There is needless despair over the centre’s inability to pass a land law After almost a year of struggling, the Union government has admitted to political roadblocks that prevent the passage of a rational land acquisition law. Efforts to replace the existing law, approved by Parliament in 2013, have failed. At a meeting of the NITI Aayog last week, Union finance minister Arun Jaitley hinted at a different, less than perfect, solution to the problem. In comments after the meeting, Jaitley said that, “There was a suggestion from the states that those who wanted development (should) be allowed to frame their own laws that the central government could approve. This was a suggestion from an overwhelming section of the chief ministers.” As matters stand now, this appears to be the only way out. The Narendra Modi government has repeatedly issued ordinances that embody a better, more industry-friendly law. But these have fallen in the Rajya Sabha as the government is in a minority ther