Calcutta, June 26: Land reforms minister Abdur Rezzak Mollah today said the government was yet to take any decision on withdrawing an amendment bill seeking land ceiling relaxation for industry and infrastructure.

Asked about the future of the bill, which has been lying with a select committee for over two years, the minister said: “We haven’t yet been able to take any decision. I have spoken to the Opposition as well as the Front partners. The select committee could not form a consensus on the land ceiling relaxation despite meeting a number of times.”

He added that “there is enough time to take a final decision after talking to our party leadership and also the Left Front”.

“Let’s see what can be done,” he said.

The West Bengal Land Reforms (Amendment) Bill, 2006, was referred to the committee for “thorough scrutiny’’ after its introduction following protests from the Opposition as well as the Front partners.

The law does not allow a person to hold more than 12 acres of irrigated land and 17 acres of non-irrigated land. The reason for amending the bill was to allot more land for industry and infrastructure projects.

Mamata protest call

Mamata Banerjee today said the Trinamul Congress zilla parishad in South 24-Parganas would not allow the state to take farmland for a proposed expressway from Barasat in North 24-Parganas to Raichak in South 24-Parganas.

The government had issued a notice for acquiring land in the Diamond Harbour block, but it was put on the back burner after the CPM was defeated in South 24-Parganas.

The Indonesia-based Salim group is associated with the project.