NDA blinks paves way for land law

Govt agrees to drop key amendments, including those doing away with consent clause, social impact assessment

In a major climbdown, the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) on Monday agreed to drop key amendments, including those doing away with the so-called consent clause and social impact assessment in the controversial 2015 land acquisition bill.

The unexpected move by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led NDA to meet the opposition more than halfway sets the stage for striking consensus on passage of the legislation, designed to address impediments to expanding manufacturing capacity in the country.

Politically, however, this is a big setback to the BJP, particularly Prime Minister Narendra Modi, since the government had, despite opposition from within and outside the party, stuck to its stand to dilute the land acquisition provisions in the existing land law.

This disrupted most of the budget session of Parliament and eventually forced the government to refer the bill to a parliamentary committee.

Participating in the meeting on Monday of the joint committee of Parliament set up to study the controversial bill, members of the NDA moved a resolution to withdraw six controversial amendments that had been opposed vehemently by a united opposition led by the Congress. As a result, the committee is now expected to submit a consensus report by 7 August to Parliament.

“The government had proposed nine amendments and they have rolled back six,” said a person familiar with the development.

One of the amendments that has been dropped has to do with the scrapping of the consent clause that was a key element of the 2013 land law shepherded by the previous Congress-led United Progressive Alliance government through Parliament in 2013.

That law, passed by Parliament in 2013, replaced an 1894 land acquisition act that was seen as anti- farmer and anti-industry at the same time.

The consent clause in the 2013 law mandated that those acquiring land get the assent of 70% farmers for public-private partnerships and 80% for private projects.. This was removed by the NDA to accommodate concerns of industry that the process of acquisition would be drawn out. It will now be reinstated.

Another key clause that has been reinstated is on social impact assessment. Industry believed this delays the process of acquisition. The NDA removed this in its version of the bill.

Another amendment sought to dilute stringent provisions that sought to punish officials for any malpractices during acquisition of land.

HT Mint, New Delhi, 4th August 2015