Union minister for rural development Jairam Ramesh on Sunday called the Centre’s old land acquisition act “pathetic” and also said it was one of the causes of increase in Naxalism due to the exploitation of farmers and tribals. He even urged the Maharashtra government to implement the new land acquisition act, which replaced the 119-year-old act, in the right spirit. Mr Ramesh assured that the new act was made keeping in view the issues of Mumbai and Maharashtra too, adding that the new act is pro-people, but not anti-industry. “I believe that the old law was anti-democratic as governments used to buy land from people at lower price and sell it to business houses at a premium rate. The collector used to decide the urgency, the amount of compensation and resettlement provisions, if any, that consequently created public anger nationwide and was the reason behind mass movements on land issues in Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat along with Orissa,” he said. “This paved the way for Maoist organisations to strengthen their movement as the approach of the government was not as responsive as it should be. As a result, Naxalism spread in 88 districts of the country over the years,” Mr Ramesh said, accusing the governments for insensitivity on the issue. The rural development minister was in Mumbai to explain the benefits of the new act as the state government has already expressed it’s discontent.
