The land law passed in 2013, which is sought to be replaced, was hugely "anti-farmer", Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said on Monday."The 2013 land law was hugely detrimental to rural India," Jaitley said at the national convention of the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) here."The law is most unfriendly for rural India. It has no provision for rural infrastructure, even acquiring of land for irrigation has been left out and no land can be made available for rural electrification," he added.The Lok Sabha has passed the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement (Amendment) Bill that sought to replace an ordinance that was promulgated in December. It faced stiff opposition in the Rajya Sabha, following which the ordinance was re-promulgated.
"What will happen to the industrial corridors planned to run along rail tracks and highways, which will raise the value of land along these corridors," Jailtey asked."There are 300 million rural poor, most of whom are Dalits, looking for employment. The 2013 law is against landless, rural infrastructure. The 2015 law corrects these aberrations," he said.