"Benefits" of land ordinance cited amidst Gujarat farmer leaders' coordinated plan for anti-land acquisition struggle

By A Representative
A group of Gujarat farmers’ organizations have formed a new farmers’ coordination committee, Sanyukt Khedut Sangharsh Samiti, to fight against the Government of India’s controversial land acquisition ordinance, re-promulgated last week, giving a long-drawn-out plan of struggle against the ordinance. The decision to form the Samiti was taken at a Chintan Shibir meeting of various farmers’ organizations in Ahmedabad.
To launch its struggle in May by holding two separate “yatras” – one starting at Dandi in South Gujarat, and the other at Porbandar in Saurashtra – Gujarat Khedut Samaj’s Sabar Rabari said, “The two streams will merge at Dholera Special Investment Region (SIR) to hold a huge farmers’ meet against the ordinance.”
To be headed by veteran former Congressman Sanat Mehta, among the organizations which have decided to be part of the Samiti include Gujarat Khedut Samaj, All-India Kisan Sabha and Saurashtra Ladat Samiti. The farmers’ meet at Dholera is likely to be addressed by anti-corruption crusader Anna Hazare, Rabari suggested.
While it is not known if the Chintan Shibir deliberated on certain pros and cons of the ordinance which is the main point of contention, already, some activists have suggested that it may actually prove to be “blessing in disguise” to the farmers of the Dholera special investment region (SIR), whose land was sought to be taken by taken away by without applying the Gujarat town planning Act, 1976.
The farmers of 22 villages in the south of Ahmedabad were officially told last year that they would have to part 50 per cent of their land for the Dholera SIR’s infrastructure development. Refusing to call it “land acquisition”, the notices to the farmers said they would be paid compensation as per the market rate fixed by the government.
A Gujarat government document, justifying the move, said that the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013 (LARR, 2013) – which the Government of India has replaced with an ordinance – would not be application in areas where a town planning scheme had been floated.
The document, had said, “Wherever a town planning scheme is finalised, there will not be any land acquisition under any other law.” It had added, “As soon as the town planning scheme is finalised, any land acquisition under LARR, 2013 would be treated as illegal”.
The ordinance which replaces the Act, however, says that the ordinance’s provisions on land acquisition would have precedence over other existing laws for land acquisition. “For all practical purposes, it means that Dholera farmers’ 50 per cent land cannot now be taken away under the Gujarat town planning Act by paying them government-decided market rate”, a senior activist said.
“Under the ordinance, they would have to be paid at least four times the market rate as compensation, which the government was refusing to pay to Dholera farmers by citing the Gujarat town planning Act, apart from benefits like resettlement and rehabilitation”, the activist said.
An independent researcher, Kanchi Kohli, says in an analysis of the ordinance that provisions of the LARR Act related to rehabilitation, resettlement as well as provision of infrastructure amenities like roads, drinking water, fair price shops, burial and cremation grounds will now apply to “all enactments listed in the Fourth Schedule of the LARR Act, 2013.”
Kohli adds, “What this implies is that even when land is acquired for coal mining, railways, nuclear power installations, highways etc, in future, it would be acquired under the LARR Act and not the other existing legislations.”

Comments

Stronger India–Russia partnership highlights a missed energy breakthrough

By N.S. Venkataraman* The recent visit of Russian President Vladimir Putin to India was widely publicized across several countries and has attracted significant global attention. The warmth with which Mr. Putin was received by Prime Minister Narendra Modi was particularly noted, prompting policy planners worldwide to examine the implications of this cordial relationship for the global economy and political climate. India–Russia relations have stood on a strong foundation for decades and have consistently withstood geopolitical shifts. This is in marked contrast to India’s ties with the United States, which have experienced fluctuations under different U.S. administrations.

From natural farming to fair prices: Young entrepreneurs show a new path

By Bharat Dogra There have been frequent debates on agro-business companies not showing adequate concern for the livelihoods of small farmers. Farmers’ unions have often protested—generally with good reason—that while they do not receive fair returns despite high risks and hard work, corporate interests that merely process the crops produced by farmers earn disproportionately high profits. Hence, there is a growing demand for alternative models of agro-business development that demonstrate genuine commitment to protecting farmer livelihoods.

The Vande Mataram debate and the politics of manufactured controversy

By Vidya Bhushan Rawat* The recent Vande Mataram debate in Parliament was never meant to foster genuine dialogue. Each political party spoke past the other, addressing its own constituency, ensuring that clips went viral rather than contributing to meaningful deliberation. The objective was clear: to construct a Hindutva narrative ahead of the Bengal elections. Predictably, the Lok Sabha will likely expunge the opposition’s “controversial” remarks while retaining blatant inaccuracies voiced by ministers and ruling-party members. The BJP has mastered the art of inserting distortions into parliamentary records to provide them with a veneer of historical legitimacy.

A comrade in culture and controversy: Yao Wenyuan’s revolutionary legacy

By Harsh Thakor* This year marks two important anniversaries in Chinese revolutionary history—the 20th death anniversary of Yao Wenyuan, and the 50th anniversary of his seminal essay "On the Social Basis of the Lin Biao Anti-Party Clique". These milestones invite reflection on the man whose pen ignited the first sparks of the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution and whose sharp ideological interventions left an indelible imprint on the political and cultural landscape of socialist China.

The cost of being Indian: How inequality and market logic redefine rights

By Vikas Gupta We, the people of India, are engaged in a daily tryst—read: struggle—for basic human rights. For the seemingly well-to-do, the wish list includes constant water supply, clean air, safe roads, punctual public transportation, and crime-free neighbourhoods. For those further down the ladder, the struggle is starker: food that fills the stomach, water that doesn’t sicken, medicines that don’t kill, houses that don’t flood, habitats at safe distances from polluted streams or garbage piles, and exploitation-free environments in the public institutions they are compelled to navigate.

Thota Sitaramaiah: An internal pillar of an underground organisation

By Harsh Thakor* Thota Sitaramaiah was regarded within his circles as an example of the many individuals whose work in various underground movements remained largely unknown to the wider public. While some leaders become visible through organisational roles or media attention, many others contribute quietly, without public recognition. Sitaramaiah was considered one such figure. He passed away on December 8, 2025, at the age of 65.

Epic war against caste system is constitutional responsibility of elected government

Edited by well-known Gujarat Dalit rights leader Martin Macwan, the book, “Bhed-Bharat: An Account of Injustice and Atrocities on Dalits and Adivasis (2014-18)” (available in English and Gujarati*) is a selection of news articles on Dalits and Adivasis (2014-2018) published by Dalit Shakti Prakashan, Ahmedabad. Preface to the book, in which Macwan seeks to answer key questions on why the book is needed today: *** The thought of compiling a book on atrocities on Dalits and thus present an overall Indian picture had occurred to me a long time ago. Absence of such a comprehensive picture is a major reason for a weak social and political consciousness among Dalits as well as non-Dalits. But gradually the idea took a different form. I found that lay readers don’t understand numbers and don’t like to read well-researched articles. The best way to reach out to them was storytelling. As I started writing in Gujarati and sharing the idea of the book with my friends, it occurred to me that while...

New RTI draft rules inspired by citizen-unfriendly, overtly bureaucratic approach

By Venkatesh Nayak* The Department of Personnel and Training , Government of India has invited comments on a new set of Draft Rules (available in English only) to implement The Right to Information Act, 2005 . The RTI Rules were last amended in 2012 after a long period of consultation with various stakeholders. The Government’s move to put the draft RTI Rules out for people’s comments and suggestions for change is a welcome continuation of the tradition of public consultation. Positive aspects of the Draft RTI Rules While 60-65% of the Draft RTI Rules repeat the content of the 2012 RTI Rules, some new aspects deserve appreciation as they clarify the manner of implementation of key provisions of the RTI Act. These are: Provisions for dealing with non-compliance of the orders and directives of the Central Information Commission (CIC) by public authorities- this was missing in the 2012 RTI Rules. Non-compliance is increasingly becoming a major problem- two of my non-compliance cases are...

Proposals for Babri Masjid, Ram Temple spark fears of polarisation before West Bengal polls

By A Representative A political debate has emerged in West Bengal following recent announcements about plans for new religious structures in Murshidabad district, including a proposed mosque to be named Babri Masjid and a separate announcement by a BJP leader regarding the construction of a Ram temple in another location within Behrampur.

Search This Blog