July 29: Rural development minister Jairam Ramesh is expected to hold a meeting with chief minister Mamata Banerjee on Saturday evening on the land acquisition and rehabilitation bill.

Ramesh is also likely to meet Debabrata Bandopadhyay, the former official and now Rajya Sabha MP who drafted land policy recommendations that have been submitted to the Bengal chief minister.

Trinamul leaders said in Calcutta that Mamata might not green-light the Centre’s land acquisition bill as long as it leaves room for a government role in land procurement for the private sector.

Ramesh had said yesterday that the current draft would be sent to all chief ministers for their opinion before the bill is tabled this monsoon session, which starts on Monday.

Under the current draft, governments can acquire the entire land for a private industrial project — or none at all.

Allowing this discretion is being seen as a way to satisfy both Mamata, who is against any government role in such matters, and the Sonia Gandhi-headed National Advisory Council, which wants governments “enabled” to acquire the entire land for industry as a buffer against the farmers being cheated.

“We are not in a hurry to please the Congress. Mamata wants the bill to make it clear that the private sector will have to buy the entire land through direct deals with farmers,” a Trinamul central minister said. “But the Congress is playing with words to make room for government acquisition of land for private players, even if in a limited form. She (Mamata) is peeved at this.”

The Trinamul leaders expressed satisfaction at the leeway allowed to the states, but added that they suspected that the requirement of written consent from only 80 per cent of the land-losers left room for government intervention in a “roundabout” way.

According to Trinamul sources, Mamata is also against private industry being included under the term “public purposes”.

Bandopadhyay today said he was yet to see the bill’s draft. “Jairam had called me after assuming responsibility of the ministry. I told him to scrap the earlier draft. We have given the Centre our suggestions on key issues. I’m yet to find out how far those suggestions have been incorporated in the new bill,” he said.

Ramesh will hold a meeting finance minister Amit Mitra on Sunday before leaving for New Delhi.