Land Acquisition Bill passed in Lok Sabha

The Lok Sabha passed the long-awaited Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Bill which seeks to replace the archaic land acquisition law dating back to 1894.  The government cleared the air on the reservations from some States against some provisions in the bill by informing that the Bill only ideates for fair compensation, rehabilitation and resettlement in the case of land acquisition and State Governments were free to improve upon it and enforce it as per their specific needs.

What are the key features of Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Bill 2012?

A key provision of the Land Bill is to get the consent of 80% of the landowners in case the land is acquired for private purposes and in case the land is acquired for public projects then at least consent of 70% of the landowners will be mandatory.  The Bill also proposes that the farmers and the landowners should be compensated up to 4 times the market value of land in rural areas and two times the market value in urban areas.

Month: Current Affairs - September, 2013