‘Joint House panel hopes to pass Land Bill in monsoon session’

The joint committee of Parliament on the Land Acquisition Bill hopes to evolve a consensus for its passage during the monsoon session, according to Chaudhary Birender Singh, Union Rural Development Minister.

Singh was here on Friday to inaugurate the second edition of the ‘International conference on deepening democracy.’

He told reporters here that the draft Bill has been amended to expedite land acquisition process for developing infrastructure facilities, promoting industrial activity.

The amendments also seek to protect the interests of farmers so that they get a four-fold increase in compensation for parting with their land.

Provisions have been made for rehabilitation and resettlement of the farmers who form 68 per cent of the population, he said.

The Union Ministry has informed the State governments that they can select technologies that suit their needs for waste management and also for providing drinking water, Singh said.

Referring to the Kuttanad project, he said that saline water intrusion had created a drinking water crisis in 14 panchayats in the project area and about 3.4 lakh people were affected. This issue would be taken up for solution on a priority basis, he said. The State government can seek the support of any agency, including the World Bank or the IMF, for addressing the drinking water crisis.

There was no dearth for funds for initiating waste management projects either, the Union Minister said.

The Centre is going ahead with a project to form clusters of grama panchayats. Each cluster would be a hub for trading, business and industry with all modern facilities.

At least 300 clusters covering 2,000 villages would be formed, of which 100 would be set up this year itself at a cost of ₹5,600 crore.

A cluster is estimated to cost ₹80-100 crore. The Centre would provide critical gap funding ranging from ₹15-30 crore to State governments.

The Union Ministry has launched a drive to end the practice of open defecation by 2019. It had constructed 10 lakh toilets till August last, and since then another 40 lakh, all over the country.

At least 20.75 lakh houses were constructed during the past one year under the Indira Awas Yojana and the housing scheme will be promoted in a mission mode, he added.