Why is NDA government in such hurry for land acquisition Act?, wonders apex body of people's movements

By Our Representative
A joint statement issued by various people’s groups led by the National Alliance of People’s Movements (NAPM), in close coordination with the Left parties’ farmers’ and landless labourers’ bodies has said that the changes introduced in the controversial Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement 2013 (Second Amendment Bill, 2015) are “unacceptable”.
Pointing out that these changes have been introduced through extra-constitutional means, the coordination committee of NAPM and Left leaders, Bhumi Adhikar Andolan, has said that it is difficult to understand why the Government of India is in a hurry and is trying to amend “a very hard-earned law of the country.”
Releasing the statement at a press conference, called by the coordination committee of the Bhumi Adhikar Andolan, the statement said, it was difficult to understand why it is showing such a hurry when the land acquisition bill is lying with the Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) for review.
The statement said, the very fact that the “time it has given to the Joint Parliamentary Committee for taking in suggestions from the people” up to June 8, 2015 is very short, suggests what the NDA government wants.
“The Bhumi Adhikar Andolan had asked the JPC to increase the deadline for receiving submissions, but the JPC has rejected the demand. The JPC doesn’t even have enough time to hold wider public consultations and hearings to receive real inputs from people of the country”, the statement underlined.
“A law that took 66 years after Independence to come out of its colonial framework is today going back to its exploitative form in just months. In another undemocratic move, the NDA cabinet again recommended the Land Amendment Bill to Parliament without even waiting for the inputs of the JPC”, the statement alleged.
Condemning the “deplorable attitude of the government with which it is dealing with such an important Act and is threatening the livelihood of a majority of Indian citizens”, the statement wonders, “Today, economists and media are harping on the fact that share of agriculture in GDP is very low. But how can that be possible when 60% of India’s labour is occupied in agriculture and when each and every industry is dependent on agriculture as its source of raw material?”
“Such false notions must be countered by a comprehensive research on the status of agriculture in India and cannot be used just as an excuse to take away land from small and marginal farmers for the benefit of real estate lobby and industrialists”, the statement said.
Those who addressed the press conference included Bhupinder Singh Rawat (NAPM), Hannan Mollah (All India Kisan Sabha, Canning Lane), Roma (All India Union of Forest Working People), Jarjum Ete (All India Union of Forest Working People) and Satyavan (All India Krishak Khet Mazdoor Sangathan).
The Congress leaders, who originally formed part of the Bhumi Adhikar Andolan, were conspicuous by their absence.

Comments

'Very low rung in quality ladder': Critique of ICMR study on 'sudden deaths' post-2021

By Bhaskaran Raman* Since about mid-2021, a new phenomenon of extreme concern has been observed throughout the world, including India : unexplained sudden deaths of seemingly healthy and active people, especially youngsters. In the recently concluded Navratri garba celebrations, an unprecedented number of young persons succumbed to heart attack deaths. After a long delay, ICMR (Indian Council for Medical Research) has finally has published a case-control study on sudden deaths among Indians of age 18-45.

SC 'appears to foster' culture of secrecy, does not seek electoral bond details from SBI

By Rosamma Thomas* In its order of November 2, 2023 on the case of Association for Democratic Reforms vs Union of India contesting constitutional validity of electoral bonds, the Supreme Court directed all political parties to give particulars of the bonds received by them in sealed covers to the Election Commission of India. SC sought that information be updated until September 2023.

How national chauvinism 'overtook' sport despite cricketing glory of World Cup 2023

By Harsh Thakor* The recently-concluded cricket World Cup was a testimony or manifestation of the thrills, intensity, twists and turns in sport and evolution of the game of cricket. It carried on the trend of the World Cups of yesteryears. Possibly, this was the best ever Indian team in a World Cup, and arguably amongst the best ever to contest a World Cup.

A Hindu alternative to Valentine's Day? 'Shiv-Parvati was first love marriage in Universe'

By Rajiv Shah* The other day, I was searching on Google a quote on Maha Shivratri which I wanted to send to someone, a confirmed Shiv Bhakt, quite close to me -- with an underlying message to act positively instead of being negative. On top of the search, I chanced upon an article in, imagine!, a Nashik Corporation site which offered me something very unusual.

Swami Vivekananda's views on caste and sexuality were 'painfully' regressive

By Bhaskar Sur* Swami Vivekananda now belongs more to the modern Hindu mythology than reality. It makes a daunting job to discover the real human being who knew unemployment, humiliation of losing a teaching job for 'incompetence', longed in vain for the bliss of a happy conjugal life only to suffer the consequent frustration.

Only 12% of schools RTE compliant: Whither 6% budgetary allocation for education?

By Ambarish Rai* Despite Indian state’s commitment of 6% GDP on education, the Finance Minister completely ignored right to education for children and strengthening implementation of RTE Act which makes education a fundamental right in her budget speech . The Right to Education (RTE) Forum, which is a collective of different stakeholders in education, condemns this neglect of a legal entitlement, which is unconstitutional and demand for overall increase in the budget to ensure improvement in learning outcomes and overall enhancement of quality education.

Savarkar in Ahmedabad 'declared' two-nation theory in 1937, Jinnah followed 3 years later

By Our Representative One of the top freedom fighters whom BJP and Prime Minister Narendra Modi revere the most, Vinayak Damodar Savarkar, was also a great supporter of the two nation theory for India, one for Hindus another for Muslims, claims a new expose on the man who is also known to be the original proponent of the concept of Hindutva.

Buddhist shrines were 'massively destroyed' by Brahmanical rulers: Historian DN Jha

Nalanda mahavihara By Our Representative Prominent historian DN Jha, an expert in India's ancient and medieval past, in his new book , "Against the Grain: Notes on Identity, Intolerance and History", in a sharp critique of "Hindutva ideologues", who look at the ancient period of Indian history as "a golden age marked by social harmony, devoid of any religious violence", has said, "Demolition and desecration of rival religious establishments, and the appropriation of their idols, was not uncommon in India before the advent of Islam".

'Ambiguous policy': India late in advocating EVs as energy storage in national grid

By Shankar Sharma* This is regarding the points raised by the Chief Electricity Authority’s (CEA's) advocacy for usage of electrical vehicles (EVs) as energy storage technology, and few associated issues . An objective reading of what he states should reiterate the enormously growing importance of battery energy storage systems (BESS) in our need to transition to a net-zero carbon scenario for the country.

Union Health Ministry, FSSAI 'fail to respond' to NHRC directive on packaged food

By Our Representative The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has expressed deep concern over the adverse health effects caused by packaged foods high in salt, sugar, and saturated fats. Recognizing it as a violation of the Right to Life and Right to Health of Indian citizens, the quasi-judicial body called for a response from the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) regarding its selection of front-of-pack labels aimed at providing consumers with information to make healthier choices.

Search This Blog