Land Bill JPC hits a roadblock

Land Bill JPC hits a roadblock

Context:

• A meeting of the Joint Parliamentary Committee on the Land Acquisition Bill was cancelled on Tuesday for lack of quorum as only six of the 31 members turned up.
• The Bill seeks to remove the consent clause for acquiring land for industrial corridors, public-private projects, rural infrastructure, affordable housing and defence.

Widespread opposition

•   The six members who came for the meeting were Mr. O’Brien, B. Mahtab of the BJD and Chairman Ganesh Singh and three others from the BJP.

Joint Parliamentary Committee on the Bill:

• The JPC was set up in May 2015 after many political parties, even BJP allies, cane out against the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement (Second Amendment) Bill, 2015.