With the Land Acquisition Act in place, Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh has asked several key ministries to ensure that land procured is in consonance with the new law and undertake necessary amendments in the provisions for compensation.
Ramesh has written to 10 ministries including Home, Urban Development, Railways, Mines, Coal, Petroleum, Power and Highways to take steps to amend the compensation and rehabilitation and resettlement (R&R) provisions in the 13 existing pieces of legislations to bring them on par with those under the new land law.
After the enactment of the Land Acquisition Act, Ramesh had said that the compensation and R&R in 13 Acts will be brought on a par with those under "The Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013".
The new land law is made to provide just and fair compensation to farmers while ensuring that no land can be acquired forcibly.
The National Highways Act, 1956, The Coal Bearing Areas Acquisition and Development Act, 1957, The Railways Act, 1984 and The Land Acquisition (Mines) Act, 1885 are among the 13 legislations under which the bulk of land acquisitions have been taking place in the country.
By bringing these legislations on par with the new Land Acquisition law, the government feels that it would help address the misery of tribals, especially in states like Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and Odisha, who are often subjected to "unmindful displacement" while acquiring land particularly for mining coal, minerals and metals from forests.
In his letters, Ramesh has said that "follow-up action" should be taken to amend the relevant provisions in the legislations under their domain dealing with the issue of land acquisition.
He has also written to Minister of State for Prime Minister's Office (PMO) V Narayanasamy to initiate steps regarding amendment of the Atomic Energy Act, 1962.
