PANJIM: Considering that
several development projects have been stalled due to hurdles in the land acquisition process,
Speaker Anant Shet on Tuesday appealed to the government to draft the Rules and
Regulations under the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land
Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013.
“For undertaking any
developmental work, land acquisition is a must. However, due to hurdles in the
existing Land Acquisition Act, the works are halted. There is immediate need to
draft rules and regulations under the said Act. I appeal to Chief Minister and
Revenue Minister to look into the matter on priority in the interest of the
State,” Shet told the State Assembly.
The issue of land
acquisition came up after PWD Minister Ramakrishna Dhavalikar informed the House
that in the absence of Rules and Regulations under Land Acquisition Act, the
work of constructing the Taleigao-Santa Cruz by-pass road is pending since
2012. The question was raised by unattached MLA Atanasio Monserrate.
Chief Minister Laxmikant
Parsekar said the worries raised by the Speaker and Minister are genuine and Revenue
Department is in process of drafting the rules and regulations under the Act.
Parsekar said the government has recently introduced a Land Procurement Policy in line with the Central
law, under which it has been proposed to give three times compensation to the
land owner. “Under this land owner consent is must. It gives powers to itself of taking over
the possession of land on lease deeds, instead of acquisition.
For this, we want MLAs from each constituency to take the initiative and help the
government,” he said.
