NEW DELHI (Sputnik) — The Indian government will not introduce its highly controversial land acquisition bill to the upper house of parliament before debating it with other political forces in the country, India’s Minister of Urban Development told Sputnik on Monday.
The comments came shortly after protesters and police clashed in New Delhi during a demonstration against the proposed new legislation, which would enable authorities to acquire land for certain projects without the consent of landowners.
“The government will not introduce the bill in Rajya Sabha, the upper house of parliament, before consulting the other political parties,” Venkaiah Naidu told Sputnik.
The Indian government introduced a bill to the country's lower house of parliament in late February, seeking to make major changes to the country’s existing Land Acquisition law. Under the existing legislation, 70 percent of landowners must give their consent for land to be used for public-private partnership projects. The proportion is 80 percent for private projects.
The proposed amendments would remove the consent clause for projects in five areas, namely defense, public-private partnership projects, rural infrastructure, affordable housing and industrial corridors.
