Government firms up draft Land Acquisition Bill

Government firms up draft Land Acquisition Bill-Government has firmed up the draft of Land Acquisition Bill that makes consent of 80 per cent land owners mandatory before purchase of the land. Briefing the reporters after a meeting with Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh in New Delhi today, N C Saxena, member of Sonia Gandhi-led National Advisory Council, NAC said that the new Bill is expected to be unveiled in the next few days. He added that the ministry has improved the draft by raising the consent bar of land owners to 80 percent which was kept at 70 percent by NAC. Mr. Saxena also said the proposed bill will enable the state governments to acquire zero to 100 percent land depending upon the project. Mr. Saxena noted that there will be special provisions for acquiring land of Scheduled Tribes. He also informed that the Ministry has also agreed to NAC's recommendation to integrate different bills of land acquisition and rehabilitation into one.