Team Herald
PANJIM: Chief Minister Laxmikant Parsekar on Friday said Goa will enact its own Land Acquisition Act with emphasis on right to fair and good compensation and transparency in land acquisition.
“Modiji has given in-principle nod to enact State land acquisition legislation. We are awaiting official communication from the Centre. But, even before that, we will begin ground work to draft the legislation,” Parsekar told media persons.
The Narendra Modi government allowed the Land Ordinance to lapse on August 31, restoring the 2013 Act that was passed during the UPA regime. The ordinance was stuck because of a lack of wider political support, with opposition parties attacking it as anti-farmer.
Parsekar, who was one amongst several Chief Ministers, who proposed that States be granted powers to enact its own land acquisition legislation, said, “Goa being a small State has limited land and government is super-sensitive towards the land issue.”
The chief minister said that the State Land Acquisition Act will focus on limited and important land acquisitions, fair and good compensation and transparency in the acquisition process.
The government during the Budget session, had passed an amendment to the Central Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation And Resettlement Act 2013, to validate land acquisition done by the government departments, retrospectively. The Act was deemed to have come into force with effect from the first day of January 2014.
As per information, nearly 89 State projects, including tourism infrastructure, water argumentation, new bridges, garbage treatment sites, were kept on hold for over a year due to hurdles in the land acquisition process.
