Jaitley defends land reforms |
Activating a strong defense of the government`s proposed land reforms, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley in the Rajya Sabha chided the opposition for creating an atmosphere where `industry` and `infrastructure` become bad words. This debate is not between rich and poor or farmer vs non-farmer, but about adding to the poverty of India, he said. In December, Prime Minister Narendra Modi`s government used an ordinance or executive order to drastically change the law introduced by the previous Congress-led government to make farm land available for infrastructure and industry. Projects in five categories including Defense have been exempted from a requirement of the consent of 80 percent of affected landowners for any deal. The ordinance also ends the need for companies to conduct a social impact study of such projects, which would involve public hearings and, industry executives fear, drag on for years. The ordinance is a temporary order and needs the approval of both houses of Parliament to come into force. Meanwhile several allies of the Modi government like Shiv Sena, Akalis and Lok Shakti Dal, besides the opposition, farmers` unions and activists are opposed to it. But, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is reportedly not in favor of revising the ordinance or the contentious provisions. However, in what`s being seen as an attempt to propitiate the opposition, senior minister Nitin Gadkari has said the government is open to good suggestions on potential changes.
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