Land bill OK’d, consent of 2/3rd owners a must

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TIMES NEWS NETWORK

New Delhi: The government will have to secure the nod of two-thirds of landowners to acquire a patch of land for private/public-private-partnership projects, though acquisition in tribal areas will be possible only with the approval of local institutions of self-governance.
The enshrining of owners’ willingness to sell land forms a crucial part of the land acquisition amendment bill that was finalized by the group of ministers headed by Sharad Pawar on Tuesday.
The consent clause has been a sore point in Manmohan Singh’s Cabinet, with a chunk of ministers feeling the restrictive clause could hamper acquisition and impede industrialization. There was also resentment against the provision of Social Impact Assessment and Environmental Impact Assessment before acquisitions but they have been retained in the final draft.
The rural development ministry under Jairam Ramesh has diluted the original provision of consent of 80% landowners and livelihood losers to two-thirds of landowners. ‘GoM to tighten bill loose ends’
The conditions for acquisition in ‘scheduled areas’ may help discourage takeover of land for private projects in tribal areas as has been the demand from civil society for a long time.
The draft bill says acquisition in scheduled areas should be avoided but if necessary, it should follow the consent of local systems of governance like autonomous councils.
The issue led to serious discussion during the meetings of the ministerial panel, with Planning Commission deputy chairperson Montek Singh Ahluwalia reportedly arguing that development should be taken to tribal areas.
The legislation, piloted by Jairam Ramesh, will decide a cut-off date to implement the new bill. Finance minister PChidambaram warned the cut-off date was important to avoid the anomaly of the government paying compensation under two different bills (old and new) for different acquisitions at the same time.
Ramesh said he would hold another discussion with GoM chair Sharad Pawar to tighten the loose ends and the bill would soon be sent for Cabinet clearance. “We hope to get it passed in the winter session,” he said.
Crucially, the bill will apply to Special Economic Zones that account for a big chunk of acquisitions that have triggered allegations that these special enclaves had become havens for real estate agents.
The legislation evoked strong sentiments from key UPA ministers like Kamal Nath, Anand Sharma and C P Joshi who differed on certain projects being kept out of the purview of public purpose. Defence minister and Congress heavyweight A K Antony had said at the last meeting that the government should not acquire land for private projects and step in for PPP projects only if unavoidable.
The land bill has been in the works since UPA-1 but fell victim to coalition differences. But the last resistance came from the Congress camp when many ministers feared the stringent provisions for acquiring land could discourage industrialization and urbanization.

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Sonia rejects diluted land bill, wants consent at 80%
Subodh Ghildiyal TNN

New Delhi: The Congress leadership has vetoed the dilution of the land acquisition bill, saying 80% landowners have to agree to let the government acquire their land for private projects.
The bottomline has been laid down by UPA chief Sonia Gandhi, barely two days after a ministerial panel headed by Sharad Pawar finalized the draft bill, which says the consent of 67% landowners would suffice for government to acquire land. The leadership has made it plain that the consent threshold could be diluted to 67% only for acquisition for public-private-partnership
(PPP) projects if the ownership of the land stayed with the government.
The message from the Congress brass, conveyed to the PMO, is learnt to have sent government leaders into a tizzy. They settled on a lenient ‘clause of consent’ to heed industry concerns that getting the consent of 80% landowners, provided in the original draft of the bill, would render acquisition of land for industry almost impossible.
Congress sources told TOI there can be no compromise on “not less than 80%” threshold as it flowed Congress’s “political agenda”.
The leadership’s insistence is set to trigger a fresh debate when the Union Cabinet takes up the finalized draft for approval. What is particularly discomfiting is that leadership’s demand cannot be ignored even if it has few takers in the government.
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Aug 28, 2012 | Land acquisition bill
referred to group of ministers after Cabinet is split down the middle on consent clause and compensation
Oct 16 | GoM headed by Sharad Pawar finalizes draft, with provision that consent of 2/3rds (67%) landowners enough for acquiring land for private projects and public-private-partnerships
Oct 19 | Sonia Gandhi issues veto. Learned to have told Prime Minister's Office that 80% landowners must consent in case of private projects and 67% for public-pvt-partnerships if land stays with govt Land bill now looks set for fresh debate in Cabinet
What is particularly discomfiting is that the Congress leadership’s demand on the land bill cannot be ignored even if it has few takers in the government.
The land bill was sent to the Sharad Pawar-chaired Group of Ministers (GoM) for vetting after a clutch of ministers in charge of infrastructure portfolios protested against the “stringent” clauses, particularly 80% consent, which they felt would discourage or delay acquisition and hurt private projects. The resistance at a Cabinet meeting in August nudged the rural development ministry to dilute the clause seeking “80% consent of landowners and livelihood losers” to “nod of 67% landowners”.
While the GoM this week sealed the 67% clause, Sonia Gandhi’s intervention seems to lean on the side of the vast ruralfarmer populace that is hostile to the government’s blanket powers to takeover land for an undervalued price.
The leadership’s disagreement reflects an unease that 67% consent norm may not fire the imagination of the section it is addressed to. The discomfiture over government role in acquisition for private projects was evident when heavyweight Congressman and defence minister A K Antony criticized the provision and demanded that 90% consent be made compulsory. His observation in the penultimate meeting of the GoM had indicated not all was fine with the dominant view in the ministerial panel.
The land acquisition bill has emerged as another of the flagship legislations with Sonia’s imprimatur, a pro-people measure that strategists feel can do what the job guarantee scheme and loan waiver did for the Congress’s “mother bounty” image in UPA-1.
It is felt that freeing the farmers from the government’s supreme powers to acquire land for “public purpose”, as mentioned in the existing 1894 law, would shore up the party’s credentials among the key social segment.
The bill is far from the idea of discouraging acquisition, as was originally conceived when agitations rocked the tribal pockets in 2006, and, instead, seeks to incentivize acquisition with better compensation.

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80% assent rider likely in land bill
TIMES NEWS NETWORK

New Delhi: In a sign of the government acquiescing to the wishes of Congress chief Sonia Gandhi, the land acquisition amendment bill may stipulate that 80% landowners should agree for the government to acquire land for private projects.
The change has necessitated redrafting of the note that was approved by the group of ministers vetting the land bill.
The Sharad Pawar-chaired ministerial panel had decided that 67% landowners have to agree to allow the government to acquire land for private projects and those under PPP mode. But no sooner did the decision become public this month that Sonia conveyed to the government she was against the dilution of the land bill.
The rural development (RD) ministry had provided for 80% consent in the bill but cut it to 67% after vocal opposition in the Cabinet to the stringent clause. Key ministers said such a clause would make acquisition difficult and halt industrialization and urbanization.
After a brief meeting with RD minister Jairam Ramesh, Pawar said on Monday: “A detailed discussion was made in the last GoM meeting. Some of them suggested changes and these were discussed and finalized today.”
He said 80% landowners have to agree for land acquisition for private projects while clarifying that consent was not required for government projects in public purpose.
The changes will be made in the draft bill, which will be circulated afresh to the 14 members of the GoM for their views and consent, Pawar said. The bill will be presented to the Cabinet for approval after that.
Ramesh said the bill would be tabled with amendments in the winter session of Parliament.