Public information campaign explains New Land Acquisition Bill

GANGTOK, 04 Dec [PIB]: The proposed new Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Bill aims at putting an end to the 120-year-old law to make it more people friendly and ensure fair and proper compensation in a most transparent manner. The Bill is further directed towards making suitable rules to ensure that neither the people are forced to part away with their land nor they are displaced owing to acquisition of the land.
This was informed by Dr. Manish Chaubey, Head of the Department (Economics), Sikkim University while addressing the technical session on Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Bill on the first day of a three-day public information campaign on Bharat Nirman at Rongli, East Sikkim.
While the earlier Act had given absolute power to the District Collector in terms of formulating the rate of the land, the new bill proposes to provide this right to the Gram Sabhas in determining the rate, and the rate to be provided for the land acquired will be four times the market rate in rural and two times more in the urban areas, Dr. Chaubey added. Further, the provision of subsistence allowance for the maximum of twenty years along with cash emoluments for transition and transportation to the place of resettlement has been included, he stated.
Similarly while highlighting the provisions of Food Security Act, Dr. Chaubey informed that this Act has been promulgated to ensure Right to Food to the people, wherein they will be provided food grains at an affordable rate. The Act will cover almost 75 percent of the rural and 50 percent of urban population, where the State shall have to play greater responsibility in identifying the beneficiaries, he informed.