West Bengal withdraws Land Reforms Amendment Bill

The West Bengal government today withdrew the Land Reforms Amendment Bill seeking to relax land ceiling provisions for industries.
      
The minister for Land and Land Reforms Abdur Rezzak Mollah announced withdrawal of the bill in the Assembly.
      
The bill, which came in the backdrop of controversies over acquisition of agricultural land for Tata Motors, was referred to an all-party Select Committee of the Assembly in 2006.
      
Besides the opposition, the bill had triggered protests from Left Front partners, RSP and Forward Bloc, alleging "indiscriminate" conversion of agricultural land for industrial use.
      
The state government had sought to amend the law for allowing investors in the industrial and infrastructure sectors to hold and transfer land in excess of the rural land ceiling.