Deferring of Land Bill in Rajya Sabha and amendments made to it by NDA
March 20, 2015
There is more than what meets the eye on the government’s decision to defer the controversial land acquisition bill – The Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2015 – in Rajya Sabha and take it up only after 20 April, when the House reconvenes after the recess.
The Government finds it difficult to keep its own allies together over the contentious bill. Even when the bill was passed in the Lok Sabha on 10 March with nine amendments, its key allies, the Shiv Sena and the Swabhimani Paksha had not supported the Bill. In fact, the Swabhimani Paksha member Raju Shetty even embarrassed the ruling coalition by moving an amendment on consent clause, which was negated.
The Sena had abstained from voting then and will do so again in the Rajya Sabha where it has three members. What more? The perceived National Democratic Alliance sympathiser, the Biju Janata Dal, too has distanced itself from the government over the issue. It had staged a walkout in the Lok Sabha during the voting on the Bill.
Amendments Proposed by the NDA Government to the Land Bill
Obviously, the ruling BJP’s efforts to reach out to its ally by effecting nine amendments to the Bill could not fetch the desired result. These amendments included:
1. compulsory employment for at least one member of the affected family of a farm labourer
2. assessment by the government on whether the land is the bare minimum required for the project
3. removal of social infrastructure from the exempted category
4. hearing of complaints related to compensation in the district where the land is acquired
2. assessment by the government on whether the land is the bare minimum required for the project
3. removal of social infrastructure from the exempted category
4. hearing of complaints related to compensation in the district where the land is acquired
Demands of the Opposition
However, these efforts failed to placate even its alliance partners and the Opposition rubbished the amendments as “cosmetic”.
Finally, it was the BJP’s brute majority in the Lok Sabha which ensured that the Bill was passed in the Lower House of Parliament. But power equations change drastically in the Upper House, where the government is woefully short of support to get the Bill passed. Politically speaking, the Bill has created fissures within the NDA on one hand, and on the other hand it has become the rallying point for the Opposition.
Finally, it was the BJP’s brute majority in the Lok Sabha which ensured that the Bill was passed in the Lower House of Parliament. But power equations change drastically in the Upper House, where the government is woefully short of support to get the Bill passed. Politically speaking, the Bill has created fissures within the NDA on one hand, and on the other hand it has become the rallying point for the Opposition.
Already, 14 political parties have joined hands (13 of them even marched together to the President’s House on 17 March) to oppose the bill that seeks to replace an ordinance promulgated in December 2014, which had amended certain provisions of the bill passed during the UPA rule.
The key points, which were removed from the 2013 Act, were related to the consent clause and the social impact assessment study. While the consent clause stipulated that 70-80% of land owners should give consent for acquisition, the clause on social impact assessment called for a study to examine the environmental impact and ensure rehabilitation of displaced people.
A majority of opposition parties, including the Congress and the Left want the bill to be referred to a select committee for they claim that the new Bill, if made into a law, would deny the farmers fair and meaningful compensation for the land acquired from them.
Tarnished Image of NDA Government
The current situation does not augur well for the ruling BJP that desperately needed to consolidate its position in the Rajya Sabha by wooing smaller parties. Ostensibly, much of government’s reputation is at stake now because the Bill is being tagged as ‘anti-farmer’ and ‘pro-corporate’. Already, the government has made considerable climb-down from its earlier stated position.
Consider the government’s adamant stand on the Bill at the beginning of the budget session of Parliament when Prime Minister Narendra Modi had reportedly asked the BJP parliamentary party to “defend” the bill. Ever since, the government seems buckling under the pressure from the Opposition and within the ruling alliance as well.
The emerging situation even after the bill was passed with amendments in the Lok Sabha, clearly shows the government’s desperation. Consider a couple of them:
1. On 13 March 35 Union Ministers attended a strategy meeting to counter the perception that the bill was “anti farmer”
2. On 17 March, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley suggested that the “Ordinance gives discretion to state governments to continue under the old law”.
2. On 17 March, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley suggested that the “Ordinance gives discretion to state governments to continue under the old law”.
These developments show that the Opposition strategy is indeed working well and that pressure indeed is building up on the government, which defends the bill on grounds that it is important for “development”.
What Does the Future of the Land Bill Look Like?
The government has already faced considerable embarrassment in the Upper House during the ongoing Budget session.First, the Opposition forced an amendment to the president’s address to a joint session of parliament. Thereafter, two crucial bills – Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2015, and the Coal Mines (Special Provisions) Bill, 2015 were sent to a select committee.
Yet another aspect of the postponement of the Bill is that by 20 April, when the House reassembles after the recess, the Centre’s ordinance amending the land acquisition Act,2013 will lapse but Article123 of the Constitution permits promulgation of an ordinance even if the Parliament is in recess. Should it opt for promulgating the ordinance is to be seen, but as far as the land acquisition bill is concerned, it may be mentioned that during the UPA regime, the Rajya Sabha had passed The Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Bill, 2012, to replace a law enacted by the British in 1894 after an over seven-hour debate on 4 September 2013.
Yet another aspect of the postponement of the Bill is that by 20 April, when the House reassembles after the recess, the Centre’s ordinance amending the land acquisition Act,2013 will lapse but Article123 of the Constitution permits promulgation of an ordinance even if the Parliament is in recess. Should it opt for promulgating the ordinance is to be seen, but as far as the land acquisition bill is concerned, it may be mentioned that during the UPA regime, the Rajya Sabha had passed The Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Bill, 2012, to replace a law enacted by the British in 1894 after an over seven-hour debate on 4 September 2013.
That time, the government had even accommodated the BJP’s suggestions that retrospective and social impact assessment clauses should not be applied for acquisition of land for ongoing irrigation projects. Besides, two more amendments were then moved and the Bill had to be presented again in the Lok Sabha (which had earlier passed the Bill on 29 August 2013 with 216 votes in favour and 19 against). On 5 September 2013, the House passed the amended version to make it a law. In all, 381 amendments were moved to the bill, of which 166 were official ones.The BJP had then supported the legislation even as the corporate sector had voiced its unhappiness.
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