The Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Bill 2011, seeks to strengthen the rights of landowners during acquisition of land for development and ensure proper rehabilitation and compensation for those being displaced. It also seeks to address problems of industry when land is acquired for setting up projects.
The Land Acquisition Bill will finally be tabled in Parliament in the second half of the Budget Session beginning on Monday. In an all party meeting, there was a consensus among them and have agreed to keep the land mafia out and have agreed to veto the bill in the forthcoming session with modifications.
1). The bill allows the states to enact/amend their own law to suit the state`s needs.
2). 50% of the compensation must be paid to the original land owner.
3). Land can be leased to the industrialists/developers on long term basis, thus retaining the ownership with the original land owners or farmers, so that they will get the regular income.
4). The compensation must be based on the market price and is payable to the farmer.
5). 80% of the people, whose lands are proposed to be acquired for a project must accept and give up their land.
The bill has had a roller-coaster journey already and looks very different now from what had been sent by Parliament to a standing committee last year. Ministries insisted on changes to provisions which were perceived as hurdles to investment and industry, which has said that the terms of compensation and rehabilitation that the bill provides for are very steep.