.

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Ramesh said the Bill, renamed as 'The Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Bill, 2012' conveys government's determination to address 'widespread and historical injustices'.

This has been done by establishing strong legal prerequisites that need to be discharged first while acquiring land.

The Bill will replace over a century-old Land Acquisition Act, 1894, which suffers from various shortcomings, including silence on the issue of resettlement and rehabilitation of those displaced by the acquisition of land.

Besides, it had the much criticised 'Urgency Clause' which never truly defines what constitutes an urgent need and leaves it to the discretion of the acquiring authority.

Apart from this, it provided low rates of compensation.