Land acquisition: Govt of India told to divulge details of reasons for coming up with "regressive" ordinance

By Our Representative
After dilly dallying for about a year, the Narendra Modi government will have to divulge all the materials, such as the Cabinet note and file notings, on the basis of which it had decided to come up with the now abandoned ordinance amending the controversial the Land Acquisition Act (LAA), 2013.
Titled Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013, LAA 2013 was first promulgated on December 31, 2014, and re-promulgated two more times. Modi announced his decision to “drop” it ahead of the crucial Bihar assembly polls late last year, in which the BJP faced a major defeat.
In its order dated June 20, 2016, the Central Information Commission (CIC) has asked the Union Ministry of Rural Development’s department of land resources (DoLR) to disclose everything that would reveal government view on coming up with the ordnance, which had sought to undermine the crucial consent clause for land acquisition, even as seeking to remove the provision of social impact assessment ahead of any land acquisition.
Instead of providing all the material the ministry said it “did not have” details, and sent the right to information (RTI) application, made by well-known RTI activist Venkatesh Nayak, to the ministry of parliamentary affairs. Nayak is programme coordinator of the Access to Information Programme of New Delhi-based advocacy group Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative.
In a bid to avoid reply, the RTI application was twice sent to the President's Secretariat, as the ordinance was promulgated by the President of India. This happened despite the fact that the Rashtrapati Bhawan had transferred it to the DoLR at the very first instance.
The CIC, in its order, has asked the the DoLR to disclose all information within 4 weeks. Pointing towards the reason why he had sought the information, Nayak said, “Although the ordinance has lapsed its contents are before Parliament in the form of a Bill to amend the Act which is being deliberated upon by a Joint Committee of Parliament chaired by SS Ahluwalia.”
Nayak said, despite demands, the government did not bother to explain what was the urgency that led to the promulgation of the ordinance. “Parliament's winter session had concluded just a few days earlier and the budget session of 2015 was just a couple of months away when the ordinance was promulgated on the last day of 2014”, he added.
Finally, Nayak said, the government’s Economic Survey (ES), presented in Parliament in February 2015, “claimed that problems with land acquisition were a major reason for the stalling of several developmental projects in the public and private sector.”
“However”, he added, “Detailed data on such projects was not annexed to that report. Official spokespersons repeatedly argued that the amendments to the land acquisition law were necessary to pull up the economy out of the nadir it had reached.” This, he added, prompted him to find out whether this was true.
An analysis of the government’s own data, said Nayak, had already showed that that “only about 8% of the projects had stalled due to problems of land acquisition.” The factors which were more important for stalling projects were “lack of promoter interest, weak economic conditions and lack of necessary clearances from authorities”, he added.

Comments

Loktantra Bachao Abhiyan raises concerns over Jharkhand Adivasis' plight in Assam, BJP policies

By Our Representative The Loktantra Bachao Abhiyan (Save Democracy Campaign) has issued a pressing call to protect Adivasi rights in Jharkhand, highlighting serious concerns over the treatment of Jharkhandi Adivasis in Assam. During a press conference in Ranchi on November 9, representatives from Assam, Chhattisgarh, and Madhya Pradesh criticized the current approach of BJP-led governments in these states, arguing it has exacerbated Adivasi struggles for rights, land, and cultural preservation.

Promoting love or instilling hate and fear: Why is RSS seeking a meeting with Rahul Gandhi?

By Ram Puniyani* India's anti-colonial struggle was marked by a diverse range of social movements, one of the most significant being Hindu-Muslim unity and the emergence of a unified Indian identity among people of all religions. The nationalist, anti-colonial movement championed this unity, best embodied by Mahatma Gandhi, who ultimately gave his life for this cause. Gandhi once wrote, “The union that we want is not a patched-up thing but a union of hearts... Swaraj (self-rule) for India must be an impossible dream without an indissoluble union between the Hindus and Muslims of India. It must not be a mere truce... It must be a partnership between equals, each respecting the religion of the other.”

Right-arm fast bowler who helped West Indies shape arguably greatest Test team in cricket history

By Harsh Thakor* Malcolm Marshall redefined what it meant to be a right-arm fast bowler, challenging the traditional laws of biomechanics with his unique skill. As we remember his 25th death anniversary on November 4th, we reflect on the legacy he left behind after his untimely death from colon cancer. For a significant part of his career, Marshall was considered one of the fastest and most formidable bowlers in the world, helping to shape the West Indies into arguably the greatest Test team in cricket history.

Andhra team joins Gandhians to protest against 'bulldozer action' in Varanasi

By Rosamma Thomas* November 1 marked the 52nd day of the 100-day relay fast at the satyagraha site of Rajghat in Varanasi, seeking the restoration of the 12 acres of land to the Sarva Seva Sangh, the Gandhian organization that was evicted from the banks of the river. Twelve buildings were demolished as the site was abruptly taken over by the government after “bulldozer” action in August 2023, even as the matter was pending in court.

Swami Vivekananda's views on caste and sexuality were 'painfully' regressive

By Bhaskar Sur* Swami Vivekananda now belongs more to the modern Hindu mythology than reality. It makes a daunting job to discover the real human being who knew unemployment, humiliation of losing a teaching job for 'incompetence', longed in vain for the bliss of a happy conjugal life only to suffer the consequent frustration.

A Hindu alternative to Valentine's Day? 'Shiv-Parvati was first love marriage in Universe'

By Rajiv Shah The other day, I was searching on Google a quote on Maha Shivratri which I wanted to send to someone, a confirmed Shiv Bhakt, quite close to me -- with an underlying message to act positively instead of being negative. On top of the search, I chanced upon an article in, imagine!, a Nashik Corporation site which offered me something very unusual.

Will Left victory in Sri Lanka deliver economic sovereignty plan, go beyond 'tired' IMF agenda?

By Atul Chandra, Vijay Prashad* On September 22, 2024, the Sri Lankan election authority announced that Anura Kumara Dissanayake of the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP)-led National People’s Power (NPP) alliance won the presidential election. Dissanayake, who has been the leader of the left-wing JVP since 2014, defeated 37 other candidates, including the incumbent president Ranil Wickremesinghe of the United National Party (UNP) and his closest challenger Sajith Premadasa of the Samagi Jana Balawegaya.

Will Bangladesh go Egypt way, where military ruler is in power for a decade?

By Vijay Prashad* The day after former Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina left Dhaka, I was on the phone with a friend who had spent some time on the streets that day. He told me about the atmosphere in Dhaka, how people with little previous political experience had joined in the large protests alongside the students—who seemed to be leading the agitation. I asked him about the political infrastructure of the students and about their political orientation. He said that the protests seemed well-organized and that the students had escalated their demands from an end to certain quotas for government jobs to an end to the government of Sheikh Hasina. Even hours before she left the country, it did not seem that this would be the outcome.

A Marxist intellectual who dwelt into complex areas of the Indian socio-political landscape

By Harsh Thakor* Professor Manoranjan Mohanty has been a dedicated advocate for human rights over five decades. His work as a scholar and activist has supported revolutionary democratic movements, navigating complex areas of the Indian socio-political landscape. His balanced, non-partisan approach to human rights and social justice has made his books essential resources for advocates of democracy.

Tributes paid to pioneer of Naxalism in Punjab, who 'dodged' police for 60 yrs

By Harsh Thakor* Jagjit Singh Sohal, known as Comrade Sharma, a pioneer of Naxalism in Punjab, passed away on October 20 at the age of 96. Committed to the Naxalite cause and a prominent Maoist leader, Sohal, who succeeded Charu Majumdar, played hide and seek with the police for almost six decades. He was cremated in Patiala.

Search This Blog