Opposition may push Land Bill to Rajya Sabha panel

The land Bill may face another big hurdle, as the Opposition is considering moving a motion to refer it to a select panel of the Rajya Sabha. The Bill is currently being examined by a Joint Parliamentary Panel.

“Once the joint panel submits its report, there will be no problem in getting the Bill, based on the report, passed in the Lok Sabha where the Government has an absolute majority. However, when the Bill reaches the Rajya Sabha, the principal Opposition party, the Congress, may move a motion to send it to a select panel,” a person familiar with the developments told BusinessLine requesting anonymity.

It is also being examined whether a Bill vetted by a joint panel can be taken to another panel, the source said. “Though there is no clarity on the Parliamentary rules and regulations in this regard, the Opposition will like to examine the options before moving a motion,” the source said. It is understood that the Congress wants to keep the issue alive and will like to exercise all the options to get the Bill delayed.

The ‘Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement (Amendment) Second Bill, 2015, better known as the land Bill, aims to amend the Land Act, 2013. The bone of contention is removal of the consent clause and no requirement of Social Impact Assessment in certain categories of projects. Although, the government brought in nine amendments in its original Bill, the Congress is not willing to get it passed.

If the monsoon session fails to pass the land Bill, the present Ordinance will lapse by the first week of September. According to rules, an Ordinance, if not replaced by a law of Parliament, will lapse after six weeks from the first day of the session. The land Ordinance has already been promulgated thrice — on December 31 last year, April 3 this year, and on May 30.

A senior government official said though there is no cap on the number of times an Ordinance can be re-promulgated, “it will not be easy for the government to convince President Pranab Mukerjee for another re-promulgation, especially after the joint panel submits its report.” The panel is expected to give its report by July 27.

The official said the President has already expressed his displeasure on taking the Ordinance route. On January 19, Mukherjee had said that the “Ordinance route cannot be taken, should not be taken for the normal legislation.” However, in case of non-approval of the Bill in the forthcoming session, the proposal for re-promulgation will be taken to the Cabinet well in time to ensure higher R&R (Rehabilitation and Resettlement) package for farmers whose land has been acquired under 13 laws (such as the National Highways Act, 1956 and the Railways Act, 1989) on or after January 1, 2015, he said.

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