"I am happy that Land Acquisition Bill has been passed", said Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi after the passage of the path-breaking Bill. Congress President and UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi, though she is under rest after a hospital check-up, also attended the proceedings for a brief period.
"The Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Bill, 2012" stipulates mandatory consent of at least 70 per cent for acquiring land for Public Private Partnership (PPP) projects and 80 per cent for acquiring land for private companies.
The Bill, which will replace over a century-old law, proposes compensation that is up to four times the market value in rural areas and two times the market value in urban areas.
The Bill was passed with 216 votes in favour and 19 against. Left parties, AIADMK and BJD members staged a walkout. Trinamool Congress voted against the Bill while main Opposition BJP as also SP and BSP supported the legislation.
Following are the highlights of the Land Acquisition Bill passed by the Lok Sabha on Thursday:
-Payment of compensations that is up to 4 times the market value in rural areas and 2 times the market value in urban areas.
- To address historical injustice the Bill applies retrospectively to cases where no land acquisition award has been made.
- No law can be acquired in Scheduled Areas without the consent of the Gram Sabhas.
- No one shall be dispossessed until and unless all payments are made and alternative sites for the resettlement and rehabilitation have been prepared.
- Compensation to those who are dependent on the land being acquired for their livelihood.
- In cases where PPP projects are involved or acquisition is taking place for private companies, the Bill requires the consent of no less than 70 per cent and 80 per cent respectively (in both cases) of those whose land is sought to be acquired.
- To safeguard food security and to prevent arbitrary acquisition, the Bill directs States to impose limits on the area under agricultural cultivation that can be acquired.
- In case land remains unutilised after acquisition, the new Bill empowers states to return the land either to the owner or to the State Land Bank.
- No income tax shall be levied and no stamp duty shall be charged on any amount that accrues to an individual as a result of the provisions of the new law.
- Where acquired land is sold to a third party for a higher price than 40 per cent of the appreciated land value (or profit) will be shared with the original owners.
- In every project those losing land and belonging to the SC or ST will be provided land equivalent to land acquired or two and a one-half acres, whichever is lower (this is higher than in the case of non-SC/ST affected families)
- Where the affected families belonging to the SC and the ST are relocated outside of the district then they shall be paid an additional 25 rehabilitation and resettlement benefits to which they are entitled in monetary terms along with a one-time entitlement of fifty thousand rupees.
381 amendments were moved to the Bill, of which 166 were official ones. Of the Opposition amendments, some were withdrawn and others defeated during voting.
The government accepted some opposition amendments, including two moved by Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha Sushma Swaraj. These included that instead of acquisition, land could be leased to developers so that its ownership remains with farmers and provide them regular annual income.
Asserting that the new law will address "historical injustice", the Government said this law is being enacted under the Concurrent list and the states can bring their own law on the subject without derogating from the central law. The Bill will replace the archaic Act of 1894 which suffers from various shortcomings including silence on the issue of resettlement and rehabilitation of those displaced by the acquisition of land.
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