Another thorn in TD-BJP relations

VIJAYAWADA: An extraordinary Gazette notification issued in May, has drawn the battle lines between the Union and state governments. The ministry of rural development said that the Central government notified on May 13, 2016, that the aggregate acquisition of agricultural land for all projects in a district shall not be more than 5 percent of the net sown area in a district, determined for the relevant block of five years.

Joint secretary of the ministry of rural development Hukum Singh Meena said in the notification that the area of agricultural land acquired in a particular year shall not exceed 30 percent of the limit fixed for the five-year block. The Gazette of India, was referring to the exercise of powers conferred by Sub Section (2) of Section 10 of Land Acquisition Act, 2013. The gazette notification says that the area of irrigated multi-cropped land to be acquired for all projects in aggregate during five years in a district shall not exceed 1 per cent of the total irrigated multi-cropped land determined for the relevant block of five years.

Mr Meena said that the area of multi-crop irrigated land, determined for the block 2014-19, should be thus as on January 1, 2014, and for subsequent blocks as on the first day of the block.