New Delhi, Dec 6 (IANS) The proposed Land Acquisition (Amendment) Bill, slated to be introduced in parliament this winter, needs to include provisions for easing land acquisition norms and digitising land records, according to an industry lobby report.
The Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), in its recommendations, also called for setting up land bank corporations to facilitate speedy acquisition and disbursement of land for industrial use.

“Agglomerating land from numerous owners is not a task which the corporate sector can do effectively, especially in the absence of proper land records and with small, scattered land-holdings,” CII director general Chandrajit Banerjee said in the report.

The bill in its current form says only the state can acquire land for private sector projects.

“Any attempt on the part of the government to transfer this task squarely on industry, without improving the system, will badly affect industrial development and overall economic growth in the country,” said Banerjee.

Another key recommendation is for setting up state land bank coporations. These institutions could acquire fallow, barren and unproductive as well as other and disburse it for industrial projects.

This, according to CII, is a “transparent and viable solution” to the problem.

The lobby also called for national digitisation of land records.

Archaic and unauthentic land records are the biggest road blocks in land acquisition and disbursement of compensation, it said.

The digitisation of land records, across all states, would help make land records transparent, tamper-proof and facilitate detailed planning of land use for industrial, agriculture and residential development, the report added.

The CII report also called for identification and segregation of the land for various purposes.

“The state should fulfil its responsibility for economic development and must play its critical and key role in acquiring land for industrial projects, as industrialisation is essential for job creation and inclusive growth,” it said.

The government has listed the Land Acquisition Amendment Bill for introduction in the ongoing winter session of parliament.