The government has decided to bring in the controversial Land Acquisition (Amendment) Bill in the coming Winter Session of Parliament in its present form.
Parliamentary affairs minister Pawan Kumar Bansal announced this on Wednesday.
The bill, which had been earlier cleared during the 14th Lok Sabha and lapsed with it following objections from UPA ally Trinamul Congress chief and railway minister Mamata Banerjee, will now be reintroduced in the Winter Session of Parliament, starting November 9.
Keeping that in mind, the government is adopting a flexible approach and appears to be open to changes in the Bill in an attempt to placate the TMC chief.
“The bill will come in its present form. But any changes can be done on the floor of the House,” said rural development minister C.P. Joshi.
Mr Joshi, who had briefed finance minister Pranab Mukherjee about the TMC chief’s objections on October 25, met the FM again on Wednesday.
On October 25, Mr Mukherjee had also called the TMC chief to resolve the issue but she failed to turn up. Sources said the FM will try to convince her.
The TMC chief’s main objection is to the amendment to Section 3 of the principal Land Acquisition Act, 1894, which allows the state government to acquire remaining 30 per cent of the total area of land required for a project after the private developer has purchased 70 per cent of the total land area directly from the farmer at the market rate.
The TMC chief is dead against this clause and wants the state government to have no role in acquisition of land for industrial projects. Instead, she wants private developer to purchase the entire chunk of land for the project directly from the farmer at market rate.
Sources said the UPA is aware that Ms Banerjee ’s opposition to the bill is political posturing, given high stakes for her party in the West Bengal Assembly elections scheduled next year.
The government will also bring the Rehabilitation and Resettlement Bill, which deals with the rights of the persons displaced due to land acquisition and complements the Land Acquisition Bill.