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Business News/ Politics / Policy/  Wait 48 hours for decision on land ordinance: Arun Jaitley
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Wait 48 hours for decision on land ordinance: Arun Jaitley

The ordinance on land acquisition, which was promulgated three times, will lapse on 31 August

A file photo of Union finance minister Arun Jaitley. Photo: PTIPremium
A file photo of Union finance minister Arun Jaitley. Photo: PTI

New Delhi: Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Saturday kept up the suspense over whether the controversial land acquisition ordinance will be re-promulgated, saying a decision would be taken in the next 48 hours.

“Wait for next 48 hours," he said, when asked whether the government has take a decision with regard to re-promulgate the ordinance, which lapses on 31 August. The land acquisition ordinance, which sought to make land acquisition for industrial projects easier, generated lot of political controversy and was promulgated three times.

The government on Friday issued a statutory order on the land bill in lieu of re-promulgation of land ordinance. The order will ensure compensation for land acquired under 13 Acts and will safeguard the rehabilitation of land owners.

Elaborating on the need to make the Land Act more realistic, Jaitley said that the “2013 land law is probably the worst drafted legislation in Indian legislative history. I have been able to shortlist 45 drafting errors in it and once this dust settles down on what happens 48 hours from now, I can go into details of the kind of confusion in that law that exists."

The law, he said, has confusing provisions with regard to compensation and consent clauses and needed a “serious look".

“I am using the word confused because the more I read the law, the more its ambiguity surfaces as to what consent is required and what consent is not required. Probably the draft persons themselves do not know," he added.

Referring to the clause for usage of land within a period of five years from the date of acquisition, he said, “it was not possible to develop 100 smart cities in five years". He added that many chief ministers at the NITI Aayog meeting called by Prime Minster Narendra Modi had objected to the provisions of the land bill and some have expressed the desire to come up with their own bills, which the centre would approve. Tamil Nadu has come up with its own land bill and many other states were likely to follow suit , he said.

Replying to a host of questions at a function in New Delhi, Jaitley made a case for lowering interest rates, saying it was essential to raise the growth rate to 8-10%. “If we have to jump to 8% plus or 8-10% growth bracket, then all the stalled projects (have to be revived) and cost of capital have to go down," Jaitley said.

Although the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has reduced the benchmark interest rate by 75 basis points in three tranches since January, it maintained the status quo at its policy meeting earlier this month despite pressure from industry and the finance ministry. One basis point is one-hundredth of a percentage point.

RBI’s next monetary policy meeting is due on 29 September.

Jaitley said that the government and RBI were “on the same page" on the proposal of setting up a monetary policy committee and added that the structure will be disclosed in Parliament.

On the constitution amendment bill to roll out the proposed goods and services tax (GST), he said that the discussions were underway with the opposition parties for a special session of Parliament to pass the legislation. He added that the objections raised by the Congress party were “unsustainable" and regretted that the important legislations were being stalled in the Rajya Sabha, where the ruling National Democratic Alliance is in the minority.

“Stalemates will cost India heavily," he said, adding the government has been trying to rationalize the tax structure to make India an attractive place of investment.

India needed to seize the opportunity following slowdown in China and become “world beaters," he said, adding the government has taken various initiatives including the recent one in the banking sector and was stepping up public spending to boost growth.

Jaitley also expressed the optimism that agricultural growth, which has a significant bearing on gross domestic product, will “ be better than last year".

On the decline in the rupee, Jaitley said that it must find its own value as “interference will not help the economy in the long run".

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Published: 29 Aug 2015, 10:13 PM IST
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