Executive order to fast track rehab policy

The rural development ministry plans to introduce the new national rehabilitation policy for all industrial and infrastructure projects through an executive order by the last week of January.

"The executive order route will be quicker than moving a Bill through Parliament," Rural Development Minister Raghuvansh Prasad Singh told Business Standard today.

Though the policy applies to all projects, the decision is being taken against the backdrop of two postponements of Board of Approval meetings for special economic zone (SEZ) proposals. There are 81 SEZ proposals pending approval.

As reported on Thursday, the government has put on hold all SEZ proposals till a rehabilitation policy is in place. An executive order by the end of January will pave the way for the proposals to be considered soon after.

The draft National Rehabilitation Policy, 2006 has already been circulated to all central ministries.

Singh said his ministry would come out with the policy as soon as the mandatory three-week waiting period for responses from various ministries is completed. "We expect to bring it to the Cabinet in the next three weeks," he said.

Singh also clarified that the policy's guidelines would apply to any project which involves land acquisition, including those SEZs approved earlier but where the acquisition of land is yet to begin.

Till date, 237 SEZ projects have been approved by the inter-ministerial Board of Approval.

"The main aim of the policy is that nobody should be evicted from his land till he has been fully rehabilitated and richly compensated by either the state or the private company putting up the project," said Singh, adding: "While it is true that land is a state subject, rehabilitation comes in the Concurrent List, which makes it a concern of the Centre."