Draft bill fails to decide on rehabilitation in private land acquisitions

The draft land acquisition bill, approved by the empowered group of ministers on Wednesday, has left the decision on rehabilitation and resettlement for land size thresholds for private purchases to the discretion of state governments.

This is a major shift from the earlier draft of the bill, which had proposed that the rehabilitation and resettlement clause should apply to all private land purchases above 100 acres in rural areas and above 50 acres in urban areas.

''What we are stipulating in this law is that there will be a rehabilitation and resettlement (R&R) package for private purchase of land wherever private purchase of land for private parties is taking place. But the threshold beyond which it will apply is left to the state government,'' minister for rural development Jairam Ramesh said.

The draft bill was finalised by the group of ministers (GoM) chaired by the agriculture minister Sharad Pawar days after the finalisation of the draft.

''West Bengal may say that any land beyond one acre will have R&R, Punjab may say any land more than thousand acres...that is entirely up to the state governments,'' Ramesh said, adding, ''If the state does not want to acquire land, it is free not to acquire land. This Bill does not force any state to acquire land''.

Ramesh, who discussed the bill with Pawar today, said that according to the final draft, approval of gram sabha and other such institutions like panchayat will be required for acquiring land in scheduled areas.