The land ordinance introduced in parliament on Monday will create millions of jobs, meet farmers' aspirations and help spur economic growth, India Inc. said on Wednesday.
"It is a vital piece of legislation that will seek to bridge the economic divide and propel inclusive growth in the country," the Confederation of Indian Industry said in a statement here.
"Industry and farmers should not be viewed as opponents when it comes to the land bill," CII president Sumit Mazumder said.
"Infrastructure and industrial projects worth crores of rupees are delayed due to hurdles in land acquisition. This deprives millions of landless people of job opportunities and forces them to migrate to urban slums to look for livelihood," he added.
According to the industry chamber, the land ordinance is expected to benefit millions of rural migrants and help the country urbanise.
In the re-promulgated ordinance tabled in the Lok Sabha, certain key areas like affordable housing, rural infrastructure, electrification and social infrastructure projects are exempted from the mandatory consent of 70-80 percent of land owners and the Social Impact Assessment (SIA).
Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said earlier this month that the land law passed in 2013 was hugely "anti-farmer".
"The 2013 land law was hugely detrimental to rural India," Jaitley said at the CII national convention here.
"The law is most unfriendly for rural India. It has no provision for rural infrastructure, even acquiring of land for irrigation has been left out and no land can be made available for rural electrification," he added about the old legislation.
The Lok Sabha has passed the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in the Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement (Amendment) Bill that sought to replace an ordinance that was promulgated in December.
It faced stiff opposition in the Rajya Sabha, following which the ordinance was re-promulgated with some changes.
--Indo-Asian News Service
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