Land bill to safeguard tribal interests: Union Tribal Affairs Minister Jual Oram

BHUBANESWAR: With the NDA government at the Centre under attack from the opposition parties over the land bill, Union Tribal Affairs Minister Jual Oram today strongly backed the bill saying it will benefit the tribals considerably with provisions of safeguarding their interests.

"We strongly back the new land bill which has been referred to the joint parliamentary committee. Its passage will benefit the tribal communities," Oram told reporters here.

Speaking after the inauguration of BJP ST Morcha's national executive here, both Oram and the Morcha's national president Faggan Singh Kulaste accused the opposition parties of trying to mislead the people about the land Bill and said it would not harm the tribals at all.

As per the revised provisions of the new bill, tribal people would get four times the compensation when they give away their land for infrastructure works like roads and irrigation projects, Oram said.

There were also provisions of providing jobs to one family member of the farmer along with their proper rehabilitation, he said, adding, the new bill would have provisions for land buyers who would be required to implement tribal-friendly clauses.

Stating that both the industry and tribals were dependent on each other, the Union Minister said tribals were not against development and the new land bill would play a significant role in balancing the interests of the both.

Asserting that the BJP-led NDA government was committed to proper development of tribals, Oram said the new land bill would pave way for surpassing as many as 12 laws including the Coal Bearing Act, due to which tribal people face several problems.

Under the old land acquisition act, land owners were not allowed to undertake agricultural activities once the area was declared coal bearing, he said.

Besides education and health facilities, tribals also want irrigation facilities, electricity, roads and other infrastructure for which land was required and the new bill would facilitate all such activities, Oram added.