Acquisition of land for private purposes will require the consent of at least 80 per cent of the owners, is the almost-final decision of the group of ministers (GoM) tasked with recommending on this.
This will be one of the provisions of the new land Bill. GoM chairman Sharad Pawar and rural development minister Jairam Ramesh met briefly today to finalise key aspects on which some differences had remained. This issue of acquisition for a non-public purpose was one aspect.
However, no consent would be required for acquiring land for public purposes, even for private parties, Pawar said today. In both cases, though, public and private purposes, provisions of relief and rehabilitation would apply equally, as specified in the coming Bill.
| LAND BILL HIGHLIGHTS |
|
The Bill is to be circulated among GoM members for a week and subsequently be placed before the Cabinet.
Some contentious issues have been left for state governments to decide. One is if a state acquires land and decides to lease it out to the private sector -- would consent of land owners be needed? Again, if land is acquired in excess of need, would the surplus go back to the original owners? The Bill does not take a view on this and leaves it to legal opinion. Pawar said: “The Supreme Court says it should be auctioned. We will find out if it is applicable to this Bill.”
On if the Delhi-Mumbai corridor and the Yamuna Expressway projects would need the consent of land losers, Pawar said it would not be needed but the townships to come up would need consent. However, he said, projects such as housing may be counted as a public purpose.
As for the mammoth manufacturing zones, Pawar said consent would be taken from landowners in case of land for private companies and private purposes.
The Bill might have retrospective effect, depending on the wish of the respective states where it is enforced, Pawar said.
It is to come into effect on the day it is notified. But for projects which have not completed compensation payments, the relief and rehabilitation provisions of the new law will apply, if the state desires. States are being consulted on this, Pawar added.
