The Centre’s second pro-people Bill, the Right to Fair Compensation, Resettlement, Rehabilitation and Transparency in Land Acquisition Bill, which was passed late Thursday night, has raised the hackles of two important parties concerned — farmers as well as industry.

Civil society groups allege that the Bill will leave the farmer shortchanged, once again. Moreover, justice has not been done, they allege.

One of the biggest concerns for farmer groups is that the definition of public purpose has been expanded in such a way that almost every industrial enterprise can be counted under it.

Bharat Krishak Samaj Chairman Ajay Jhakhar said, “The Land Bill is a bold effort to set right some major defects in the method of land acquisition. Having said that, a farmer’s land should not be acquired against his wishes for any purpose other than that of national importance.”

However, provisions such as social impact assessment and environmental assessment are largely being seen as positives in the Bill.

“Agriculture, which is the largest public purpose concern, has been ignored,” Madhuresh Kumar, National Organiser, National Alliance of People’s Movement (NAPM), said referring to the provisions protecting mutli-crop farm lands, which have been excluded.

“Today the whole debate is centred around growth and industrialisation,” he said. NAPM functions as an umbrella body for a number of activists such as Medha Patkar and bodies, some of which include Orissa’s Lokshakti Abhiyan and Nadi Ghati Morcha.

Two of the biggest concerns, according to Kumar, are right to appeal and employment opportunities. The fact that farmers will not be able to approach a court is largely being seen an anti-people provision.

Secondly, he said, under the draft Bill, mandatory employment will be given to one family member. This provision has since been diluted. On the compensation front, Kumar believes that though the Bill provides for payment of two to four times the market price for land, under the sliding scale being implemented for compensation, most land losers will only get about 1.2 to 1.5 times the market price for land.

He argues that since town and municipality boundaries are expanding, most land will not fall under the rural area in terms of proximity to an urban centre.

While P. Chengal Reddy, Secretary-General, Confederation of Indian Farmers’ Associations, thinks it is a positive and progressive decision, Vijoo Krishnan, National Joint Secretary of All-India Kisan Sabha, described the Bill as anti-farmer and anti-poor.

Said Reddy, “All these years, farmers are the receiving end when it comes to acquisition of their land for projects. Now, at least they are talking about acquiring at the same market value.”

> aesha.datta@thehindu.co.in

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