Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Saturday kept up suspense on whether the controversial land acquisition ordinance will be re-promulgated, saying a decision would be taken in the next 48 hours.
“Wait for next 48 hours,” he said, when asked whether the Government had taken a decision on the ordinance which lapses on August 31.
The ordinance, which sought to make land acquisition for industrial projects easier, generated lot of political controversy and was promulgated three times.
The Government on Thursday issued a statutory order on Land Bill in lieu of re-promulgation of the ordinance. The order will ensure compensation for land acquired under 13 Acts and will safeguard the rehabilitation of land owners.
Replying to a host of questions at a function here, Mr. Jaitley made a case for lowering interest rates saying it was essential to raise the growth rate to 8-10 per cent. “If we have to jump to 8 per cent plus or 8-10 per cent growth bracket then all the stalled projects [have to be revived] and cost of capital have to go down.”
The Government, he said, was working on the process of ease of doing business, bringing in bankruptcy law, rationalising taxation and introducing proper public procurement policy.
These are couple of areas on which work is in advanced stage, he said.
