Union Rural Development Minister Birender Singh has said the erstwhile United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government made many mistakes while drafting the 2013 land acquisition in hurry and desperation to please Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi.
Singh, the leader from Haryana who quit the Congress and joined the BJP last August, on Friday defended the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government’s recent move to promulgate an Ordinance to amend the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013.
He said governments of many states, including some ruled by the Congress, too had demanded amendments in the act, as the 2013 law had delayed and stalled many development projects across the country.
He said the interests of farmers would not be hurt in any way by the amendments in the land acquisition law.
The minister also dismissed media reports that he was unhappy over the government decision to promulgate an Ordinance to amend the Land Acquisition Act.
The ordinance waived the requirement of obtaining prior consent of 70-80 per cent of the people to be affected by projects, as well as the Social Impact Assessment of the projects, in cases where land would be acquired for projects related to national security, defence, rural infrastructure including electrification, industrial corridors and housing for the poor, including public-private partnership projects.
In the last case, the government would continue to own the land.
“They (the UPA government) committed so many mistakes to please Rahulji. Now we (the NDA government) are suffering (because of it),” Singh told a news conference on Friday.
Gandhi had personally campaigned for overhaul of the land acquisition law of 1894, ostensibly to woo farmers and boost the Congress’ declining prospects in 2012 and 2013.
Singh had joined the BJP after rebelling against the Congress' face in Haryana: then chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda. The 67-year-old Rajya Sabha member changed loyalties just ahead of the Assembly elections in the state.
He was inducted into the Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Cabinet on November 30, apparently in recognition of his role in ensuring a BJP victory in Haryana.
Singh had earlier ruled out possibility of an Ordinance to amend the 2013 law. He had, however, joined Finance Minister Arun Jaitley last Monday to announce the Union Cabinet clearing the ordinance.
“Had I been unhappy, I would not have continued in the Union Cabinet. Whatever I have done, I have ensured that interests of farmers are protected,” said Singh, himself a leader of farmers.
The Union minister said the state governments would continue to have the discretion to implement the new Section 10-A, which had been added to the Act to pave the way for faster development.
“If some state governments think they are the only ones concerned about farmers, they should not implement it,” he said.