After the Land Acquisition Bill was passed in the Lok Sabha yesterday evening, Janata Dal (United) leader Shivanand Tiwari on Friday expressed that though there could not have been a more comprehensive bill on the issue, the government had severely delayed in bringing it into operation.
"Though it is a good bill, I will say that it has come with delay. It has come 66 years after independence. If it had come earlier, the farmer's land, which has been given to projects for insufficient prices would not have happened-they would be saved from this exploitation," Tiwari said.
Complimenting the Congress-led UPA government, Tiwari said that the passed Land Acquisition Bill would benefit all persons and said that the ruling government was inclusive in incorporating all the suggestions which came forth in Parliament.
"We believe the Land Acquisition Bill is a very good bill. I don't think that there could have been a superior bill than this," Tiwari said.
"The best thing was that the government accommodated the suggestions which came forth, into the bill, as amendments. ...This bill is for everyone-everyone is being protected by this bill. This is the first time that the farmer's agreement is absolutely necessary. So, I think it is a very good and comprehensive bill," he added.
Meanwhile, the Bharatiya Janata Party said that the bill goes beyond the canons of politics.
""See, this is reflection of the national will to give justice to the farmers and destitute, who were being denied the justice and this is I said I said is a national will because practically all parties supported it and it is a long struggle of the destitute. So, I think this is beyond politics," BJP spokesperson Prakash Javadekar said on Thursday.
Commenting on the passing of the bill on Thursday, Union Law Minister Kapil Sibal said the Bill would ensure justice to the farmers across the country, who were being exploited by the private companies.
"Ultimately this Act is meant for the farmers. This Act is meant to redress hundreds of years of injustice to the farmer, where he was not able to get an appropriate price for his land, when it is acquired by the government and the private sector, government was acquiring for the private sector and the private sector was making a killing," Sibal said.
The Land Acquisition Bill was passed by the Lok Sabha yesterday.
A whopping majority of 216 members in the Lok Sabha voted in favour of the Bill, while only 19 voted against the Bill which seeks to provide just and fair compensation to farmers while ensuring that no land can be acquired forcibly.
The Left parties, AIADMK and BJD members staged a walkout a Trinamool Congress (TMC) voted against the Bill.
Lawmaker of the TMC Sudip Bandhopadhay said that 100 percent of the land should go to the private sector, without any mediator by a direct transaction between the owner or farmer and the business group.
Meanwhile, The Bharatiya Janata Party, Samajwadi Party and Bahujan Samaj Party supported the Bill.
381 amendments were moved, of which 166 were official.
The Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Bill, 2012, instruct binding consent of at least 70 percent for acquiring land for Public-Private Partnership projects and 80 percent for obtaining land for private companies.
Under the provisions of the bill, land losers will get compensation upto four times the market value in rural areas and two times in urban areas. The bill has also made special provisions to safeguard multi-crop, irrigated land from being acquired.
This Bill is intended to boost farmers' rights although certain entities opposed it by saying the new law will thwart efforts to revive the floundering economy.
The Bill will now go to the Rajya Sabha.
