Land Acquisition (Amendment) Bill in next session of parliament: Manmohan Singh

New Delhi, Aug 25 (ANI): The Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh, on Wednesday assured a delegation of leaders from Uttar Pradesh, which included Congress General Secretary Rahul Gandhi that the Central Government will make every effort to bring the Land Acquisition (Amendment) Bill and the Rehabilitation and Resettlement Bill in the next session of parliament.

The delegation reportedly requested Dr Singh for the modification of the present land acquisition act, as the lands of the Uttar Pradesh farmers have been notified for acquisition for the Yamuna Expressway.

Earlier on July 24, Union Railway Minister and Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee raised serious objections to a bill relating to land acquisition for industrialisation and rehabilitation of the land losers.

Banerjee, who was at the forefront of the agitations in Nandigram and Singur in West Bengal against the acquisition of land for the TATA Nano project last year, strongly demanded penal provisions to check the use of money and muscle power by private developers while acquiring land from the farmers.

"The new amendment falls short of protecting poor farmers as the rehabilitation and resettlement is not fully guaranteed by the provisions of the bill," she argued. (ANI)