Centre tweaks Land Acquisition Bill, moves 9 amendments

New Delhi: In a bid to tone down its ‘anti-farmer’ image, Modi government has made significant changes in the controversial Land Acquisition Bill and moved nine amendments.

BSP chief Mayawati said that the amendments were made after farmers turned against the Modi government.

“Centre had proposed 9 amendments to Land Acquisition Bill, let us wait and watch what those are,” she said. 

The Bill will be taken up for voting in the Lok Sabha on Tuesday.

Facing a united Opposition, and with NDA allies slamming the Land Bill, the government on Monday had offered further change in the proposed legislation.

Making an intervention during a discussion on the Land Bill in the Lok Sabha, parliamentary affairs minister M. Venkaiah Naidu assured the House that the government was willing to consider further amendments to accommodate the views of the Opposition parties.

Mr Naidu said during his lengthy intervention that the government was open to the ideas of deleting social infrastructure projects from the exempted categories, of states coming out with land banks of vacant land for acquisition for development projects, a hassle-free mechanism for redressal of grievances of land losers, and mandatory employment for those who lose livelihoods due to land acquisition.

However, the Congress is stuck to the line that the Bill be sent to the parliamentary standing committee. “The Congress will oppose the Bill if it’s not sent to the standing committee,” said Leader of the Congress in the Lok Sabha Mallikarjuna Kharge.