Skip to main content

Just 50% compensation under Gujarat land acquisition law; 70% state area "wouldn't need" farmers' consent

By Our Representative
The recent Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement (LARR) (Gujarat Amendment) Bill, 2016, passed in the state assembly and awaiting the Governor's accent, appears to all set drastically water down the high compensation amount stipulated in the Central LARR Act, passed in 2013 by the former UPA government.
A just-released comprehensive paper on LARR (Gujarat Amendment) Bill, 2016, has revealed that, contrary to the Central LARR Act, 2013, stipulating compensation of four times the prevailing market rate for any land acquired, whether for "public purpose" or otherwise, the latest Gujarat amendment bill seeks to give only 50 per cent of the award declared as compensation to certain category of farmers.
Pointing out that a new 31A section has been added to section 31 of the 2013 Act, the paper says, the rehabilitation and resettlement (R&R) award for the affected families by the district collector, in cases where the government acquires less than 100 acres of land for its own use, or for projects of a linear nature, would be just about 50 per cent of the compensation amount.
The paper says, this suggests that "less than 100 acres of acquisition for its own use would not invite the R&R clause of the principal Act", adding, "Effectively it means that the detailed steps listed in section 31 for R&R for the affected families (including alternate sites and land, mandatory employment, other rights, annuity etc.) get converted into a one-time monetary payment."
This change, says the paper, is over and above the exemption from the need for consent and conducting social impact assessment (SIA) for acquiring land four category of projects sought to be implemented under the guise of public purpose.
Authors of the paper titled “Gujarat Model for LARR: Right of Land Acquisition”, senior land rights activists Persis Ginwalla and Sagar Rabari, told newspersons in Ahmedabad that not just defence projects but amorphous "defence-related projects" are also exempt from consent and SIA. 
"Any private party can come up with a defence-related project", they said, adding, "Similarly, there is no definition acquisition for affordable housing or rural infrastructure. Even Rs 50 lakh flats can be categorized as affordable housing."
The paper also takes strong exception to expanded the definition of ‘industrial corridors’ for land acquisition without consent and SIA. It says, the new definition includes  “industrial corridors set up by the state government and its undertakings", and also land acquired up to one kilometre on both sides of designated railway line or roads for industrial corridor."
The activists explained, "In our assessment about 62 per cent of the land mass of Gujarat directly falls under the industrial corridor category. With  one kilometre on both sides of railway lines and roads for industrial corridors also included for acquisition, the areas that may be affected might include the Ahmedabad-Bhavnagar highway, the Ahmedabad-Mundra highway or the coastal highway. More than 70 per cent of Gujarat would not required consent or SIA for land acquisition."
The paper quotes ‘Statement of Objects and Reasons’ accompanying the Gujarat amendment Bill, to point towards what its real purpose is. The paper says, "The primary justification for the amendments, it appears, is to safeguard 'investment' and 'provide all basic facilities and infrastructure to entrepreneurs'."
"Farmers and others dependent on land, who were the drivers of the 2013 Central Act, do not even find a mention in the ‘Statement of Objects and Reasons’", the paper complains, adding, worse, Section 23A has been inserted after Section 23, which "essentially gives the district collector the power to decide on the matter of land acquisition and compensation amount."
---
Click HERE to read full paper

Comments

TRENDING

Importance of Bangladesh for India amidst 'growing might' of China in South Asia

By Samara Ashrat*  The basic key factor behind the geopolitical importance of Bangladesh is its geographical location. The country shares land borders with Myanmar and India. Due to its geographical position, Bangladesh is a natural link between South Asia and Southeast Asia.  The country is also a vital geopolitical ally to India, in that it has the potential to facilitate greater integration between Northeast India and Mainland India. Not only that, due to its open access to the Bay of Bengal, Bangladesh has become significant to both China and the US.

Unlike other revolutionaries, Hindutva icon wrote 5 mercy petitions to British masters

By Shamsul Islam*  The Hindutva icon VD Savarkar of the RSS-BJP rulers of India submitted not one, two,or three but five mercy petitions to the British masters! Savarkarites argue: “There are no evidences to prove that Savarkar collaborated with the British for his release from jail. In fact, his appeal for release was a ruse. He was well aware of the political developments outside and wanted to be part of it. So he kept requesting for his release. But the British authorities did not trust him a bit” (YD Phadke, ‘A complex Hero’, "The Indian Expres"s, August 31, 2004)

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.

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".

'BBC film shows only tip of iceberg': Sanjiv Bhatt's daughter speaks at top US press club

By Our Representative   The United States' premier journalists' organisation, the National Press Club (NPC), has come down heavily on Prime Minister Narendra Modi for recent "attacks on journalists in India." Speaking at the screening of an episode of the BBC documentary “India: The Modi Question,” banned in India, in the club premises, NPC President Eileen O’Reilly said, “Since Modi came to power we have watched with frustration and disappointment as his regime has suppressed the rights of its citizens to a free and independent news media."

Chinese pressure? Left stateless, Rohingya crisis result of Myanmar citizenship law

By Dr Shakuntala Bhabani*  A 22-member team of Myanmar immigration officials visited Rohingya refugee camps in Cox's Bazar to verify more than 400 Rohingya refugees as part of a pilot repatriation project. Does it hold out any hope for the forcibly displaced people to return to their ancestral homes in the Rakhine state of Myanmar? Only time will tell.

China ties up with India, Bangladesh to repatriate Rohingyas; Myanmar unwilling

By Harunur Rasid*  We now have a new hope, thanks to news reports that were published in the Bangladeshi dailies recently. Myanmar has suddenly taken initiatives to repatriate Rohingyas. As part of this initiative, diplomats from eight countries posted in Yangon were flown to Rakhine last week. Among them were diplomats from Bangladesh, India and China.

40,000 Odisha adolescent girls ask CM: Why is scheme to fight malnutrition on paper?

By Our Representative  In unique a postcard campaign to combat malnutrition, aimed at providing dietary diversity, considered crucial during adolescence, especially among girls, signed by about 40,000 adolescent girls from over 10,000 villages, have reminded Odisha chief minister Naveen Patnaik that his government's Scheme for Adolescent Girls (SAG), which converged with Pradhan Mantri Poshan Shakti Nirman  ( POSHAN ) 2.0 in 2021, is not being implemented in the State.

Natural farming: Hamirpur leads the way to 'huge improvement' in nutrition, livelihood

By Bharat Dogra*  Santosh is a dedicated farmer who along with his wife Chunni Devi worked very hard in recent months to convert a small patch of unproductive land into a lush green, multi-layer vegetable garden. This has ensured year-round supply of organically grown vegetables to his family as well as fetched several thousand rupees in cash sales.

Over-stressed? As Naveen Patnaik turns frail, Odisha 'moves closer' to leadership crisis

By Sudhansu R Das  Not a single leader in Odisha is visible in the horizon who can replace Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik. He has ruled Odisha for nearly two and half decades. His father, Biju Patnaik, had built Odisha; he was a daring pilot who saved the life of Indonesia’s Prime Minister Sjahrir and President Sukarno when the Dutch army blocked their exit.