I/III. http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Sonia-Gandhi-writes-letter-to-Nitin-Gadkari-on-Land-Acquisition-Bill/articleshow/46712805.cms
Sonia Gandhi writes letter to Nitin Gadkari on Land Acquisition Bill TNN | Mar 27, 2015, 12.47 PM IST Sonia Gandhi writes letter to Nitin Gadkari on Land Acquisition Bill TNN | Mar 27, 2015, 12.47 PM IST NEW DELHI: Congress president Sonia Gandhi has written a letter to Union transport and shipping minister Nitin Gadkari on the land bill and urged the Modi government to bring back the 2013 law in totality. In her letter, Sonia Gandhi has slammed the land bill as an "unabashed display of half-truths". "I urge you to rise above the realm of narrow partisan politics and bring back the 2013 law in totality," Sonia Gandhi has written in her letter. Sonia said that "your proposed legislation makes a mockery of your claim that you stand for interest of farmers". "Your government is blatantly anti-farmer and anti-poor," Sonia Gandhi said. "Proposition of a post-facto debate after unilateral imposition of anti-farmer law is mockery of building partisan consesus," the Congress president said replying in a strongly worded letter to Union Minister Nitin Gadkari. Chiding the government for painting those opposing its land bill as anti-nationals, Gandhi asked the government to "rise above its narrow-minded politics". Hailing farmers as the "backbone" of the country, Gandhi said Congress cannot support any law which hurts farmers, and asked the Modi dispensation to bring back UPA's land bill in totality. Gandhi said it was regrettable that anyone championing the cause of distressed farmers and needy farm labourers was being branded as "anti-national" by a "myopic Modi government bending backwards to favour select industrialists". She said the fundamental difference between the Congress and the BJP is in understanding farmer's distress and loss of livelihood by acquisition of land without safeguards. Being pro-farmer does not mean anti-growth, she said. READ ALSO: Nitin Gadkari writes to Sonia Gandhi, Anna Hazare for open debate Sonia writes to Hazare, vows to oppose land bill Faced with stiff opposition on the land bill, the Modi government had on March 19 reached out to leaders of opposition parties, including Sonia Gandhi, and activist Anna Hazare inviting them to an open debate on the issue while asserting that the bill was "very much in farmers' interest". In a letter to Congress president Sonia Gandhi, leaders of other opposition parties and social activist Anna Hazare, Union transport and shipping minister Nitin Gadkari said the government was willing to debate all aspects of the bill which is awaiting clearance in the Rajya Sabha. Not ruling out joint sitting if all options on land bill fail: Venkaiah (With inputs from agencies) II/III. http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/land-bill-govt-terms-sonias-stand-as-mere-grandstanding/article7040390.ece Land Bill: Govt terms Sonia's stand as mere grandstanding PTI The party says it was "strange" that she is defending an Act over which many Chief Ministers of her own party had raised concerns. The National Democratic Alliance government on Friday dismissed as "political grandstanding" Sonia Gandhi's attack over the controversial Land Acquisition Bill and said it was "strange" that she is defending an Act over which many Chief Ministers of her own party had raised concerns. "I think it is only a political grandstanding rather than anything else," Commere Minister Nirmala Sitharaman told reporters here while replying to a question on Congress President's comment on the Land Bill. Rejecting the government's dialogue offer on the controversial bill, Ms. Gandhi on Friday alleged that it was a mockery of the consensus-building tradition by a "myopic" Modi regime which was "bending backwards" to favour industrialists. The Congress chief demanded that UPA's legislation be brought back in totality. "It is very interesting and strange that when several of Congress' own Chief Ministers have raised lot of concerns about that law which the Congress President is referring to... "Now post that, even the Finance Minister (Arun Jaitley) during a discussion on the land bill had quoted from the letter of the then Commerce Minister (Anand Sharma) saying that it might not encourage investments into this country," Ms. Sitharaman said. The Minister said the government has brought in several amendments after taking stakeholders' views to address the concerns. Faced with stiff opposition to the Land Bill, the government had reached out to leaders of opposition parties, with Union Transport and Shipping Minister Nitin Gadkari telling them that the government was willing to have a debate on all aspects of the bill which is awaiting clearance in the Rajya Sabha. Government had promulgated Ordinance on land acquisition on December 31 last year. A bill to replace the Ordinance was brought to Parliament in Budget session which started on February 23. While the bill, providing for amending the Act of 2013, cleared Lok Sabha earlier this month, it got stuck in Rajya Sabha with entire opposition uniting in the House where the ruling NDA is in a minority. Since then the Budget session has gone into recess till April 20 and for re-promulgating the Ordinance, Parliament has to be prorogued. III. http://www.dnaindia.com/india/report-land-acquisition-bill-implies-deep-trouble-2072222 Land acquisition bill implies deep trouble Friday, 27 March 2015 - 7:00am IST | Place: Mumbai | Agency: dna | >From the print edition Shivani Chaudhry Land acquisition in India has probably never been as debated, as after the decision of the NDA government to circumvent the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act 2013 (LARR Act) with an ordinance. While the 2013 Act was not ideal from a human rights perspective, it was an improvement over the 1894 Act that it replaced. Massive nation-wide protests against the ordinance, including from NDA allies, forced the government to review it. The amended Bill passed by Lok Sabha, is however, as unsatisfactory as the ordinance since it is essentially the same text. By tweaking some clauses, the government wants to convey that it has protected the rights of farmers and other land-dependent populations. In reality, the Bill fails the test of democracy, welfare, equality, justice - founding principles of the Indian Constitution. What is wrong with the Land Bill? Misuses the principle of 'public purpose' The 2015 Bill, like the LARR Act endorses the notion of 'eminent domain' of the state and fails to adopt a human rights definition of 'public purpose' or indicators to determine whether a project truly benefits and improves the well-being of all. The Bill provides exemption from Social Impact Assessment, acquisition of irrigated multi-cropped land and consent for five categories of projects: national security and defence; rural infrastructure; affordable housing; industrial corridors; and, infrastructure (including public-private partnership projects on central government-owned land). The obscurity of these categories, without the provision of adequate detail, allows for wide application and misuse of 'public purpose.' The Bills states that land for industrial corridors can be acquired up to one kilometre on both sides - a provision that could displace and destroy the livelihoods of thousands of small farmers across India. Violates international human rights law, guidelines and principles The Bill violates several international human rights laws and principles. First is the recognition of land as a human right since it is integral to the life, sustenance culture, and livelihood of land-dependent populations, including farmers, agricultural workers, pastoralists and forest-dwellers. Second is the principle of 'prior informed consent.' The basic tenet of a democracy is that people must have a say in decisions that directly affect their lives and livelihoods. The Bill obliterates the need for consent for the five categories above, thereby sanctioning land grabbing. Third is the need for 'human rights impact assessments'. The five categories are exempt from Social Impact Assessment to determine the effects of land acquisition on affected families. The UN Basic Principles and Guidelines on Development-based Evictions and Displacement, and principles related to large-scale land acquisitions, inter alia, mandate comprehensive impact assessments to be undertaken in advance and stipulate procedures to be followed. Fourth is the need to adhere to human rights standards at every stage, including resettlement. All affected families, irrespective of the land tenure they possess, must receive equal benefits. Fifth is the principle of 'social function of land' that calls for equitable use of land. The redistribution of land from the poor to the non-poor, as sanctioned in the Bill, is a reversal of this principle. The Bill also contravenes principles of non-discrimination, gender equality, sustainability, and inter-generational equity. Does not protect food security The majority of cases of violations of the right to food are related to the expropriation of land, forced evictions, and displacement. The amendment in the Bill to prohibit the acquisition of multi-cropped land is a dangerous step, and would result in dependence on food imports and economic instability. Does not check against misuse The history of land acquisition in India is replete with evidence of excess land being acquired and diverted. This is apparent in most airport redevelopment projects. The Centre for Science and Environment's green rating survey 2012 reveals that Indian iron and steel plants have about 1,200 hectares of land per million tonne of installed capacity while a well-designed plant does not need more than 200 hectares. The Bill, however, does not promote minimising land acquisition. While it states that wasteland should be surveyed and recorded, it does not advocate the use of this land or the need to seek alternatives and less land-intensive inputs for industry. The Bill also dilutes the provision of returning unused land after "a period of five years", by inserting the words "a period specified for setting up of any project or for five years, whichever is later." This could promote inequality and declines in productivity. Does not address historic injustice The greatest paradox of India's growth paradigm is the phenomenon of the poor subsidising the lifestyles of the rich. At least 70 million people have been displaced for 'development' projects in India since independence; the majority without rehabilitation. The beneficiary population of these projects is, however, different from the displaced population. Land is the basis of livelihood for most Indians, especially women. The assumption that monetary compensation for land is sufficient violates the human rights to work and to an adequate standard of living. Furthermore, most of the affected persons are not land-owners but share-croppers, agricultural labourers and forest workers, including dalits and adivasis, who are never compensated. Instead of redressing the historic injustice of forced land acquisition, the 2015 Bill will further increase marginalisation. Will not promote growth in GDP Several reports highlight that obstacles to India's economic growth include fiscal indiscipline, tax evasion, food inflation, lack of investment in agrarian reform, and large trade and investment deficits. Land acquisition is not the problem, but is being projected as the panacea. On the contrary, forced land acquisition contributes to loss of GDP by increasing rural and urban poverty. The economic cost of displacement to the country is significantly higher than the perceived benefits of exclusionary industrial development. The tragedy is that India has never documented its displaced persons or assessed the impact of the collective loss of their livelihoods, land, housing, natural resources, food, health, and education on the nation's economy. It is ironic that while advocating 'Housing for All by 2022' and increasing budgetary allocations to MNREGA, the government has passed a Bill that will cause more rural unemployment, landlessness, and homelessness. There is an urgent need to question the paradigm of neoliberal growth, and instead promote holistic development through the adoption of a human rights approach. The government should optimise land use, develop sustainable and equitable alternatives, promote non-land intensive industrialisation through improved technology, and implement human rights laws. National development and economic growth can be realised only when there is a significant improvement in the lives of all Indians. The Constitution of India declared India to be a sovereign, socialist, secular, and democratic republic. While there was uproar, earlier this year, of a government advertisement that omitted the words 'secular' and 'socialist,' the Land Bill 2015, in effect, has deleted the word 'socialist.' Shivani Chaudhry is Executive Director of the Housing and Land Rights Network, Delhi -- Peace Is Doable -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Green Youth Movement" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To post to this group, send an email to [email protected]. Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/greenyouth. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
