By IANS,
Kolkata: In a counter-attack on Trinamool Congress chief and Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee on the land acquisition issue, West Bengal Housing Minister Gautam Deb Tuesday threatened to resist land acquisition under the Railways Act 1989, saying its provisions were objectionable.
“The railways have recently started acquiring land under the provision of the Railways Act, where the land can be acquired before the compensation was discussed and paid. Under this Act, if Mamata Banerjee goes to acquire land, the people of West Bengal as well as the country will not accept it,” said Deb.
Deb said: “Under the amended Railways Act any officer of the railways can be declared a competent authority by the central Government and based on the report of the competent authority the government can issue a notification to acquire a land.”
“Even before the compensation is discussed, the land vests with the government,” he said.