Government ready for improvements in land bill: Venkaiah

Hyderabad, March 23 (IANS) Parliamentary Affairs Minister M. Venkaiah Naidu on Monday said the NDA government was ready for a nation-wide debate on land acquisition bill and to make improvements if the opposition makes constructive suggestions.

Claiming that it is a pro-farmer and pro-poor bill, he appealed to all political parties to support the bill as it will accelerate the growth and make farmers part of the developmental process.

"We are open. Let there be a national debate on the basis of merit. Let it be constructive rather than blindly opposing the bill for the sake of opposition," he said at a news conference here.

Stating that nine amendments were already made the bill during the course of discussion in Lok Sabha, Naidu said Prime Minister Narendra Modi assured on Sunday that if something is lacking in the bill, improvements can be made.

Naidu said if the states had any objections in implementing the new legislation, they can stick to the previous Act.

The Lok Sabha on March 11 passed the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement (Amendment) Bill 2015.

The bill will now go to Rajya Sabha, where the opposition has the majority. It is likely to be tabled in the upper House in the second half of the Parliament session, begging on April 20.

The minister reiterated that the government brought the ordinance after wider consultation with 32 states and union territories. He pointed out that senior Congress leaders including former commerce minister Anand Sharma had written to the prime minister for a new legislation.

"Farmers cannot be denied fruits of development for ever. Their future has to be taken care and that is why the government after wider consultations and feedback from the field brought the ordinance," he said.

He said under the new legislation, farmers whose lands will be acquired will get four times compensation. They will be made part of the developmental process by providing job to a member of a family.