At the instance of Congress president and UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi, changes have been introduced in the proposed draft Land Acquisition Bill. According to the revised draft, the consent of 80 per cent of the landowners has been made obligatory if it procured for private purposes. Earlier, the proposal was to secure the consent of just 67 per cent of the landowners. But, if the land is acquired for a public cause, the no consent was required.

Union agriculture minister Sharad Pawar disclosed this to reporters after his meeting with Union rural development minister Jairam Ramesh over the issue. He said, “A detailed discussion was made in the last GoM. Some of them suggested changes and these were discussed and finalised on Monday.”