New rehab policy for land acquisition for SEZs: Raghuvansh

New Delhi, Jan 19 (UNI) The Government will soon formulate a pro-active rehabilitation policy for people being displaced during land acquisition for Special Economic Zones.

''The policy will come before the cabinet within a few days. We have already moved a note to various ministries regarding this,'' Rural Development Minister Raghuvansh Prasad Singh said here today.

Welcoming Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's decision not to give approvals to any new SEZs, he said that under the new policy provision would be made for rehabilitation before displacement of people. It would be a pro-farmer policy instead of pro-acquisition policy.

The policy would emphasise on providing house, land before displacing anyone. The rehabilitation package would be much bigger under the new policy which would be replaced by a law ultimately, he said.

Dr Singh said that under the new policy, social impact of any eviction would be assessed by an Authority and if it felt that the adverse impact was more than the net gain from the industrial activity, permission would not be granted.

UNI