Pointing out that the Government acquiring land at low rates and giving it to industries which earn huge profits is causing resentment among and suffering to farmers, BJP MP Chandan Mitra on Wednesday demanded that the compensation should be fair, equitable and just so that land owners do not feel cheated.
He also demanded that only wasteland be acquired for industries and livelihood and culture of people depending on acquired land should be protected. Participating in the debate on the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Bill in the Rajya Sabha, Mitra said that the circle rate of land is a joke as it does not reflect the real value of land and bulk of payment is made in cash fueling black money.
He highlighted the resentment prevailing among the farmers around Delhi and Noida whose land was acquired at very low rates and given to companies to develop highways but who went on build malls and residential complexes earning thousands of crores of rupees as profit.
Dishing out statistics, he said India has 16 per cent of world’s population while only 2 per cent of land, making it a scarce resource. About 68.35 million hectare land in India is designated as wasteland and 50 of it is non-forest land, he pointed out and demanded that the Bill should make it mandatory for the Government to acquire only wasteland to help maintain balance between agriculture and industry.
The Government should encourage industries to set up units in such remote areas by developing infrastructure facilities like road, power supply and connectivity. Pointing out how the economic, emotional and psychological dependence of Indian farmers on land and their pathos when duped and evicted from land has been beautifully depicted by Rabindranath Tagore in his poem ‘Dui Bigha Jomi’ and Munshi Premchand’s fiction, Mitra said the legislation should be stringent to prevent its wanton misuse by unscrupulous elements and ensure that farmers get the benefit.
Supporting the Bill, which is an improvement over its 2007 legislation which could not be passed by Parliament, Mitra said that it should provide a job per family whose land has been acquired for an industry.
But if no industry comes up as happened in Kalinganagar or Singur resulting in rise in Maoism and misery among people, then the Bill should provide for giving a monthly salary at minimum wages to the affected families.
Also, the companies setting up industry on acquired land should ensure skill development of the displaced so that they could get better paying jobs. He also welcomed the amendments being brought by the Government and leasing of land saying that all parties in it are together to protect the interests of farmers so that the country could become a sone ki chidiya (golden bird) and not a dead chidiya (dead bird).