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 state 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 Odisha,” 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 year,” 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 its discontent and opposed some of the provisions of the new act. The president of India recently gave his assent to The Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act 2013, which was passed in both the Houses of the Parliament. However, the notification would be issued for the implementation on January 1 or April 1 next year, as the Central government would invite suggestions and objections on the rules of the act. Elaborating the features of the act, Mr Ramesh said that it would make the sanction of the concerned gram sabha mandatory for land acquisition in scheduled tribal areas. “As per the provision in the new act, consent by the gram sabhas’ has been made compulsory for any land acquisition in tribal areas, while for the rest of the rural areas the “consultation” with the gram sabhas will be an obligation,” he said. He added, “The existing act had given discretionary powers to collectors to decide solely the size and ways of the acquisition. The government machineries always tend to acquire more land than the actual need and keep those with it for years, which has never been in the interest of the general public,” the rural development minister said. “On the contrary, in the new act, the powers of the collectors have been curtailed. Also, the government would not be able to hold the acquired land for more than five years. If the government fails to utilise the land for the purpose, it will have to return it to the original owners.”
