March 22, 2015
Array

LAND ACQUISITION BILL: 14 Political Parties Submit Memo to President

MEMBERS of parliament belonging to 14 political parties marched to the Rashtrapati Bhawan from the parliament and submitted the following memorandum declaring their opposition to the Modi government’s proposed amendments to the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition And Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013. Apart from the Left Parties – CPI(M) and CPI – members of both the houses of parliament belonging to 12 other opposition parties – Congress, Samajwadi Party, Janata Dal (United), Janata Dal (Secular), RJD, NCP, Trinamool Congress, DMK, INLD, AAP, Kerala Congress (Mani) and IUML – together sought the intervention of the president to protect the interests of the Indian peasantry by asking the Modi government to refrain from going ahead with its proposed amendments. The CPI(M) had proposed amendments to this Bill when it was brought for approval in both houses of the parliament by the UPA-II government. These related to strengthening the legislation in order to provide greater relief to the farmers whose land was being acquired and to safeguard the rights to livelihood of the vast mass of non-owners of the land but whose livelihood depended upon the agricultural activity on these lands. The present proposed amendments by the Modi government, however, seek to abolish even the existing rights of the peasantry and sections like agricultural labour whose livelihood depends on the agricultural activity on these lands. In the past, the columns of this weekly, detailed the CPI(M)’s objections and oppositions to the proposed amendments by the Modi government. The following is the memorandum submitted by this delegation of MPs belonging to 14 opposition parties. WE have come together to oppose the Modi Sarkar’s amendments to the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition and Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act 2013. The amendments have been approved by the Lok Sabha because the BJP has a majority there. They now await consideration of the Rajya Sabha. The amendments should have first been considered by the standing committee concerned but that did not happen since the Modi Sarkar is intent on destroying the institution of standing committees and select committees itself. The amendments do away with pre-notification Social Impact Assessment (SIA) which is an essential safeguard to prevent diversion of acquired land, to prevent acquisition of excess land and to ensure that acquisition of multi-cropped irrigated land would only be a demonstrable last resort, if at all. The Social Impact Assessment to be carried out in no more than six months would also identify livelihood losers entitled to compensation and R&R benefits. The amendments do away with the requirement of consent (for a large number of key private projects) of 80 per cent of farmers in case of acquisition for private companies and 70 per cent of consent for PPP projects. This opens the doors for forcible acquisition as was permitted under the Land Acquisition Act, 1894 which the 2013 law replaced. In addition to this, industrial corridors which have been exempted from seeking consent and being evaluated through the SIA, can now acquire a large area of additional land which opens doors to profiteering at the expense of farmers. This would not have been permitted under the original 2013 law. Projects for defence and national security are already exempt from consent and the SIA. The amendments remove the time limit of five years for return of land to farmers if the acquired land is not put to use (leaving it to the discretion of the acquiring body). They also change the retrospective provisions significantly and go against recent Supreme Court judgments on these provisions. As a result, lakhs of farmers whose land has been acquired under the 1894 Act but where they have not accepted compensation or their land has yet to be taken physical possession of, will be immediately disqualified from the benefit of having their land returned under the 2013 law as was originally intended. Further, while land acquisition could only have been carried out for the government itself or for private companies (after consent) under the 2013 Act, the new amendments allow acquisition for any entity. We are of the firm opinion that the amendments are anti-farmer and go against all democratic principles. The manner in which these amendments have been sought to push through reveals the authoritarian mindset of the Modi Sarkar. These amendments are just one example of the anti-farmer policies of the Modi Sarkar – the insignificant increase in MSP for paddy and wheat and the drastic cut in the allocation for the Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana being other major instances. We believe that the Modi Sarkar has embarked on a deliberate and conscious course of action, designed to tilt the public policy unfairly and undeservedly in favour of those who claim to create “wealth”, and we are fully convinced that the Modi Sarkar is determined to prioritise the corporate sector at the expense of the farmer by the simple device of snatching away his land which is his land which is his only form of social security. The Modi Sarkar’s approach, we are afraid, is bound to create social disharmony and unrest in rural area; we have reason to fear that in its eagerness to confer undeserved gains and profit on a very small slice of the populace, the Modi Sarkar is not only working towards the ruination of the agricultural community but it is also hoping to fish in the troubled waters of rural unrest and to push its sectarian agenda. All the progressive, secular, democratic and forward-looking forces are determined to defeat the Modi Sarkar’s design to promote divisions and social disharmony. We request the rashtrapati to intervene to protect the interests of kisans and impress upon the Modi Sarkar not to go ahead with the amendments in the Rajya Sabha.