Don't play around with land acquisition Act passed by UPA: Gujarat's people's organisations to state government

By A Representative
Several people's organisations of Gujarat have asked the Gujarat government to begin public discussion while drafting rules of the new Land Acquisition Act 2013, instead of confining the effort to draft it by a small section. Pointing out that after “many efforts and long deliberations” the previous UPA government passed the Right to Fair Compensation & Transparency in Land Acquisition & Rehabilitation & Resettlement Act, 2013 to rectify the past wrongs to farmers, in a statement they have expressed the fear that Act may not be implemented in Gujarat at all.
“Land is as such not the purview of the Centre; it falls in the concurrent list and hence the Act mandates the respective states to formulate the rules keeping the overarching rationale of the Act in mind”, the people's organisations have said in their joint statement, adding, “The Act, which had to be enforced from January 1, 2014, has not yet come into force in Gujarat. The Government of Gujarat has put a draft of the rules for discussion to its inner circle. Many a clause of the draft rules read like an expounding on principles; several clauses of the draft are openly in defiance of the spirit of the Act.”
The statement says, “If the draft comes into force as is, injustice to farmers will continue. Gujarat has witnessed many farmers’ agitations against land acquisitions as per the old Act and under the provisions of the SIR Act 2009. At the cost of their own agriculture, the farmer had led many successful agitations.” Asking the Government of India “to circulate the draft for public consultations, discussion and suggestions”, it adds, “Debating them before finalising them may lead to better framing of rules and better relations between government, industry and farmers.”
Warning that the government might become a “victim of people’s wrath if it implements the rules without farmers’ consent”, the statement says, “Farmers affected by price rise and low minimum support price (MSP) of farm produce and injustice by the government in land acquisition are not ready to bear any more injustice” and the “farmers will fight it out.”
Signatories include veteran Gandhian Chunibhai Vaidya, former Congress minister Sanat Mehta, well-known advocate of the Gujarat High Court Girish Patel, senior activist Achyut Yagnik, Indukumar Jani of the Gujarat Khet Vikas Parishad, Rajnibhai Dave of the Gujarat Sarvodaya Mandal, Hasmukh Patel of the Shramik Seva Sanstha, Persis Ginwalla of the Jameen Adhikar Andolan Gujarat, Sagar Rabari and Jayesh Patel of the Khedut Samaj Gujarat, Krishnakant, Anand Mazgaonkar, Swati Desai and Rohit Prajapati of the Paryavaran Suraksha Samiti, and Shankarbhai Mansa of the Adivasi Vikas Manch, Virampur.

Comments

Whither space for the marginalised in Kerala's privately-driven townships after landslides?

By Ipshita Basu, Sudheesh R.C. In the early hours of July 30 2024, a landslide in the Wayanad district of Kerala state, India, killed 400 people. The Punjirimattom, Mundakkai, Vellarimala and Chooralmala villages in the Western Ghats mountain range turned into a dystopian rubble of uprooted trees and debris.

Election bells ringing in Nepal: Can ousted premier Oli return to power?

By Nava Thakuria* Nepal is preparing for a national election necessitated by the collapse of KP Sharma Oli’s government at the height of a Gen Z rebellion (youth uprising) in September 2025. The polls are scheduled for 5 March. The Himalayan nation last conducted a general election in 2022, with the next polls originally due in 2027. However, following the dissolution of Nepal’s lower house of Parliament last year by President Ram Chandra Poudel, the electoral process began under the patronage of an interim government installed on 12 September under the leadership of retired Supreme Court judge Sushila Karki. The Hindu-majority nation of over 29 million people will witness more than 3,400 electoral candidates, including 390 women, representing 68 political parties as well as independents, vying for 165 seats in the 275-member House of Representatives.

Jayanthi Natarajan "never stood by tribals' rights" in MNC Vedanta's move to mine Niyamigiri Hills in Odisha

By A Representative The Odisha Chapter of the Campaign for Survival and Dignity (CSD), which played a vital role in the struggle for the enactment of historic Forest Rights Act, 2006 has blamed former Union environment minister Jaynaynthi Natarjan for failing to play any vital role to defend the tribals' rights in the forest areas during her tenure under the former UPA government. Countering her recent statement that she rejected environmental clearance to Vendanta, the top UK-based NMC, despite tremendous pressure from her colleagues in Cabinet and huge criticism from industry, and the claim that her decision was “upheld by the Supreme Court”, the CSD said this is simply not true, and actually she "disrespected" FRA.

Gig workers hold online strike on republic day; nationwide protests planned on February 3

By A Representative Gig and platform service workers across the country observed a nationwide online strike on Republic Day, responding to a call given by the Gig & Platform Service Workers Union (GIPSWU) to protest what it described as exploitation, insecurity and denial of basic worker rights in the platform economy. The union said women gig workers led the January 26 action by switching off their work apps as a mark of protest.

'Condonation of war crimes against women and children’: IPSN on Trump’s Gaza Board

By A Representative The India-Palestine Solidarity Network (IPSN) has strongly condemned the announcement of a proposed “Board of Peace” for Gaza and Palestine by former US President Donald J. Trump, calling it an initiative that “condones war crimes against children and women” and “rubs salt in Palestinian wounds.”

With infant mortality rate of 5, better than US, guarantee to live is 'alive' in Kerala

By Nabil Abdul Majeed, Nitheesh Narayanan In 1945, two years prior to India's independence, the current Chief Minister of Kerala, Pinarayi Vijayan, was born into a working-class family in northern Kerala. He was his mother’s fourteenth child; of the thirteen siblings born before him, only two survived. His mother was an agricultural labourer and his father a toddy tapper. They belonged to a downtrodden caste, deemed untouchable under the Indian caste system.

India’s road to sustainability: Why alternative fuels matter beyond electric vehicles

By Suyash Gupta* India’s worsening air quality makes the shift towards clean mobility urgent. However, while electric vehicles (EVs) are central to India’s strategy, they alone cannot address the country’s diverse pollution and energy challenges.

Stands 'exposed': Cavalier attitude towards rushed construction of Char Dham project

By Bharat Dogra* The nation heaved a big sigh of relief when the 41 workers trapped in the under-construction Silkyara-Barkot tunnel (Uttarkashi district of Uttarakhand) were finally rescued on November 28 after a 17-day rescue effort. All those involved in the rescue effort deserve a big thanks of the entire country. The government deserves appreciation for providing all-round support.

MGNREGA: How caste and power hollowed out India’s largest welfare law

By Sudhir Katiyar, Mallica Patel* The sudden dismantling of MGNREGA once again exposes the limits of progressive legislation in the absence of transformation of a casteist, semi-feudal rural society. Over two days in the winter session, the Modi government dismantled one of the most progressive legislations of the UPA regime—the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA).

Search This Blog