New Delhi:
The government, looking for the support of other political parties for its land reforms, has proposed nine amendments in its Land Acquisition Bill which will be voted on in the Lok Sabha today. The Bill was discussed in the lower house on Monday.
Here are the latest developments:
The changes that the government has proposed seek to incorporate those suggested by other parties. Among them are amendments to ensure a better mechanism for the redressal of grievances of those whose land is acquired.
It has also proposed to remove social infrastructure projects from a list of categories the government wants exempted from requiring the consent of 70 per cent farmers in an area where land is to be acquired. The current law requires that consent for all projects.
It has also agreed to reinstate a social impact assessment only for social infrastructure projects. The Opposition and government allies like the Akali Dal have protested against the government's move to scrap the social impact assessment clause, mandatory in the current law, for five categories.
The Narendra Modi government's proposed land reforms have been criticised as "pro-corporates" and "anti-farmers" by the opposition and activists. Many key allies have also warned that they will find it difficult to support it without changes.
Ally Shiv Sena has kept the BJP government, that it is a part of, on tenterhooks, insisting on Monday evening that it has not decided which way it will vote on the Land Acquisition Bill in the Lok Sabha today. "We will act according to the direction of party chief Uddhav Thackeray," party leader Sanjay Raut told PTI.
While the BJP is not worried about numbers in the Lower House, it has almost the entire opposition ranged against the legislation and will struggle to pass it in the Rajya Sabha, where it is in a minority.
The Congress has said it will support no changes to the law its government brought in 2013.
The Modi government has reached out to parties like the Biju Janata Dal for support. Power and coal minister Piyush Goyal met Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik in Delhi on Monday.
On Monday, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee met Prime Minister Narendra Modi to seek financial assistance from the Centre for her cash-strapped state amid speculation that the PM would use it as an ice-breaker. Ms Banerjee ruled out the support of her Trinamool Congress for the land bill.
The government says the proposed land reforms balance the rights of farmers with the urgent need to provide land for projects worth hundreds of millions of dollars. It was introduced in December as an ordinance or decree which will lapse if it is not approved by this session of Parliament.
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