In its current form, the draft bill makes the consent of 80 per cent of the landowners mandatory only in case of land acquisition for private industry. In case of land acquisition for government projects, the draft merely requires “consultations” and not consent.
However, among the several modifications being considered to the draft is one to make consent mandatory even in the case of government projects, such as roads and hospitals.
“On the basis of the views of a number of states and other stakeholders, the condition about the consent of 80 per cent of the landowners may not be confined to private projects alone. Government projects may have to follow it,” a ministry official said.
The government is also working on a cut-off formula to deal with projects for which a part of the land would have been acquired before the bill is enacted.
Sources said this would be a “stage-wise” cut-off rather than a “date-wise” one — that is, the key issue would be how much of the land has been acquired and not on when the acquisition was started.
“A stage-wise cut-off means that if a project has progressed to a certain stage — say, 50 per cent of the required area has been acquired by the time the new law is enforced — the provisions of the law will apply to the acquisition of the remaining area,” an official said.
“The government and private entities will have to draw up the rehabilitation and compensation package in accordance with the new law.”
Certain states like Punjab and Haryana have objected to a key provision in the current draft that prohibits the acquisition of multi-crop and irrigated land for any project, keeping in mind the need to ensure food security.
These two states, where most of the land is multi-crop, have written to the Centre that such a provision could hobble industrialisation.