The Modi Government has to realise that the industrial sector alone cannot solve India’s economic woes. The farm sector, which absorbs more labour and provides for our basic needs, has to be protected and nurtured
The nation is looking to Prime Minister Narendra Modi for a break from the past and new people-oriented policies. Not only does it want to break away from ‘Manmohanomics’ but also from the colonial anti-farmer mindset. The National Institution for Transforming India (Niti) Aayog must not become a poor shadow of the Planning Commission.
India needs to change its lopsided policy for industrialisation. Over the past 65 years, industry has been greedily acquiring fertile land because it is available at a cheaper rate and the poor owner of the land can be deprived by just dangling a carrot. There is need for a balanced equitable development for agriculture.
Agriculture is not just about tilling the land, it is a wide term that includes many activities including pisciculture, animal husbandry, dairying and much more. Agriculture is an enterprise, based on systematised knowledge, and it requires skill.
Agriculture produces food and provides for other human needs such as clothing, shelter and medicines. It is practiced as a business for economic gain. Industries have to co-exist and thrive with agriculture.
India has ignored these aspects while trying to replace the colonial land Acquisition Act, 1894. This Act had taken the farmers for granted. Farmers lost their land for the profit of their colonial masters. The Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013 that replaces this Act is not in variance with the basic concept, except that it adds the clauses of consent and social impact.
The proposed Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement (Amendment) Bill, 2015, that seeks to raise compensation, reinforces the view that the farmer has little right on the land. He has to give it up for large consolidated profits, supposedly adding to the gross domestic product.
This is how it happened under British colonialists who encouraged indigo plantation. In 1980, there were about 180 million hectares of arable land. However, according to a study of the Department of Agriculture and Cooperation, in 2009 to 2010, it is now down to 140.02mha. During this period, about 40mha of land was taken for non-agricultural use — mostly industry and real estate.
This proves that industrial groups have been increasingly acquiring land at the cost of agriculture at a time when population and demand for food have been rising.
Moreover, industrialisation has not been able to create enough jobs. In fact, high capital units employ fewer people. Government statistics reveal that agro-related employment has not come down. Agricultural employment was about 74 per cent in 1972-1973, it only dropped to 56.7 per cent in 2000 and 54 per cent in 2012. Industry, on the other hand, employed 11.4 per cent in 1972-1973 and just 17.56 per cent in 2000 and 18 per cent in 2012. The service sector employed 14.6 per cent in 1972-1973, which has now increased to 25.74 per cent.
The Modi Government has to realise that industry alone cannot create all the jobs needed for India. The regime has to move away from the idea of weaning people away from agriculture. Ignoring the farm sector has caused immense problems. No land acquisition Bill can empower farm-related people. Hefty compensation for lost land is not a solution. It only makes land more expensive and speculation lucrative.
Corporates hold land much in excess of their need. Taking the example of Heavy Engineering Corporation, Ranchi. In 1958, it acquired about 7199.51 acres of land from 23 villages — far more than its needed — evicting farmers, mostly tribals, for producing heavy machinery. It now needs Rs1,353 crore for its expansion with Russian and Czech companies. The company running a loss. It plans to raise Rs453 crore by selling land. Each acre, acquired for a song, now costs Rs10 crore and the company is said to have land worth Rs50,000 crore.
This is why farmers are wary of land acquisition. The same thing has happened with numerous non-functioning special economic zones. land held by corporates are not returned to the first owner. It becomes a commercial asset, acquired by exploiting poor farmers.
This has to change. The outlook for industry and the the farm enterprise needs a re-look. Whether the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank or the World Trade Organisation likes it or not, India has to reject their prescriptions. The WTO’s emphasis on denying subsidies or any kind of state support to the farmers has almost ruined Indian farming.
Niti Aayog vice chairman Arvind Panagariya reflected the Western view when he called for liberalisation of land leasing laws to push for industrialisation. He failed to realise that farming itself is the biggest industry and needs support to boost Indian GDP.