Maharashtra government puts off land acquisition bill

The Maharashtra government has suspended introduction of a land acquisition bill that would have allowed the state to acquire land by paying four to five times the ready reckoner rate even without the consent of the land owner.

Officials said the farmers’ rally in the state earlier this month was the reason the bill was put off. Thousands of farmers had walked from Nashik to Mumbai on March 11 to protest against what they allege is the state government’s failure to address their issues. They were mainly demanding implementation of the Forest Land Rights Act, 2006, which will give farmers the right to the forest land on which they till, and that the state should not forcibly acquire land for the High-speed Mumbai-Ahmedabad rail project and the Mumbai-Nagpur eight-lane Samruddhi corridor.

While the state has accepted their demand regarding implementation of the Forest Land Rights Act, it’s yet to move on the second issue.


“The Bill would have allowed the state to procure land for infra projects, especially like the Mumbai-Nagpur Samruddhi corridor. However, in the wake of the farmers' protest, it has been decided to not introduce the Bill as of now,” said the official cited earlier. “Depending on the prevailing situation in the state, we may think of introducing it in the assembly session in monsoon.”

Many of the state government’s big projects have been facing delays over land acquisition. Construction of the Mumbai-Nagpur eight-lane super expressway was to start early this year. However, work has not started on it yet as only 68% of the land has been acquired. Banks have told the state government that while they are ready to commit funds for the project, the state would need to have in its possession at least 80% of the land before loans are disbursed. The Mumbai-Ahmedabad Bullet Train project too is facing issues, with farmers in Thane and Palghar districts not ready to cede land for the project.

This is the not the first time the state has backtracked on a piece of legislation. Earlier, it had planned to get a new reform on the lines of the Rajasthan model, wherein companies having up to 300 workers can fire them without needing the government’s permission. The current limit for companies not required to seek permission for sacking workers is 100. However, on the back of relentless pressure from the Sena and other labour unions, the state decided to back down.