Land acquisition law: Clods hover around the amendments to be proposed
The Centre has called a meeting with states on Friday to discuss possible changes to be made to the land acquisition law. This has given congress an opportunity to accuse BJP for changing sides as within nine months of backing the law in Parliament. Any bid to amend the law is likely to result in claims that the government was putting the interest of industry over farmers. However when BJP was in opposition, they always talked about safeguarding the interests of the farmers who might not be paid the right compensation while their lands are acquired for development purposes.
The Rural Development minister Nitin Gadkari will meet state revenue ministers who deal with land acquisition to discuss the law. This meeting is being seen as a move in the direction of softening some of the provisions opposed by the industry and the corporates and it seems that the amendments in the land acquisition law will be industry friendly. However the interests of the farmers whose lands will be acquired remain a little jittery unless all the facts of the law come to light.
Jairam Ramesh, who piloted the bill in UPA-II, said Gadkari was going against his predecessor in rural development ministry Gopinath Munde. He also mentioned that he did not know what amendments Gadkari was contemplating but reminded that the law was passed with “huge acclaim in September 2013 and BJP heavyweights Sushma Swaraj, Arun Jaitley, Ravi Shankar Prasad, apart from Munde, had played an active role in ensuring smooth passage.
Source- The Times of India
finance minister Arun Jaitley, Land acquisition law, Rural Development, Rural Development minister Nitin Gadkari, rural development ministry Gopinath Munde, UPA-II
