The Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (Ficci) has voiced various objections to the latest and almost final version of the govrnment’s land acquisition Bill.
It has also sought notification of any land use change much in advance before any acquisition, to reduce the losses to owners. What is acquired by the government as agricultural land at cheap rates is resold to companies, which then change the land use and resell at several times the original price. This has caused a lot of anger among those who had to give up their land in many states, sometimes leading to violent clashes.
Among various objections, Ficci has pointed to the latest Bill’s clause barring government acquisition fot the private sector for a private purpose. In the case of large projects such as steel, cement and so on, there is going to be a problem for the private sector in the “last mile purchase”, Ficci has said. In such cases, if the government does not facilitate acquisition, then the projects might not take off. Hence, in cases where 75 per cent of the land in question has been purchased, the Bill could provide for acquisition for the private sector if requested by industry, it said.
It has also sought re-examination of the provision that irrigated multi-cropped land can be acquired only under exceptional circumstances.
“This issue needs to be re-examined since states in the Indo-Gangetic plain like Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and West Bengal have a significant portion of total land under irrigated agriculture and are also the most densely populated regions,” said Ficci.
For instance, 84 per cent of land in Punjab is agricultural; in UP and Haryana, almost 80 per cent; in Bihar, 70 per cent. By suggesting restrictions on the use of such land for industry, it would result in denying the people of these areas better opportunities by not participating in industrial growth,” said Ficci.
The Bill says in all transactions where a notification under Section 4 of the Land Acquisition Act, 1894, has been issued but the award under Section 11 has not been made even after six months of the commencement of this Act, the earlier shall be deemed to have lapsed FICCI says the period should be extended to two years.
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Ficci has also objected to applying the rehabilitation and resettlement provisions for private purchase transactions (not acquisition). “We understand that the Bill seeks to provide R&R to affected families even for private purchase of land above a particular size, to be fixed by state governments. Land prices determined by market forces and agreed between the buyer and seller must be kept outside the R&R provisions,” Ficci said.
It has also objected to providing any option of annuity policies for affected families in land acquisition deals. Industry would then be bound by such commitments for 20 years, which would be difficult to administer, Ficci said.