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dam-l NAPM Action Alert - Land Acquisition Act (Amendment Bill)

NATIONAL ALLIANCE OF PEOPLESí MOVEMENTS

LAND ACQUISITION ACT NEEDS TO BE ABOLISHED, NOT AMENDED

The government of India through the Ministry of Rural Areas and Employment
is putting the finishing touches to a major redrafting of the Land
Acquisition Act of 1894.  Given that the act has been one of the central
tools used for mass displacement of people from their sources of
subsistence and culture, and given that the act has been criticised by a
wide cross section of democratically committed people, it is imperative
that a significant national mobilisation be sought to understand and oppose
this move.

  The amendment to the Land Acquisition Act, recently approved by the
Central Cabinet is anti-people and against ëpublic interestí.  The move
does not suggest any consideration of the voice raised by the people
affected through this act of British legacy during the last few decades.
The tribal, peasant and other communities have questioned the principal of
eminent domain, no right to information, unquestioned public purpose and no
concept of rehabilitation with land for land or community resettlement- and
the law makers have consistently taken no notice of these concerns.

Some of the main changes would be, in brief:
1.  The collect has been given major powers.  Any project or agency can
seek acquisition through the collector merely by seeking his her consent.
2.  There is no mention of due process where consultation with potentially
affected communities and other concerned citizens is mandatory.
3.  Appeals can only be heard by the High Court, that is still out of reach
of many of the displaced persons.
4.  No commitment to seek least displacing or no displacing alternatives.
5.  It is not compulsory to give compensation prior to possession.  This
could impoverish and destabilise people and ultimately turn them into beggars.
6.  The displaced persons also have to seek compensation, rather than a
comprehensive due process to identify those eligible for compensation.  The
amendment shifts responsibility to the person who, within three weeks has
to file a claim and justify why he or she should be compensated.
7.  There is no recognition of those who do not have legal title to land;
often a majority in a village, particularly in tribal areas) have no legal
titles or do not have titles but are dependent on the land (landless
workers, artisans, nomads, etc.)
8.  The new draft of the LAA makes almost no acknowledgement that the
ministry has also been in the process of drafting a national policy on
rehabilitation which, despite its flaws and limitations, has protections
which are contradictory to what is provided in the proposed LAA.

The amendment is rather applying salt to the wounds borne by the displaced
and the affected.  It also reduces the time for raising objections to the
first notice from 30 to 21 days and in lieu of judicial process, proposes a
tribunal for the purpose, with composition not specified.  Cash
compensation prevails as the only measure to compensate.  No amount of show
of transparency would help of the basic premise of peoplesí right to
natural resources and right to their own development plan is not
recognised.  This appears to be an attempt or a conspiracy by the
globalisation, liberalisation, forces to privatise peopleís resources and
usurp those towards their own benefit.  The so-called development process
underneath is a fiasco and yet those in the fast track are not ready to
wait until human rights, social environment, and economic justice
protected.  We demand scrapping of the Land Acquisition Act and instead
enact a policy and an act for ëdevelopment planning and development
rehabilitationí for the minimum displacement.  It is urgent that we
stridently oppose the amendments and call for a year long national dialogue
on the form and content of policies that deprives and displaces hundreds of
thousands of people every year.

It is crucial that we all raise our voices on this issue immediately, as it
is to be discussed in the Winter Session of Parliament.  Please write to
the Rural Development Minister expressing your disapproval of these
amendments and call for the scrapping of the Land Acquisition Act.

Address your letters to:
Rural Development Minister
Krishi Bhavan
New Delhi


Thank you for your support,
Medha Patkar