Bail industry out – CII wants government to reconsider land acquisition bill.

CII wants government to reconsider land acquisition bill.
THE Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) has opposed the Land Acquisition (Amendment) Bill 2007 likely to be tabled in the next session of Parliament. The CII in a press release said it wants the government to reconsider the bill that mandates industries to acquire land on their own from farmers. According to the bill, the government will acquire only 30 per cent land and that too after the private sector acquires 70 per cent of the site allotted for industrial projects.

This will make it difficult for industry to set up projects, CII said. Assembling land from numerous owners is not a task which the corporate sector can undertake effectively. The government should retain its role of acquiring land for industrial development, as industrialization is key to job creation, CII said.

It further said that the clause ‘public purpose’ should empower the state to acquire land not only for infrastructure or defence purposes but also for developing land for economic activity. Continue reading »

Filed under Environment | Tags: Benefit Sharing, Farmers, India, Industry, Land, Land Acquisition, Land Ownership, Ministry Of Rural Development, Parliament | Comment (0)

POSCO: Villagers Demand 5% of Share in Company’s Profits

Some people in Orissa’s Jagatsinghpur district, in a complete turnaround from their earlier stand, agreed to give up land for the POSCO steel plant on January 5, but with conditions. They have asked for a 5 per cent share in the profits of the company, among other demands.

In another development, the Central Empowered Committee, which advises the supreme court on forest-related cases, recommended that mines, steel plant and captive port— POSCO‘s proposed projects—should be considered as one and reviewed in entirety for its ecological significance and rehabilitation plans rather than as three different projects. POSCO filed an affidavit in the apex court on January 4, contesting the recommendations and asking for separate clearances for its three “separate’ projects. The case will come up for hearing in the third week of January. Continue reading »

Filed under Agriculture, Livelihood, News | Tags: compensation, Conflicts, Displacement, India, Iron And Steel Industry, Land Ownership, Land Resources, Mining, Orissa, Ports, Supreme Court | Comment (0)