Narendra Modi government to re-promulgate land ordinance for the third time soon

NEW DELHI: Government will soon promulgate another ordinance on the Land Acquisition Bill after it failed to get the legislation passed in the Rajya Sabha and had to refer it to a Joint Committee of both Houses during the just-concluded Budget session of Parliament.

Agencies quoted Parliamentary Affairs Minister M Venkaiah Naidu as saying that the third ordinance on The Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement (Amendment) Bill, 2015would be issued soon.

With the opposition—which outnumbers NDA in the Rajya Sabha — refusing to support the controversial bill and labelling it “antifarmer,” the BJP-led government had to promulgate the ordinance on December 31, 2014. Then it was forced to prorogue the Upper House and promulgate the second ordinance — which included the nine amendments made to the bill when it was passed in the Lok Sabha—on April 3.



As per the law, an ordinance lapses six weeks after the first session of Parliament begins since its promulgation. Earlier, Naidu had refused to speak on the ordinance issue. In reply to a question during a press interaction on May 13, Naidu said Congress had set enough precedents, including on repeated promulgation of ordinances.He also re-called that Leader of the Opposition in Rajya Sabha Ghulam Nabi Azad had said government is well within its rights to bring another land ordinance.

The controversial bill has been sent to a 30-member Joint Committee headed by S S Ahluwalia, BJP MP from Darjeeling.

While bringing the first ordinance last December, the government had said its decision to amend the Act was to bring under its purview 13 central legislations, including those relating to defence and nationalsecurity, to provide higher compensation and rehabilitation and resettlement benefits to farmers whose land is being acquired.

According to the ordinance, provisions of the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013 will be applicable for the 13 existing central pieces of legislation including the Coal Bearing Areas Acquisition and Development Act, 1957, the National Highways Act, 1956 and the Land Acquisition (Mines) Act, 1885.