New land acquisition Bill to ensure fair compensation: Min

The much-awaited draft land acquisition Bill, to be unveiled soon, "assures fair compensation and does not impede the process of land acquisition" for industries and other purposes, Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh said today.

He also said that under the new policy forest land could also be acquired for mining, which is necessary for infrastructure development, and laws relating to land acquisition in urban and rural areas would be different.

"We recognise that land is required for industry and urbanisation. The Bill assures fair compensation and does not impede the process of land acquisition. I have tried to bring about a balance between the users and the land owners," Ramesh told reporters.

Stressing that "there must be complete transparency", the Minister said the the draft Bill is in compliance with the provisions of the Forest Rights Act, the Panchayats (Extention to Scheduled Areas) Act and the Land Transfer Regulations to protect the interest of tribals.

"I am hopeful that even the tribals will be happy with the new Bill," he said.

Ramesh said the draft will be placed in public domain in a "couple of days for pre-legislative consultations". However, he did not comment whether the Bill will be introduced in the monsoon session of Parliament commencing next week. "I am a firm believer in pre-legislative consultations," Ramesh said.