Land Bill 2015 to take care of all farmers' concerns

Union Minister of State for Chemicals and Fertilizers Hansraj Ahir, who had fought for the cause of farmers against Land Acquisition Act, 1894, claimed here today that Land Bill 2015 would take care of all aspects pertaining to farmers.

Addressing reporters on Sunday afternoon, Ahir stressed that Land Acquisition Bill is neither anti-farmer nor anti-poor as perceived by some of the political leaders, but is solely aimed at bringing about greater focus on agriculture and welfare of the farmers. He brushed aside speculations that Shiv Sena, an ally in NDA government is opposed to the Bill by stating that Union Minister Nitin Gadkari has taken initiatives to explain facts in the Land Bill to Shiv Sena Chief Uddhav Thackeray.

"Many of the political leaders and social workers are simply jumping into conclusions that the Land Bill is for the corporate houses, ignoring the welfare of farmers, which is not true. I urge all such critics to spare some time to study the Bill and pin-point the drawbacks in the act. Even, Anna Hazareji has been misguided by his associates in this regard," he said.

"The government has removed the clause of 70 percent consent from land holders for acquisition, if and only if it is acquired for government projects like irrigation, roads, railways, hospitals and health centres. The clause of consent continues to remain in force for the projects other than government ones," he said. He further informed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi, during his address to the Parliament, made it clear that the government is prepared to rectify flaws in the Act if someone pointed out any clause that goes against the interest of farmers in the country.