The ruling party has decided to field its top ministers to mount a strong defence of the proposed Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement (Amendment) Bill, 2015 with a view to correct the impression that it is “anti-farmer”.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi met his senior ministers on Wednesday morning, after which Road Transport Minister and former BJP president Nitin Gadkari attacked the Opposition’s “double standards” and conceded that the government is “ready to consider any suggestions”.
Sources said Gadkari’s presentation on Wednesday is likely to be followed by a strong intervention on the Land Bill by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley during the Motion of Thanks to the President’s address in the Rajya Sabha on Thursday
While Jaitley is expected to dismantle the Opposition’s charge that the Bill is “anti-farmer” by his possible announcement that there will be no dilution in the compensation given to farmers, he may also focus on the public interest that is supposedly served through the various proposed clauses.
Unlikely to bend The Centre is unlikely to bend on the proposed exemption from consent and social impact assessment in defence-related projects, rural infrastructure, housing for poor, industrial corridors as well infrastructure and social infrastructure projects including public private partnerships.
The Finance Minister is expected to underline what is being called the need to remove roadblocks in mega infrastructure projects.
Even the change in the clause regarding deadline for returning unutilised land in five years to a “period specified for setting any project” is non-negotiable as far as the Centre is concerned.
The argument is that highways, irrigation projects and most mega-projects have long gestation periods and setting a timeline of five years is unrealistic.
There have been a series of discussions among senior ministers and Modi — including the one that took place on Wednesday — to find a reasonable way out of the Land Bill deadlock.
There is realisation in the BJP now that before promulgating the ordinance and bringing it for passage in the Lok Sabha, adequate consultations with farmers’ organisations as well as opposition parties were not held.
No mood to listen “What we are doing is right. The problem is, no one is in a mood to listen to us. This is because we did not create adequate atmosphere for bringing in these amendments.
“We should have held longer discussions with the farmers and all others stakeholders. The situation now is that we will have to do something to correct the impression that we are anti-farmer,” said a top BJP source.
Speaking to the media on Wednesday afternoon, Gadkari accused the opposition parties, especially the Congress, of adopting “double standards”, even as he conceded that the Centre is open to suggestions on the Bill.
“We are open to accepting good suggestions offered by other parties. If people have some opinion on social impact assessment or consent clauses, we are willing to hear them,” Gadkari said.
First objections He, however, pointed out that it was the Congress Chief Ministers in different States who first raised objections to the earlier Land Bill.
He quoted former Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan’s letter to the then UPA government against the law, in which he had argued that it would “adversely” affect public works and make them “unviable“.
“Who wrote this? It was a Congress Chief Minister. This party’s CM in Haryana also offered compensation which was only twice the rate, not four times as envisaged by the law.
“And this party is shouting in Parliament. They put on many masks to suit their interests,” the Minister said.