Skip to main content

Andhra land acquisition law passed under World Bank "direction" to build capital Amravati, as land pooling system fails

By A Representative
Passed in order to "expedite" land acquisition for the new Andhra Pradesh capital Amravati after the state government's "land pooling" scheme has come under stress, the recent amendment Bill, passed by the State Legislative Assembly tweaking crucial provisions of the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement (LARR) Act, 2013, is allegedly in line with the "directions" of the Doing Business Report of the World Bank.
A civil society statement, signed by 46 organizations, has said that the Doing Business Report recommends the dilution of land acquisition procedure and other regulatory ‘bottlenecks’ in order to enhance "investments, considering it as one of the prerequisites "to improve its ranking on the Ease of Doing Business at the behest of international financial institutions".
"The amendments open the doors to all kinds of projects, violating the purpose of public purpose", the statement, signed, among others, by the National Alliance of People’s Movements, the All India Union of Forest Working People (AIUFWP), Narmada Bachao Andolan, Samata, Mines Minerals and People, says, adding, they particularly undermine LARR Act's social impact assessment, need for consent by 70% landowners are circumvented.
Assented by the President of India, the amendment, says the civil society statement, "empowers the district collector to pass an award for acquiring land after taking consent of the interested person without making an enquiry", calling the amendments "an insult to people who hard fought to secure progressive provisions in the LARR Act, 2013, weakening people’s power to challenge illegal and unjust forced acquisition of land."
Pointing out that amendments "empower the state and corporations to infringe upon people’s rights over natural resources", the statement underlines, *In the Amravati Capital City project in Andhra Pradesh, this amendment will only embolden the efforts of the state in going ahead with the project, which involves coercion and intimidation in acquiring farmland despite pending cases, injunctions by courts and people’s protests."
It adds, "This is an attempt by the state to legitimise the illegal and unjust actions, and we strongly condemn it. As is being widely perceived, the inability of the state to acquire lands through its questionable ‘land pooling’ scheme in the case of Amaravati, in fact, triggered the proposal to amend the LARR Act, 2013."
The statement further says, the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) has already approved lending to the Govt. of Andhra Pradesh government for the Amaravati Capital City Project, and the project is being "co-financed by the World Bank", even as "farmers affected by the land-pooling scheme have taken up "their grievances with the complaint mechanism of the World Bank in the absence of compliance mechanisms and policies of AIIB".
The statement adds, "Whether in Amaravati or elsewhere in the country, the worst-affected due to diversion of large swathes of fertile farmlands to corporate entities, non-farm purposes, etc. would be tenant cultivators, women farmers, fisher people, forest-dwelling adivasis, especially in scheduled areas, and landless Dalits, on a massive scale, whose rights and interests the State and the President has an obligation to protect."

Comments

TRENDING

Wave of disappearances sparks human rights fears for activists in Delhi

By Harsh Thakor*  A philosophy student from Zakir Hussain College, Delhi University, and an activist associated with Nazariya magazine, Rudra, has been reported missing since the morning of July 19, 2025. This disappearance adds to a growing concern among human rights advocates regarding the escalating number of detentions and disappearances of activists in Delhi.

How community leaders overcome obstacles to protect forests and pastures in remote villages

By Bharat Dogra  Dheera Ram Kapaya grew up in such poverty that, unable to attend school himself, he would carry another boy’s heavy school bag for five kilometers just to get a scoop of daliya (porridge). When he was finally able to attend school, he had to leave after class five to join other adolescent workers. However, as soon as opportunities arose, he involved himself in community efforts—promoting forest protection, adult literacy, and other constructive initiatives. His hidden talent for writing emerged during this time, and he became known for the songs and street play scripts he created to promote forest conservation, discourage child marriages, and support other social reforms.

‘Act of war on agriculture’: Aruna Rodrigues slams GM crop expansion and regulatory apathy

By Rosamma Thomas*  Expressing appreciation to the Union Agriculture Minister for inviting suggestions from farmers and concerned citizens on the sharp decline in cotton crop productivity, Aruna Rodrigues—lead petitioner in the Supreme Court case ongoing since 2005 that seeks a moratorium on genetically modified (GM) crops—wrote to Union Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on July 14, 2025, stating that conflicts of interest have infiltrated India’s regulatory system like a spreading cancer, including within the Indian Council for Agricultural Research (ICAR).

The GMO illusion: Three decades of hype, harm, and false hope

By Sridhar Radhakrishnan  Three decades of hype, billions of dollars spent, and still no miracle crop. It's time to abandon the GMO biotech fairy tale and return to the soil, the seed, and the farmer. “Trust us,” they said. “GMOs will feed the world.” Picture a world where there is plenty of food, no hunger, fields grow without chemical pesticides, children are saved from malnutrition, and people live healthily.

'Bengali Muslim migrant workers face crackdown in Gurgaon': Academic raises alarm

By A Representative   Political analyst and retired Delhi University professor Shamsul Islam has raised serious concerns over the ongoing targeting and detention of Muslim migrant workers from West Bengal in Gurgaon, Haryana. In a public statement, Islam described the situation as "brutal repression" and accused law enforcement agencies of detaining migrants arbitrarily under the pretext of verifying their citizenship.

Deaths in Chhattisgarh are not just numbers – they mark a deeper democratic crisis

By Sunil Kumar  For a while, I had withdrawn into a quieter life, seeking solace in nature. But the rising tide of state-sponsored violence and recurring conflict across India has compelled deeper reflection. The recent incidents of killings in central India—particularly in Chhattisgarh—are not isolated acts. They point to a larger and ongoing crisis that concerns the health of democracy and the treatment of marginalised communities.

Sandra Gonzalez Sanabria: An inspiring life from Colombia’s Amazonian valley

By Vidya Bhushan Rawat*  In the village of Héctor Ramírez, known as Agua Bonita, in La Montañita, Caquetá, Colombia, a vision of peace and renewal is unfolding. In the pre-2016 period, this would have been nearly impossible for outsiders to visit, as it was the epicenter of violent resistance against state oppression. However, after the Peace Accord was signed between the Colombian government and former revolutionaries—marking the end of a 70-year insurgency that claimed over 400,000 lives until 2025, including civilians, rebel fighters, and security personnel—things began to change. Visiting Agua Bonita during the Global Land Forum in Bogotá revealed a village of hope and resilience. Former FARC revolutionaries have settled here and transformed the village into a center of peace and aspiration.

Indigenous Karen activist calls for global solidarity amid continued struggles in Burma

By A Representative   At the International Festival for People’s Rights and Struggles (IFPRS), Naw Paw Pree, an Indigenous Karen activist from the Karen Human Rights Group (KHRG), shared her experiences of oppression, resilience, and hope. Organized with the support of the International Indigenous Peoples Movement for Self-Determination and Liberation (IPMSDL), the event brought together Indigenous and marginalized communities from across the globe, offering a rare safe space for shared learning, solidarity, and expression.

India’s zero-emission, eco-friendly energy strategies have a long way to go, despite impressive progress

By N.S. Venkataraman*   The recent report released by OPEC’s World Oil Outlook 2025 has predicted that by the year 2050, crude oil would replace coal as India’s key energy source. Clearly, OPEC expects that India’s dependence on fossil fuels for energy will continue to remain high in one form or another.