Consensus may emerge on land acquisition bill: Jaitley

Hinting at a possible consensus on land acquisition bill, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley today said the government is making efforts in that direction so that it could be taken up in the upcoming Winter Session. "Meanwhile, the Ordinance (on land acquisition) has lapsed but the bill remains before the Joint Parliamentary Committee. They have asked some minor changes on which a consensus is possible.

We will try and see if in the coming session that consensus can be worked out," he said at the National Strategy Day on India, jointly organised by World Economic Forum and CII. Prime Minister Narendra Modi in August had said the government will not re-promulgate the Ordinance on land acquisition and declared readiness to accept any suggestions to benefit the farmers in the pending bill on it. Following this, the government chose to give up ordinance route and issued an 'order' to include 13 central Acts like National Highway and Railways Acts to extend benefits to those whose land is acquired under land law.

The order issued by the government under the removal of difficulties clause (Section 113) in the Land Act extended the provisions relating to the determination of compensation, rehabilitation and resettlement to all cases of land acquisition under 13 central acts which were left out in the 2013 law. Highlighting availability of land is a prerequisite for growth, Jaitley said "urbanisation would be a reality, infrastructure land is required, for rural development, rural irrigation, housing schemes and if you don't make land available the growth process comes to an end." He further said the land taken from somebody must be paid and more than adequately compensated. It is now left to states to decide on land acquisition.

"So there is a change in strategy that let the states bring about any change if they feel it is necessary and states have now set that process into motion. The first state has already sent its proposal to the Centre, we have accepted and they have notified it," he said.