The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has given the issue of land acquisition a twist, by proposing that government enable industry to lease land, rather than buy or acquire it for public or private purposes.
The government's revised Land Acquisition Bill is currently under discussion and has elicited about 150 amendments.
The proposal to enable industry to lease land has been backed by the Janata Dal (U). However, no other party has agreed. Experts say the suggestion is good but note land is a state subject.
Speaking on the new proposal made by the BJP at the inconclusive all-party meet held recently, party spokesperson Nirmala Sitharaman said the party had proposed leasing of land as it was a generational asset. "So, we proposed that land be leased from them, rather than be acquired, wherever possible. But leasing is only one of the 12 or 13 proposals made by the BJP," she told Business Standard. "Either lease land or provide some return from the property that comes up on the land or some shareholding in it. We have proposed these rather than a mere one-time sum as compensation."
At the very least, leasing should be an option given to farmers, she said.
However, she conceded that leasing had its problems. "Promoters need finance to start ventures and finance is hard to access if land is leased, rather than owned" she said. The BJP's views, with those of other parties, would now be discussed at the all-party meet convened on Thursday by the government.
Janata Dal (U) Sharad Yadav said of the lease proposal: "This would be one way of ensuring that the asset remains with the original owner and he continues to earn a rent from the land."
The idea was originally proposed by BJP leader Sushma Swaraj at the all-party meet called recently by Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kamal Nath.
National Advisory Council member and former rural development secretary N C Saxena said leasing of land was a state subject and would work only if state governments made specific provision for it.
