Pranab Mukherjee approves land ordinance re-promulgation
This is the third promulgation of Land Ordinance in a row
By : DC Correspondent
Update: 2015-06-01 06:19 GMT
New Delhi: President Pranab Mukherjee has given his nod to re-promulgate the contentious land ordinance. This is the third promulgation of Land Ordinance in a row after the government could get it converted into a law due to lack of support in Rajya Sabha. The Union Cabinet, in its meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday, had approved re-promulgation of the ordinance.
The government had stated that the move was necessitated to maintain continuity and providing a framework to compensate people whose land is acquired. The third promulgation of the ordinance is the 13th executive order of the NDA government since it came to power. It was first promulgated in December last year to amend the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013. Later, the ordinance was replaced by a Bill, which was passed by Lok Sabha with 10 official amendments.
However, the government did not take it to Rajya Sabha as it lacks numbers. The ordinance was re-promulgated in March this year, which lapsed on June 3. To re-promulgate the ordinance, the government had prorogued the Rajya Sabha during the Budget Session. An amended Land Acquisition Bill is under consideration of a Joint Committee of Parliament. The fresh ordinance is a copy of the bill pending before the committee and has no new provisions or changes, sources said.
Meanwhile, the Left parties on Sunday slammed the government for not being “honest and truthful” to Parliament. They asked what was the urgency to reissue the Ordinance when the legislation was being scrutinised by the JPC . They noted that even the PM had said that the Bill was not a ‘life and death question’ for him.