Communist Party of India (CPI) leader D. Raja on Thursday highlighted the need for new law related to land, but said that it should be in the interest of the tribal people and other weaker sections.
"There is a need for a new land law, legislation on land use; but it should be socially desirable. It should not be done for the sake of helping some corporate houses, big business houses in the name of project to abet tribal people or other weaker sections," he said.
Meanwhile, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Chandreshwar Prasad Thakur said that there should be a clause for proper utilization of land.
"The farmer should get the correct compensation at the right time for the land given by the government and at the current rate. If he sells his land once then the farmer is left with nothing. The government also has its own needs like setting up of factories and others. There should be a clause for proper utilization of land," said Thakur.
Janata Dal United (JD-U) leader Shivanand Tiwari on his part said that the provisions of the new proposed bill was better than the old one.
"There was an urgent need for the land bill. The Land Acquisition Act was formed in 1894 during the British era, which was anti-people and anti-farmer. Around 14 to 15 amendments were made after 1960 in the Act. This bill is much better. It can be criticized, but we feel that it is much better," he said.
The Lok Sabha will today take up the Land Acquisition Bill, which aims at making affected persons partners in development, leading to an improvement in their post- acquisition social and economic status.
The bill seeks to provide just and fair compensation to families whose land has been acquired for industrial purposes. The bill proposes payment of compensation up to four times the market value in rural areas and two times the market value in urban areas.