By IANS,
Kolkata : Asserting that the new land acquisition bill will be introduced in parliament next week, Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh Saturday said the states will be free to have their laws on the issue.
“We have discussed the draft land acquisition bill. We plan to introduce it in parliament next week after the approval of the cabinet. The chief minister has expressed broad support for the bill, particularly the R&R (rehabilitation and resettlement) package of the bill,? said Ramesh after a meeting with West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.
He said Banerjee also reiterated that state government should be free to have its own land acquisition law.
?There is no compulsion in the central law. The state governments can have their own law. And I think with the approval of the chief minister, we can introduce the bill in parliament,? said Ramesh.