NATIONAL ALLIANCE OF PEOPLE';S MOVEMENTS
National Office : 6/6 Jangpura
B, New Delhi – 110 014 . Phone : 011 2437 4535 | 9818905316
Any Changes in the new Land
Acquisition Act is UNACCEPTABLE to People';s Movements and will Face Stiff
RESISTANCE
Consent and SIA Provisions
are the Most Important Features of the Act
NDA Government Should
Ensure Strict Implementation of the New Act
Ministry of Environment
must Back Off from making amendments to the FC and EC Processes
Environment and Development
are Matters of Livelihood and Basic Survival
New Delhi, June 28, 2014 : The news that two of the
key provisions, ';consent'; and ';Social Impact Assessment'; of the Right to Fair
Compensation, Transparency in Land Acquisition, resettlement and Rehabilitation
Act, 2013 is to be amended by the NDA government is completely unacceptable to
the people';s movements and will face tough opposition across the country. It
may well be reminded that the new Act was framed in the wake of protests across
the nation at places like Nandigram, Singur, Kalinganagar, Kakrapalli, Bhatta
Parsaul, where many people died and years of struggle by Narmada Bachao
Andolan, Niyamgiri Suraksha Parishad and Anti SEZ protests in Raigarh, Jhajhar
for repeal of the colonial act and enactment of a new development planning act
marking people';s participation and provisions for livelihood based R&R.
The consent and SIA
provision was introduced to do away with the anomalies in the colonial act,
since farmers and those dependent on the land were never consulted or made a
participant in the process of development planning. Huge tracts of fertile land
were acquired at throw away prices and given to private and public corporations
in the name of public purpose and industrialization. The stiff opposition to the land grab has led
in past to cancellation of numerous SEZs and other projects and any discussion
on the question of land for industrialization has to take in account.
Ministry of Rural
Development should work on implementing the Act by drafting the rules for its
implementation and get States to do the same. It is shocking that most of these
states demanding an amendment have not even bothered to frame the rules for the
new Act. As of now, Karnataka and Maharashtra are the only two states who have
framed draft rules for the same, how can they demand an amendment?
It will be a retrograde
step if we were to go to back to the colonial process of forced land
acquisition and no regard for impact of land acquisition on the people,
environment and democratic institutions which need to be consulted and their
consent taken in the process of SIA. If any amendment has to be made to the act
then it needs to be made more stringent in following terms :
1. Consent for the public
purpose projects to be mandatory for the government projects too.
2. Limited definition of
the ';Public Purpose';. Infrastructure doesn';t equal development. We have seen
how Reliance has been creating infrastructure for nation, they work for profit
alone and in the process loot the citizens and arm-twist the government, prime
example being Delhi and Mumbai Metro and KG Basin Gas projects ?
3. Mandatory SIA provisions
for the irrigation projects as well, given the huge displacement, in case of
Sardar Sarovar dam the sword of displacement is hanging on 2.5 lakh people even
after three decades.
4. Urgently establish a National
resettlement and Rehabilitation Commission to deal with the grievances of 10
crores of people who have sacrificed their land and livelihood in the process
of development.
Since, the time NDA
government has come to power a slew of changes have been proposed to the
existing provisions of environment and forest clearances, as if Ministry of
Environment and Forests sole job was to clear projects and allow destruction of
forests, wildlife, rivers and so on in the name of development. The government
seems to be in a hurry but this mandate from people need not be confused as a
license to trample upon the rights of the people and tinker with the existing
laws which are to protect life, livelihood and environment.
NAPM calls upon progressive
forces, people';s movements and political parties to join this fight against
corporate loot of the natural resources at the cost of livelihood of the
millions. The corporate designs of loot
of the natural resources will not be allowed to succeed by the people';s
movements and every move will be resisted by the farmers, workers, fisherfolks,
forest dwellers, adivasis, urban poor of this country. The NDA government will
do itself good to remember that the power of people have forced radical changes
and overthrown parties from power in past, the good days will not last forever!
Medha Patkar - Narmada
Bachao Andolan - National Alliance of People’s Movements (NAPM); Prafulla Samantara - Lok Shakti
Abhiyan, Lingraj Azad – Niyamgiri Suraksha Parishad, NAPM, Odisha; Dr. Sunilam, Aradhna Bhargava -
Kisan Sangharsh Samiti, NAPM, MP; Gautam
Bandopadhyay – Nadi Ghati Morcha, NAPM, Chhattisgarh; Suniti SR, Suhas Kolhekar, Prasad Bagwe -
NAPM, Maharashtra; Gabriel
Dietrich, Geetha Ramakrishnan – Unorganised Sector Workers Federation,
NAPM, TN; C R Neelakandan – NAPM Kerala; Saraswati Kavula, P
Chennaiah – NAPM Andhra Pradesh, B
S Rawat – Jan Sangharsh Vahini, Rajendra
Ravi, Sunita Rani, Madhuresh Kumar, Seela M – NAPM, Delhi; Arundhati Dhuru, Richa Singh, Nandlal
Master - NAPM, UP; Sister Celia -
Domestic Workers Union, Maj. Gen (Retd) Sudhir Vombatkere - NAPM,
Karnataka; Sumit Wanjale – Ghar
Bachao, Ghar Banao Andolan, NAPM, Mumbai; Manish Gupta - Jan Kalyan Upbhokta Samiti, NAPM, UP; Vimal Bhai - Matu Jan sangathan,
NAPM, Uttarakhand; Vilas Bhongade -
Gosikhurd Prakalpgrast Sangharsh Samiti, NAPM, Maharashtra; Ramashray Singh - Ghatwar Adivasi
Mahasabha, Jharkhand; Anand
Mazhgaonkar, Krishnakant - Paryavaran Suraksh Samiti, NAPM Gujarat; Kamayani
Swami, Ashish Ranjan – Jan Jagran Shakti Sangathan, NAPM Bihar; Mahendra
Yadav – Kosi Navnirman Manch, NAPM Bihar
For details
contact : 9818905316 | email : napmindia@gmail.com 
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