Land Reforms Bill passed to prevent use of excess land for real estate

KOLKATA: The West Bengal Assembly passed the Land Reforms (Amendment) Bill, 2013 which would prevent use of land, earmarked for township development, in excess of the prescribed ceiling for real estate purpose.

The Bill was passed in the absence of opposition Left Front and Congress.

Moving the bill in the House, Minister of State for Land and Land Reforms Department Swapan Debnath said that the amendment of Section 14Z of the Act would exclude the provision for retention of land in excess of the prescribed ceiling for township development from the purview of the section.

The minister said during the erstwhile Left Front regime, excess land holding was used for building real estate.

Now any surplus land could be used for poultry or dairy farming for the benefit of rural people and boost rural economy, Debnath said.

Section 50 of the Act has also been amended for introducing digital signature in accordance with the provision for Section 3 of the Information Technology Act, 2000 to ensure a more scientific authentication of all 'Records of Rights', the minister said.

Extending full support to the bill, the lone SUCI member in the House, Tarun Kanti Naskar, lauded the state government for its initiative to prevent misuse of surplus land.