Amid drafting of the Land Acquisition (Amendment) Bill gaining momentum, Union rural development minister Vilasrao Deshmukh has said that the “public purpose” will be categorically defined in the legislation. Even against the stated opposition of Trinamul Congress chief Mamata Banerjee in any kind of government role in land
acquisition, Mr Deshmukh has said that the government’s role will be limited to the extent of a maximum 30 per cent in the exercise.
When asked on Ms Banerjee’s strong opposition, Mr Deshmukh said that the government’s role cannot be wished away. The private players will have to ensure that they acquire at least 70 per cent of the land and the rest will be done by the government for the “public purpose”.
The minister said the proposed legislation will clearly define the “public purpose” for the purpose of land acquisition. “There are many versions of the public purpose. We want to define it properly so that when a land is acquired by industrial houses the purpose has to be in public interest strictly,” Mr Deshmukh said on Wednesday.
Even though the Sonia Gandhi-headed National Advisory Council recommended that the government should have 100 per cent role in all kinds of land acquisition, Mr Deshmukh said his ministry is for ways somewhere in between and said the government role will be essential in the case of private parties acquiring the land for public purpose like large industries.
The new land acquisition legislation is also specifying a clear role for a high level committee headed by chief secretaries at the state level.