Land ordinance to be re-promulgated

New Delhi, May 30

The Union Cabinet today recommended re-promulgation of the controversial Land Acquisition Ordinance. The land ordinance will be issued for the third time.

The ordinance was promulgated for the first time in December last year to amend the 2013 Act. Despite being passed in Lok Sabha, the government did not take it to Rajya Sabha as it lacked numbers there.

The ordinance was re-promulgated in March this year and will lapse on June 4. The recommendation of the Union Cabinet will be sent to President Pranab Mukherjee for its approval.

The government, which had promulgated the ordinance twice on the bill since December after it faced continuous resistance especially in Rajya Sabha, where it does not have the numbers, had agreed to refer it to the committee, during the recently concluded Parliament session.

The first meeting of joint Committee of Parliament on the contentious land bill yesterday saw a number of Opposition members raising questions over the rationale of the government changing provisions of the 2013 land law.

Expressing dissatisfaction over the government's arguments in favour of the bill, the members had demanded a "composite" inter-ministerial reply on the issue.

At the meeting, the Rural Development Ministry and Legislative department in the Law Ministry had made a presentation to members on the amendments made to the The Right To Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013.

As the officials of the two ministries explained the amendments, members from the Opposition parties, including Congress, BJD, TMC and the Left had raised questions over the rationale of doing away with the consent clause while acquiring land.

While the 2013 law required that the consent of 80 per cent of land owners was obtained for private projects and that the consent of 70 per cent of land owners be obtained for PPP projects, the present bill exempts the five categories from this provision of the Act.

These categories include defence, rural infrastructure, affordable housing, industrial corridors and infrastructure projects including public private partnership (PPP) projects where the government owns the land.

The 2013 Act also required that a social impact assessment be conducted to identify affected families and calculate the social impact when land is acquired. This provision has been done away with.

Rahul targets Modi

Meanwhile, Rahul Gandhi today made a blistering attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi accusing him of being in an “amazing hurry” to “grab” land from poor farmers by deciding to repromulgate the land ordinance for the third time.

“Modi ji in an amazing hurry to grab land from poor farmers at any cost. A 3rd attempt at pushing the anti farmer Land Ordinance!”

“Congress Party will continue to fight for the rights of the kisan and mazdoor against this #suitbootkisarkar”, the Congress Vice President said in tweets.

The reaction of Gandhi, who has led the Congress campaign against the land Bill, came hours after the Union Cabinet at a meeting decided to recommend repromulgation of the controversial ordinance for the third time. The 2013 land Bill passed during the UPA regime was the brainchild of Rahul.

Party leader Jairam Ramesh, who was the Rural Development Minister during UPA rule, said the Modi government has made a “mockery” of the exercise to go into the measure by the Joint Committee which had held its first meeting only yesterday.

The “black” ordinance would dilute the importance of the Committee, he said condemning the decision.

The government has “insulted” Parliament by the move, he said demanding that it should give it up. The message that has gone from the move is that Modi government believes in NAMO (No Act Make Ordinance).

Replying to questions, Ramesh said that the party will consider the suggestion to approach President Pranab Mukherjee again on the issue in the wake of the new development.

Speaking separately, party’s communication department in-charge Randeep Surjewala dubbed the move as a “travesty of justice” and an “affront to Parliament”.

“It is an affront to Parliament which refused to put its stamp of approval. Duplicity of Prime Minister stands exposed as he had only yesterday said that his government is open to reviewing the anti-farmer land ordinance”, he said.

He demanded that the government desist from the move and “apologise to the nation for its subversive designs”.

BJP hits back at Rahul

Meanwhile, the BJP today hit back at Rahul Gandhi for his attack on the Narendra Modi government over the land ordinance, saying he should do his homework and not make “wild” and “baseless” allegations as it was the Congress that had played “havoc” with the poor with its “garibi hatao” slogan.

Seeking to turn the tables on the Opposition party, the BJP asked Rahul to first explain the “politics of money over bodies” in Congress-ruled Uttarakhand in the wake of allegations of swindling of funds meant for the victims of the natural calamity that struck the hill state in 2013.

“Rahul should first give an account of the corruption by Uttarakhand government. We condemn his statement. The Modi government is working for farmers’ interests and is committed to rural development.

“Rahul does not do any homework and the making of baseless allegations has become a part of his politics. His allegations on the land Bill are misleading and false. I condemn it,” said Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad.

Defending the Union Cabinet’s recommendation today for the re-promulgation of the land Ordinance, Prasad said it was being done to protect farmers’ interests.

“Had the Ordinance not been extended, because it is awaiting a joint session (of Parliament), the farmer would not have got the four-time compensation in the case of highways and even in the case of Prime Minister’s Gram Sadak Yojna,” he said.

Attacking the Congress for failing to remove poverty in the country despite being in power for over 58 years, he said that Rahul and Sonia Gandhi’s party had “played havoc” with their “garibi hatao” slogan.

“India remained poor. The farmer’s plight became even more and more cancerous. And they are today talking of farmers’ interests,” he questioned.

Making wild allegations without doing any homework is not right, said Prasad even as he demanded that Rahul should first explain what is happening in Uttarakhand.

“Even in cases of natural calamities, what happened in Kedarnath... According to media reports, unfortunately politics of money is being done even on bodies in Uttarakhand.

“That is condemnable, reprehensible and Rahul Gandhi’s silence is indeed eloquent. I would only tell Rahul Gandhi, please do some homework, stop making wild baseless allegations,” he said. — PTI