PM's land ordinance decision at Niti Aayog's behest: Fadnavis

After Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced that the government will not re-promulgate the controversial Land Acquisition ordinance which expires tomorrow, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said here today that decision was taken at the NITI Ayog's request.
"At a recent NITI Aayog meeting, most chief ministers had demanded that due to the stalemate in Parliament over the Land Bill, critical infrastructure projects of states are getting delayed and so the Centre should empower states to enact their own land acquisition models," Fadnavis told PTI.
"We are happy that Modi has accepted our request and decided that instead of re-promulgating the ordinance, states will be empowered to frame their own models," he said.

Fadnavis said that the Maharashtra government has already decided to give highest compensation to farmers as compared to other states.
"This decision will expedite rural and urban infrastructure projects," he said.
In May, the Maharashtra government had decided to give four times more compensation than the cost of land as per the ready reckoner (RR) rate for acquiring land in urban areas, while land owners in rural areas would get five times more compensation than the ready reckoner rate.

Hitting out at critics, Fadnavis said, "Those who say that the government has taken a U-turn fail to understand that it is a decision taken for the benefit of farmers and people at large. The recent election results in MP, Rajasthan and Bangalore show that people have complete faith in Modi".

He said that people have reposed their faith in the BJP in Maharashtra as well, since the party won more than 2,100 gram panchayat elections in recent times.
"People have full faith in Modi and they will always reject the opposition's destructive agenda," Fadnavis said.