"Justice Ganpat Singhvi of the Supreme Court of India has observed, in the wake of repeated violations that have come to light over the last few months, that the Land Acquisition Act 1894 has 'become a fraud'. He further observed that the law seems to have been drafted with 'scant regard for the welfare of the common man'," says a Ministry note circulated to the GoM headed by Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar.
The Ministry, headed by Jairam Ramesh, wants to introduce the Bill in the winter session of Parliament. He could not bring the bill in the budget session after a number of ministers including Urban Development Minister Kamal Nath, Commerce Minister Anand Sharma and Transport Minister C P Joshi had voiced reservations over certain provisions in the bill.
The GoM is likely to meet tomorrow to scrutinise contentious provisions of the controversial Land Bill.
The Ministry has also cited observations made by another bench of the Apex Court to push for the Bill to replace the existing Land Acquisition Act 1894.
According to the Ministry, the SC has observed that "The provisions contained in the Act, of late, have been felt by all concerned, do not adequately protect the interest of the land owners/persons interested in the land."
The Court has observed that, "The Act does not provide for rehabilitation of persons displaced from their land although by such compulsory acquisition, their livelihood gets affected