GUWAHATI : The Assam government on Monday presented a bill in the assembly, seeking to ease acquiring land for some specific projects like affordable housing, industrial, defence and aero city in the state.

Tabling ‘Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement (Assam Amendment) Bill, 2026’ in the state Assembly, the government moved to exempt certain category projects from some stringent clauses of the parent Act.

“The categories include projects relating to national security and defence, rural infrastructure, affordable housing, industrial area and industrial estates established by the state government and its undertakings, industrial corridors and planned urban development in and around airports,” Revenue and Disaster Management Minister Keshab Mahanta said in the statement of objects and reasons of the bill.

The amendment is intended to facilitate the timely implementation of critical infrastructure and development projects in the state while ensuring that acquisition is limited to the bare minimum land required for such projects, he added.

“The bill further seeks to amend section 40 of the principal Act relating to special powers in cases of urgency. The proposed amendment enables invocation of the urgency provisions for acquisition of land required to meet exigencies arising out of natural disasters or calamities declared by the state government,” Mahanta said.

The state Cabinet, in its meeting on July 10, had approved the amendment, he added. (Source: PTI)