India's parliament is set to debate legislation aimed at providing greater compensation for farmers whose land is purchased for industrial development.

Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh says the bill attempts to balance the need for faster urbanization with the need to protect the interest of landowners.

Ramesh says the cabinet approved the land acquisition reform bill late Monday. It is expected to be introduced to parliament on Wednesday.

Details of the proposed legislation are unknown, but a draft version of the bill released in July suggested that farmers should receive as much as six times the market value in return for their land when it is taken over for industrial use.

The bill would represent a dramatic overhaul of a century-old, Colonial-era law that allows the government to take over land without compensation.

The issue has become politically controversial in India, where several major construction projects have been held up by demonstrations claiming that farmers have been forced to sell their land at below market value.