Deccan Herald, May 3 2014, Bangalore: The Revenue department is hopeful of keeping the draft rules to implement the new land acquisition law (that came into force on January 1 this year) ready in the next 15 days. 

If all goes as planned, a draft bill to implement the State’s own bill, modeled on the Centre’s Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013, will be introduced in the legislature session scheduled for June. 

Revenue Minister V Sreenivas Prasad held a protracted meeting in the Vidhana Soudha to discuss the pros and cons of implementing the new land act, which has replaced the 120-year-old Land Acquisition Act, 1894, from January 1.

Each state is allowed to frame rules to implement the Act.

The law requires co-ordination of various departments to implement the rules. 

Hence, secretaries of 17 departments had met under the chairmanship of the minister. 

IAS officer Shivayogi Kalasad, who heads a committee to draft rules to implement the Act, said Karnataka has sought certain clarifications from the Centre on the new law. 

“It is a revolutionary law of the Centre. States have freedom to draw up their own Act.

A lot of discussion among various departments needs to happen. Certain changes in the procedures of land acquisition in both urban and rural areas will take place. 

The State’s draft Act is getting ready. We hope to place it before the legislature session in June,” he said. 

Under the proposed law, urban local bodies are likely to face lesser opposition for acquiring land for infrastructure projects as price for acquisition would go up considerably.

However, farmers selling their land for attractive compensation cannot be ruled out, said officials. 

Whatever may be the argument, there will be transparency in land acquisition by project promoters, it is said. 

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