Opposition corners Government in RS over Land Bill

New Delhi, April 27

Rayjya Sabha once again witnessed an uproarious session on Monday when the Opposition attempted to corner the government over the contentious amendments to the Land Acquisition Act, 2013, particularly over the controversial consent clause.

While the Opposition demanded that the government should increase percentage of developed land to be returned to farmers from whom it was acquired from 20 to 50 per cent, the government refused.

"Providing them 50 per cent of developed land is not possible," Rural Development Minister Birender Singh. The Bill states that farmers must then return an amount equal to the cost of the land from the compensation he is given.

"A farmer can start a new work or business from the compensation he gets after his land is acquired," he said.

Continuing the Opposition’s onslaught, Congress leader Ahmed Patel demanded to know if the government had done away with the contentious clause doing away with consent for acquiring land for national security and national projects.

 "Do you have an action plan for this," he questioned, to which the Minister replied the government would only resort to acquiring land under "extra-ordinary" circumstances.

Under the Bill, the mandatory consent clause and Social Impact Assessment (SIA) will not be applicable if the land is acquired for five purposes —national security, defence, rural infrastructure, including electrification, industrial corridors and building social infrastructure, including PPP where ownership of land continues to be vested with the government.

The House also debated the agrarian crisis and the spate of suicide by farmers affected by recent hailstorm and unseasonal rains. — PTI