Chandigarh, Aug 31 (IANS) Farmers in Haryana can have reason to rejoice if their land is acquired by the state government.

Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda Tuesday said the state government was actively considering enhancement of the floor rate for land acquisition.

The state’s present land acquisition policy is considered the best in the country for its higher rate of compensation and also offering rehabilitation and annuity for 33 years for the farmers.

Hooda said: ‘The policy is being changed for betterment in the interest of the farmers. The floor rates in the state are the highest and I might revise these again.’

Hooda added that he is a son of a farmer and understands the feelings of the farming community, particularly when they are displaced from their land.

Haryana government has fixed the minimum floor rates for acquisition of land ranging from Rs.800,000 to Rs.2 million per acre, depending upon the area.

For the urban areas of Gurgaon, adjoining national capital New Delhi, the minimum floor rate has been fixed at Rs.2 million per acre, and for the rest of the national capital region (NCR), Panchkula and areas on the periphery of Chandigarh, it is Rs.1.6 million (Rs.16 lakh) per acre. In the rest of the state, the rate is Rs.800,000 per acre.

The farmers get an annuity for 33 years over and above the land compensation. The annuity has been fixed at Rs.15,000 per acre per year, with an increase of Rs.500 per acre every year, for 33 years.

Besides, the farmers are eligible for allotment of residential and commercial property in the state under a rehabilitation scheme.