Rural development minister Jairam Ramesh has revised the land acquisition bill to provide for a greater say to the states, make it mandatory to have the prior “consent” of two-thirds of all those who would lose land and a compensation and rehabilitation and resettlement package for both who would lose their land and others who would lose their livelihood. The bill has been rechristened as Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Bill, 2012.

The changes have been made keeping in mind the recommendations of the parliamentary committee and civil society groups. The revised bill has been submitted to a Group of Ministers (GoM) set up a few weeks earlier because of differences among the ministers. The GoM is headed by agriculture minister Sharad Pawar, which will be meeting on September 30 for the first time to take up the bill for consideration.

There are several new elements in the revised bill. It provides a baseline for compensation, leaving it for the states to fix the final award. It will now be applicable “prospectively”, and not retrospectively as was the case earlier. It binds private purchases beyond a certain threshold for resettlement and rehabilitation (R&R) but leaves it to the states to decide the threshold. Earlier, R&R came into force if private acquisition exceeded 100 acre in rural areas and 50 acres in urban areas.

The revised bill provides a better rehabilitation and resettlement package for all those who lose their land and livelihood with a house or one-time financial grant in lieu thereof; annuity of Rs 2,000 per month per family for 20 years (and linked to inflation) and employment. If employment is not possible, each family will get a one-time grant of Rs 5 lakh. Besides, they will get a subsistence allowance of Rs 3,000 per month for a year. Other benefits include transport allowance of Rs 50,000 and resettlement allowance of another Rs 50,000.

Though the bill discourages acquisition of irrigated multi-crop or agricultural land, it allows the states to fix a limitation. The earlier bill had restricted acquisition of such land to 5 percent of the total in a district.

The revised bill also incorporates amendments proposed by the parliamentary committee and recommendations of various ministries regarding bringing central laws like SEZ Act of 2005, Works of Defence Act of 1903 and Cantonments Act of 2006 under its purview.