The right of farmers to get back their land if they change their mind about selling it and complete transparency in private sector purchase of land -- these are two changes the Congress-led UPA government has to agree to, if it wants railway minister and Trinamool Congress (TC) chief Mamata Banerjee's support in passing the contentious Land Acquisition Act amendments in the coming Budget session.
The TC leadership, that forced Congress president Sonia Gandhi to intervene and make the government withdraw the bill during the last Parliament session, has decided not to dilute its stand on these two key issues.
The biggest alliance partner of the Congress is, however, ready to make minor adjustments to allow the government to re-introduce the bill in Parliament.
After an internal discussion on the two Bills -- the Land Acquisition (amendment) Act and the Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act -- theTC leadership has resolved to oppose these if they doesn't provide legal rights for the farmers to get back their land if an industrial project doesn't take off within the stipulated time.
The Bill, in its present form, allows the government to take back the land from private investors if they fail to start the industry within three years of acquiring the land.
"My personal opinion is, the farmers should not be even asked to return the money when they get back land. This should be a disincentive for industrialists who fail to keep their promise and start a project," minister of state for rural development Shishir Adhikary, also a TC member, told Business Standard.
According to Adhikary, internal meetings have taken place in the TC leadership on these bills and Banerjee has decided to stick to her demand to include a provision in the current amendment bill to allow farmers to get back their land.
The party will also not allow any fixed quota of acquisition by the government. The proposed bill says the government can (forcibly) buy 30 per cent of the land needed for a project if the private investor has already bought the other 70 per cent.
"We are products of land movements. How can we allow the government to play the role of an agent in land dealings?" Adhikary told Business Standard. The only concession the TC leadership is willing to make is: in case of "discrepancy", the government can come forward and help the private party to buy the land.
But the TC wants to add another rider before the government can intervene to maintain the contiguity of project land, that there be complete transparency in the purchase of land by a private party.
"There are several complaints that the private investors are forcibly buying land, even at gunpoint, from farmers. This has to stop. Private investors should follow a completely transparent process of buying land, keeping the government in the loop at every stage," said Adhikary.
Union rural development minister C P Joshi had recently said the bills have been passed by the Cabinet and his ministry is ready to place these whenever required. But the TC leadership is confident the bill will not be tabled without its consent.
During the last session of Parliament, the Congress was determined to table the Bills in the House. But the Congress president decided to be patient after Banerjee staged a furious protest.
