Sumitra Mahajan, Chairperson of the Standing Committee of Parliament on Rural Development, feels the Land Bill could have been a better one had the Centre accepted a few more amendments suggested by the panel in 2012.

Mahajan’s committee, which spent almost a year on the Bill, however, concedes that the Ministry, headed by Jairam Ramesh, accepted most of the amendments suggested by it.

“Many of our recommendations have been accepted by the Government. Though we had suggested that not only multi-crop land, but any irrigated land should have been excluded from acquisition’s ambit,” Mahajan told Business Line . She said protecting crops such as maize and pulses were important for food security. “Maize and pulses need not be sown on multi-crop land. In Madhya Pradesh, a certain pulse is a staple food for tribes . So, any land under irrigation should have been excluded from acquisition,” she says.

While she appreciates that the States were given some freedom to formulate their own policies to deal with acquisition,she feels the Centre should have been more liberal towards States on the issue, as the States bear the brunt of issues that stem from acquisition. Mahajan said the Government should have also accepted the suggestion that collector should not be the only person responsible for fixing compensation, “There should be a commission, including panchayat president and people’s representatives, to fix the compensation for a particular area,” she added.

She is hopeful that the Government will rectify such issues when the Bill is taken up for discussion in the Rajya Sabha. “There are possibilities of making the law much better. But our basic concern was to amend the archaic law of 1894,” she says.

Mahajan said industry players’ fear that this Bill would harm them is unfounded. “Industry organisations had contacted us at the stage of discussions on the Bill. They will face no harm from this Bill. In fact, they will benefit. We had suggested mapping of land resources, so that the possible areas for industrial development can be marked and a development plan can be handed over to the farmers,” she said. According to her, the Government should remain a facilitator for acquisition.

> jigeesh.am@thehindu.co.in

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