Land acquisition ordinance |
India passed an urgent executive order on December 29 to ease land acquisition rules in sectors like power, housing and defence to kick-start hundreds of billions of dollars in stalled projects. Investments are unlikely to flow in immediately. But, restrictions through a law enacted by the previous government became a barrier to projects worth almost $300 billion. Several states had asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi to overhaul the law enacted in January 2014. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said projects in defence, rural electrification, rural housing and industrial corridors would not need to seek the consent of 80 percent of the affected landowners as mandated. They will also be exempt from holding a social impact study involving public hearings – procedures that industry executives say can drag out the acquisition process for years. Compensation to landholders, however, will stay at four times the market price. Prime Minister Modi is also considering changes to the Mines and Minerals Development and Regulation Act to auction minerals like iron ore and bauxite. But the government has yet to take a decision on an ordinance for it, Jaitley said.
|
|
|
|