Violence, Protests and Controversies have always Surrounded Land Acquisition in India. The Latest spate of Violent Clashes at Bhatta-Parsaul in UP over Acquisition of Farmers’ land has only brought to fore The Urgent need for Amendments to The Existing Archaic law.
Another bone of contention is property valuation. The techniques being flawed, there are claims that given a chance, land owners let go of no opportunity to demand higher values for their backyards than the real market value. This, using the much debatable concepts of ‘potential value’ and ‘opportunity value’ of their property. The government claims that this results in a huge strain on public finances and restrictions on the scale of development and re-development projects. There is also an opposition to the additional payment of solatium over the property value (which is a form of compensation for emotional than physical discomfort or financial loss).
People who argue that the act is draconian, claim that a number of projects with no public purpose attached, as in the case of SEZs, have also resulted in land being snatched away from property owners, with the help of the Act. That too, at well below market value. And preachers of market-based solutions cite evidences proving how even in the case of projects that are genuinely meant for public purposes, there have almost always existed a considerable difference between the market value of the property and the value that the land acquisition officer paid the land owners. Blame is also imposed on the authorities of not following up adequately on the issues of relocation and rehabilitation of land owners displaced by the actions of the Act. While speaking with B&E on this matter, CPM leader and MP Nilotpaul Basu, says, “There is absolutely no mention or recognition of the crucial resettlement and rehabilitation policies in the exisiting legislation which makes confrontations inevitable.”
The protests over acquisition of land had until now been an executive premise of the civil society. Despite huge ruckus (and many heartbreaks) over which political party scores over the other in terms of the huge vote banks that the farmers and landowners command, surprisingly, there is also a form of consensus emerging between these very parties over what the current legislation falls short of. Following the incidences that have occurred in the past month, all major political parties, seem to have woken up to realise that the contours of the more-than-a-century-old legislation are outdated and that either the political cartographers must do something urgent in the name of amendments or the clause should be totally scrapped. In their discussions with B&E, Salman Khurshid (the Union Minister for Minority Affairs), Shahnawaz Hussain (a BJP spokesperson), Ajit Singh (Founder & Chief, Rashtriya Lok Dal & a prominent leader of the farmers) and Nilotpaul Basu (Senior CPM leader & MP), all took a similar stand, denouncing the “mess” of a land act that we inherited from the British, and terming the exisiting law as obsolete. Amendments to the Act, as per them, is an immediate and necessary need. The BJP even assures the government of full support in Parilament when the new Bill comes up for discussion. “We are even ready for a special session of Parliament to get the Bill approved, provided it is in favour of the farmers,” says BJP’s Shahnawaz to B&E.
People who argue that the act is draconian, claim that a number of projects with no public purpose attached, as in the case of SEZs, have also resulted in land being snatched away from property owners, with the help of the Act. That too, at well below market value. And preachers of market-based solutions cite evidences proving how even in the case of projects that are genuinely meant for public purposes, there have almost always existed a considerable difference between the market value of the property and the value that the land acquisition officer paid the land owners. Blame is also imposed on the authorities of not following up adequately on the issues of relocation and rehabilitation of land owners displaced by the actions of the Act. While speaking with B&E on this matter, CPM leader and MP Nilotpaul Basu, says, “There is absolutely no mention or recognition of the crucial resettlement and rehabilitation policies in the exisiting legislation which makes confrontations inevitable.”
The protests over acquisition of land had until now been an executive premise of the civil society. Despite huge ruckus (and many heartbreaks) over which political party scores over the other in terms of the huge vote banks that the farmers and landowners command, surprisingly, there is also a form of consensus emerging between these very parties over what the current legislation falls short of. Following the incidences that have occurred in the past month, all major political parties, seem to have woken up to realise that the contours of the more-than-a-century-old legislation are outdated and that either the political cartographers must do something urgent in the name of amendments or the clause should be totally scrapped. In their discussions with B&E, Salman Khurshid (the Union Minister for Minority Affairs), Shahnawaz Hussain (a BJP spokesperson), Ajit Singh (Founder & Chief, Rashtriya Lok Dal & a prominent leader of the farmers) and Nilotpaul Basu (Senior CPM leader & MP), all took a similar stand, denouncing the “mess” of a land act that we inherited from the British, and terming the exisiting law as obsolete. Amendments to the Act, as per them, is an immediate and necessary need. The BJP even assures the government of full support in Parilament when the new Bill comes up for discussion. “We are even ready for a special session of Parliament to get the Bill approved, provided it is in favour of the farmers,” says BJP’s Shahnawaz to B&E.
Source : IIPM Editorial, 2012.
An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri
and Arindam Chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).
For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.
IIPM Best B School India
Management Guru Arindam Chaudhuri
Rajita Chaudhuri-The New Age WomanIIPM's Management Consulting Arm-Planman Consulting
IIPM Prof. Arindam Chaudhuri on Internet Hooliganism
Arindam Chaudhuri: We need Hazare's leadership
Professor Arindam Chaudhuri - A Man For The Society....
IIPM: Indian Institute of Planning and Management
An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri
and Arindam Chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).
For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.
IIPM Best B School India
Management Guru Arindam Chaudhuri
Rajita Chaudhuri-The New Age WomanIIPM's Management Consulting Arm-Planman Consulting
IIPM Prof. Arindam Chaudhuri on Internet Hooliganism
Arindam Chaudhuri: We need Hazare's leadership
Professor Arindam Chaudhuri - A Man For The Society....
IIPM: Indian Institute of Planning and Management
