After seeing the Nandigram setback in West Bengal, the Central government now wants all states to spread awareness about the land acquisition procedures.

As part of this the state governments have been told to specify that floor rate for buying land from farmers is the minimum rate and not the ceiling.

It also told the states to encourage transaction of land at prices closer to market rates and not closer to the floor price.

Further to that, the Centre also clarified that the state governments will have to be mere facilitators in the land acquisition process.

The rural development ministry has sent a note to states specifying the need to enhance floor rates that have been kept low for long.

A clause pertaining to this would be incorporated in the proposed rehabilitation and resettlement policy being prepared by the ministry. The policy will be submitted to the Cabinet soon.

Floor rate is the price determined by the state government for transaction of land. Over the years, corporates and industrialists have been paying low rates for the land that commands greater market value than the government-fixed rate.

The Centre also plans to reduce the disparity between prices of industrial land in various states. For instance, floor rate in the western region is just Rs 5 lakh (Rs 500,000) per acre against Rs 20 lakh (Rs 2 million) in Haryana. In states such as West Bengal and Orissa, floor rate is just Rs 3 lakh (Rs 300,000) per acre.