Hyderabad: Union urban development minister M. Venkaiah Naidu said the new Land Acquisition Bill with nine amendments make land acquisition easier.
Speaking to the media here, Mr Naidu said the amendments made to the Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013 were not unilateral. He said that the BJP government had consulted representatives from all states and UTs, cutting across party lines, and most of them had said that land acquisition was impossible with the LARR act in its present form.
He said the main feature of the new Bill would be to provide compensation to farmers under 13 Central acts relating to sectors like ports and power.
He said the amendments do not promote land acquisition by or for private sector; they provide more compensation for farmers than LARR 2013, The proposed amendments provide space for judicial intervention at the district level and monthly subsistence for those who will be due to get compensatory land.
Asked if the amended Bill would face a deadlock in Rajya Sabha again, as the BJP does not have the numbers, he said the Coal Bill and Mines and Minerals Bill were passed in the RS and so would the amended LARR be.
Mr Naidu attacked the Congress for conducting a misinformation campaign and said the BJP had released a booklet to be distributed among party members to disprove all the allegations.
Talking about the attacks on churches, he said that other religious structures, including more than 200 temples, had been attacked but no one had raised a voice. He said acts of vandalism against all religious places are to be condemned
