New Delhi: The NDA government doesn’t seem to be immune to inter-ministerial wrangling, as Prime Minister Narendra Modi recently discovered during a meeting of all departments dealing with infrastructure.
After the ministries of surface transport and environment sparred over pending green nods to stalled road projects, the Prime Minister directed the officials to be ready with an amendment to the National Highways Land Acquisition Act, 1956 in a month’s time.
At last month’s meeting, officials from the ministry of surface transport claimed that a large number of road projects were stalled on account of delay in environmental clearances. Officials from the environment ministry rebutted the claim, saying that clearances could be given once land is acquired, but how could they be granted when no land has been acquired for the project, sources said.
After the PM further probed, sources said, it emerged that the principal reason for road projects being stalled is the inability of the government to acquire land for the projects.
“After the Land Acquisition and Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013 came into force in January 2014, land-owners are not accepting compensation for the acquisition as prices are much less than mandated under the new law. Even though national highways are exempted from the provisions of the new law till January 2015, land-owners have dug in their heels to stall acquisition,” sources said.
As per the new land act, all laws dealing with land acquisition have to be amended to make them compliant with the nor-ms of the new law. The Centre has time till January 2015 to amend the NH land acquisition Act.
