Law in the making to back SEZ rehab policy

Under fire for its policy on special economic zones (SEZs), the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government will soon introduce a Bill in Parliament that will make it binding for companies to rehabilitate farmers before they are displaced for setting up industries.

The proposed law will give more teeth to the government to enforce the rehabilitation policy being prepared by the rural development ministry.

"We are coming out with a new resettlement and rehabilitation Act and amending Land Acquisition Act to give legislative backing to the policy," an official in the rural development ministry said.

He said the resettlement and rehabilitation Act would be an "over-riding" law on both the Land Acquisition Act and the Special Economic Zone Act. The principle of "rehabilitation before displacement will be strictly followed," he said.

Earlier this week, Rural Development Minister Raghuvansh Prasad Singh had said that the much-delayed relief and rehabilitation policy would soon go to the Cabinet.

The ministry has sent its draft to the law ministry for examining legal and constitutional aspects of the policy. Singh has indicated that compulsory land acquisition for industrial projects, including SEZs, would not be allowed "at any cost" in the policy. He said the rural development ministry "would ensure that the interests of farmers are protected."

Interestingly, while the rural development ministry has been given the key task of formulating the rehabilitation policy, Singh is not part of the empowered group of ministers on SEZs.