(Co-authored by Sana Gangwani and Pallavi Bedi) The Standing Committee Report on the Land Acquisition and R&R Bill, 2011 was tabled in the Lok Sabha on May 17, 2012. The major changes to the Bill recommended by the Committee include:
- Land may not be acquired for use by private companies and PPPs.
- The role of the local governments should be expanded and made more participatory in the acquisition and R&R process. The role of Gram Sabhas should not be limited to consultation, but their consent should be obtained at different stages.
- The Clause giving wide discretion to the government in notifying any project as infrastructure project should be deleted.
- Threshold for R&R provisions should be fixed by the states and not the central government since sale and purchase of land is a state subject in the Constitution (Item 18, State List).
- There should be a restriction on the acquisition of agricultural land. The limit on the acquisition of such land should be fixed by the state governments.
For a detailed comparison of the Bill with the recommendations of the Standing Committee see here.
