[Five important aspects of the proposed amendment: * The Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement (Amendment) Bill, 2015 seeks to Amend the Act of 2013 (LARR Act, 2013) and thereby create five special categories of land use: 1. defence, 2. rural infrastructure, 3 affordable housing, 4. industrial corridors, and 5. infrastructure projects including Public Private Partnership (PPP) projects where the central government owns the land.
* These five categories are exempted from the provisions of the LARR Act, 2013. In this act, consent of 80 per cent of land owners are required for private projects and 70 per cent of land owners' consent are required for PPP projects. * Social Impact Assessment to identify those affected will not be required for these five categories. Restrictions on the acquisition of irrigated multi-cropped land imposed by LARR Act 2013 will also be held nullified. * The Bill brings provisions for compensation, rehabilitation, and resettlement under other related Acts such as the National Highways Act and the Railways Act in consonance with the LARR Act. * Acquisition of land by 'private companies' mentioned in LARR Act, 2013 will be changed to acquisition for 'private entities', which may include companies, corporations and nonprofit organisations. (Source: <http://www.oneindia.com/feature/off-grounded-why-the-centre-and-the-opposition-debate-over-land-bill-1721814.html> and <http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/land-bill-six-facts-you-need-to-know/article6978832.ece>.)] I/II. http://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/resurgent-rahul-farmer-s-suicide-puts-land-bill-on-backburner/article1-1341230.aspx Resurgent Rahul, farmer's suicide puts land bill on backburner IANS, New Delhi| Updated: Apr 26, 2015 19:55 IST Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi meets with a delegation of farmers from Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Haryana and Punjab. (Photo: Congress Twitter handle) A resurgent Rahul Gandhi and the suicide of a farmer at an AAP rally in the capital seem to have made the NDA government re-think its strategy on the land acquisition bill and put it on the backburner - at least for now. Desperately trying to fight the "anti-farmer" tag, the government, which went into a huddle soon after a farmer committed suicide at the April 22 rally of Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal, has decided to go ahead with the land bill only when the finance bills and other scheduled business of parliament are through. It is also worried about the impact Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi, who is just back after a 56-day self-imposed exile, is having. Rahul has made powerful speeches against the bill in parliament as well as at a rally. "The ordinance will be there till August, we are not in a hurry," a senior minister confided to IANS. An ordinance has a life of six months or till the next parliament session. So the land acquisition ordinance, which was re-promulgated in April, would need to have been passed by the monsoon session before it lapses. Though the minister claimed the government is confident of getting the land bill through parliament, he did not say how. He, however, ruled out a joint sitting for getting the bill passed. Top sources told IANS the government has decided to go slow on the bill and the suicide by Rajasthan farmer Gajendra Singh has made the situation more sensitive. Mallikarjun Kharge, the leader of the Congress in the Lok Sabha, told IANS: "As of now we have not been told anything about the land bill". The contentious bill, which is meant to replace an ordinance amending the 2013 land acquisition act, was passed by the Lok Sabha after nine amendments amid a walkout by the Congress and other opposition parties. The NDA which is in a minority in the upper house failed to muster support for the bill. A majority of opposition parties, including the Congress, the Samajwadi Party and the Left parties, have made it clear that the bill should go to a select committee. Kharge said: "Our stand remains the same. We want the 2013 UPA bill back". The Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2015, seeks to replace an ordinance re-promulgated in April which had amended certain provisions of the 2013 act passed during the UPA rule. The key points, which were removed from the earlier law, related to the consent clause and the social impact assessment study. The consent clause provided for 70-80% of those dependent on the land to agree to its acquisition. The social impact assessment clause entailed carrying out a study to examine the environmental impact and ensure rehabilitation of displaced people. The government agreed to nine amendments to the bill to get it passed in the Lok Sabha. These included removing social infrastructure as an exempted category and ensuring that the bare minimum of land required for a project is acquired. Compulsory employment for at least one member of the affected family of a farm labourer has also been added as well as a clause that the Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation Authority should hold hearings in the district where the acquisition takes place. When the ordinance was re-promulgated by President Pranab Mukherjee, the nine amendments made when it was passed in the Lok Sabha were included. The government has meanwhile told its ministers to fan across the country and convince farmers that the land acquisition ordinance is not anti-farmer. A senior cabinet minister in the thick of things told IANS: "We are all going to our constituencies and home states and meeting farmers." "Not only the land bill, we are also talking about farmers' problems in general and asking them for suggestions on how to improve agriculture and address farm distress in the country," he said. II. http://zeenews.india.com/news/india/gajendra-singhs-suicide-centre-may-order-larger-probe-says-government_1585429.html Gajendra Singh's suicide: Centre may order larger probe, says government Last Updated: Monday, April 27, 2015 - 00:20 Zee Media Bureau Delhi: After receiving report of a preliminary Delhi Police inquiry into Gajendra Singh's case, the farmer who allegedly committed suicide at an Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) rally here, Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister M Venkaiah Naidu said on Sunday that Centre may order a larger probe in it. "People have raised doubts about farmer Gajendra Singh's suicide. His family wants an inquiry. So the Government of India will think about the next step after receiving the preliminary report of the Delhi Police inquiry. Nobody should politicise it, because if you try to do that, it will boomerang," he told reporters here. Related Stories Plea in SC for probe into hanging of farmer during AAP rally The senior BJP leader further said, "You have already seen how the AAP unnecessarily criticises the Central government and now it itself has (got) caught into a controversy. They (AAP leaders) continued their meeting even after the man (farmer) lost his life. So please don't politicise this issue and let the truth come out." Naidu added that there was no link between the alleged Gajendra Singh's suicide case and the amended Modi government's Land Acquisition Bill. ***Speaking to news agency ANI, the senior BJP leader said, "Suicide of Gajendra Singh has nothing to do with Land Acquisition Bill."*** [Emphasis added.] Defending the Modi government's Land Bill, Naidu said, "Totally meaningless to attribute suicide to land acquisition act, government feels that act is in interest of farmers and poor people." However, commenting over the increasing farmers suicide cases, he added, "Farmers' suicide is long term and sensitive issue, government at Centre & State & political parties should come out to find long term solution." He further said that it is not as if farmers began committing suicide only after the Narendra Modi government took over, adding that during UPA rule, every year more than 10,000 to 12,000 farmers committed suicide. "So, please don't politicise this issue. Let us apply our minds and find some permanent solution to farmer related issues," Naidu added. Gajendra had reportedly committed suicide on Wednesday by hanging himself from a tree during the rally at Jantar Mantar. The incident also sparked criticism with Opposition parties condemning Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal for going ahead with the rally despite the grave incident. Earlier, Naidu had urged the Opposition not to mislead people on the Land Acquisition Bill and said the BJP-led NDA Government at the Centre was ready for a debate on the matter. He had also said that the government was ready to accept suggestions to improve this law. -- Peace Is Doable -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Green Youth Movement" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To post to this group, send an email to [email protected]. Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/greenyouth. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
