Press Release: AAP protests against government’s Ordinance to amend the Land Acquisition Act 5 January, 2015 Aam Aadmi Party had begun its protest against the NDA government’s anti-people ordinance on January 4 during its #VillageDialogue in Delhi. The objections raised against the government’s insensitive action have today sparked a country wide protest. District units of the Aam Aadmi Party across the country joined hands to register a strong united voice against the NDA government’s move to dilute the Land Acquisition act of 2013. Aam Aadmi Party is shocked at the Government of India’s drastic amendment of the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation & Resettlement Act, 2013 by an ordinance without even a modicum of debate – thus setting the clock back to the British colonial era by allowing land to be taken away from farmers and adivasis without any process of obtaining consent or even an assessment of its social impact on numerous projects which would fall in one of the five categories defined by the government. The 2013 Act was the culmination of decades of struggle by farmers’ movements and social movements across the country against the sheer injustice of the land acquisition process which had displaced crores of families in the name of national interest while they were not even consulted or made part of the process of development. The government has, in one stroke, betrayed the entire farming and adivasi community and made it clear to them that the government is putting the interests of its powerful corporate masters above the interests of the majority of the citizens. Aam Aadmi Party strongly opposes the amendments made to the Act and demands that the government immediately withdraw the Ordinance, and bring any proposed amendments to the floor of the Parliament for a full debate. Through its protest, Aam Aadmi Party puts the government on notice that farmers, adivasis and justice-minded citizens across the nation are rising up against this injustice and will not tolerate any dilution of the Act. In particular, the following points are of strong concern to the party which will be raised both inside the Parliament and in the court of public opinion. After a long struggle and negotiation, the government and the Indian polity agreed to some basic principles: • Land acquisition must not take place without a process of obtaining consent • Land acquisition must not be permitted in multi-crop land jeopardizing food security • Acquisition must be preceded by an assessment of its impact not just on land owners but on all sections of the society, and this must happen transparently with public hearings • All the affected persons thus identified should attain a better standard of living post-acquisition All these principles have gone for a toss with the passage of this ordinance. The amendments would mean that Social Impact Assessment, food security provision & consent of land owners will now be a thing of past in the five categories specified by the government. The five categories which the government has specified are so inclusive that it may accommodate almost any sort of project in it. The NDA government’s ordinance to amend the land acquisition Act does not merely expand the list of projects that would be exempted from requirements of consent and Social Impact Assessment but also covertly makes other provisions in the law less stringent. It dilutes the requirement that unused acquired land be returned to the original owners, makes it tougher to prosecute defaulting civil servants, reduces the scope of the retrospective clause and expands the definition of permissible infrastructure. Finance Minister, Sh. Arun Jaitley addressed live on media stating that the higher compensation to farmers after the changes in Land Acquisition Act will continue and the interest of farmers have been taken care of. However it is important to highlight here that State Government of Haryana headed by BJP has illegally changed the Multiplication Factor for Rural Areas from 2 to 1 on 4-Dec-2014 thereby ensuring that the farmers of rural areas get a minimum of 50% less compensation. To say the least, central government’s business of fooling the common man continues. It’s a matter of serious concern that our elected government is acting with the only intent to favour a select few corporate and business houses. Aam Aadmi Party would like to warn the ruling Modi government that it won’t be long before people call their bluff and punish for the undemocratic, unconstitutional and anti-people work they have been so religiously doing. Aam Aadmi Party is of the view that business & industry needs to be promoted for an overall growth of the country. The party favours advancement of citizens through employment generation as well as revenue generation, but not at the cost of injustice to farmers who are also a stakeholder and an integral part of India’s development story. We favour an atmosphere where a healthy business environment can be developed but not at the cost of an unjust & helpless society where people have to suffer at the hands of state. Former Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has already announced that the Aam Aadmi Party will not allow the BJP’s central government to acquire land of farmers in Delhi without their consent. The party reiterates its commitment to the people of India that it will fight tooth and nail to ensure that justice prevails and no one is forced to give his/her land without proper compensation and rehabilitation. Aam Aadmi Party wants to remind the Modi government that its duty is to ensure that the process of Land Acquisition should act as an instrument of Justice, not as an instrument of Oppression. The Aam Aadmi Party puts its demand again straight in a simple one line – Withdraw the Ordinance! Media Cell, Aam Aadmi Party
Posted on: Mon, 05 Jan 2015 15:57:38 +0000
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