Observers worried about the gradual
dilution of the Bill on Land Acquisition, now renamed the Right to
Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition Bill have
found allies within the Council of Ministers.
First, the Defence Minister, A.K.
Antony told the Group of Ministers constituted to revise the draft in
order to evolve consensus within the Cabinet, that government should
not ordinarily intervene on behalf of private projects to
compulsorily acquire land. He cautioned that such acquisition for
private projects would cause further resentment among people and
advised that the government should intervene only where 90% of land
owners give consent.
Later, the views of the Defence
Minister were echoed by the Minister for Tribal Affairs, V.Kishore
Chandra Deo who also opined that the state should not resort to
compulsory acquisition for private projects. He further advocate the
insertion of a retrospective clause in the Bill to cover all on
going projects where payment of compensation and rehabilitation an
resettlement have not been completed.
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