KCR Outshines Congress In Land Acquisition Debate

Speaking on the new Land Acquisition Bill passed on December 28, Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao, during the Telangana Assembly session today, said that the State held the Constitutional right to pass a legislation on a Central Act. He clarified that the State government didn't attempt to amend the existing Central Bill.

The Opposition - led by the Telangana Congress - tried to poked holes in the Bill that was introduced in the House by Irrigation Minister T Harish Rao, but the Chief Minister shot all of them down one after the other. Harish Rao's timely interventions supported KCR further.

Stating that the Bill was essentially intended to extend liberal compensation to land oustees, the Chief Minister, intervening during the discussion on the Bill, said, "The Centre's 'Right to Fair compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013' had shortcomings and to overcome them, about six to seven States in the country already enacted their own legislations as land acquisition was in the concurrent list."

Countering the points raised by Leader of the Opposition K Jana Reddy, the CM argued that it was not an amendment to the Central Act, and Article 254 of the Indian Constitution gave the State the authority to pass a legislation on it. He added that the Centre promised to give its nod to the Bill as the draft was prepared after due consultation with the law department, and the current Bill had legal sanction.

KCR flayed the Opposition for allegedly trying to hinder the progress of works in key irrigation projects in Telangana. "As long as the Opposition acts as a roadblock, the State can never reach the desired heights," he cautioned.

Rao also said that the acquisition of land was inevitable if the Opposition wanted water for the parched lands in the State.