Land Acquisition Act to be amended: PC

The UPA government asnnounced that it planned to bring a Bill to amend the Land Acquisition Act, 1894, in the coming monsoon session of Parliament. This obviouslycame after the Prime Ministers' assurance in the wake of a week-long agitation in Greater Noida, Agra, Aligarh and other parts of the western UP by farmers who are protesting against the acquisition of their land for the Yamuna Express Highway.

As per the amendment, the government draft seeks to provide compensation to the farmers at the market rate in a 70:30 proportion. It implies that 70 per cent of the land should be directly bought at the market price by the private party promoting a project, while the government will only acquire 30 per cent of the land.