land acquisition/sez & displacement – 2011 - Indian Social Institute

SEZ land use policy flayed (4)The All-India Trade Union Congress (AITUC) will launch an agitation against the United Democratic Front(UDF) government's decision to allow commercial operations on 50 per cent space in Special EconomicZones (SEZ), AITUC State general secretary Kanam Rajendran has said. Inaugurating a districtconvention of the AITUC here on Monday, he said the decision would benefit industrialists as they woulduse prime land for business purposes. The AITUC would seek the co-operation of other trade unions tofight the new policy. The trade unions would organise joint agitations against the ‘anti-labour and antipeoplepolicies of the Centre.' AITUC district president N.G. Muraleedharan Nair presided over themeeting. Communist Party of India (CPI) district secretary Vijayan Kunisseri, party State council memberK.E. Haneefa, and AITUC district secretary K.C. Jayapalan spoke. (The Hindu 25/7/11)Land draft bill spells out public purpose (4)New Delhi, July 24: A meeting that worked on the draft bill to amend the land acquisition act has defined“project for public purpose”, a key term in the legislation. “It refers to any project that benefits the public.This includes industry by private entities if it renders any benefit to the public,” said N.C. Saxena, amember of the National Advisory Council (NAC), who attended the meeting convened by ruraldevelopment minister Jairam Ramesh. When land is acquired for industry, the landowners will be paid ata rate six times that mentioned on the registered sale deed of any plot in the area in the previous sixmonths. There will also be an additional solatium, whose quantity is yet to be finalised. If the land pricegoes up between the time of acquisition and that of possession by the industry, 20 per cent of theincreased price will be paid to the landowners. Apart from this, the land-losing families — and thelandless households dependent on the land sold — will each receive Rs 2,000 per month for 20 years.This sum will be inflation-indexed: it will go up as inflation rises. Besides, one member from each landlosingfamily will be entitled to a job in the industry project. If a family lacks any eligible candidate, it willget a one-time compensation of Rs 2 lakh. If a project displaces families, they will have to be resettled incolonies with basic amenities such as schools and roads and will get an additional Rs 3,000 a month for12 months. If a tribal family loses land to any project, it will be given an acre elsewhere. Ramesh said onThursday the bill would be introduced in Parliament in the monsoon session that starts next month.(Telegraph 25/7/11)Implementation of Singur Act illegal: Pal (4)KOLKATA: The procedure adopted to implement the Singur Land Rehabilitation and Development Actwas illegal and thus invalid, Tata Motors counsel Samaraditya Pal submitted before Calcutta high courton Monday. Pal was deposing on the sixth day of his argument on the company's petition seeking todeclare the Act unconstitutional. Arguing before Justice Soumitra Pal, The Tata counsel submitted thateven if one assumes that the Act is valid, the procedure through which the government tried to implementit is illegal and thus invalid. It was further argued that on the evening of June 21, a day after the law tookeffect, the joint secretary in the industries department informed the Hooghly DM that a notice should begiven to the MD of Tata Motors in Mumbai declaring that the Singur land had been taken over. Thecounsel alleged that the notice was served on the company's Mumbai office on June 22, but the officereceived it on June 28, days after the state dispossessed Tata Motors from its valid leasehold propertywithout giving any time to defend itself. Pal expressed surprise that the DM's notice to the company waswitnessed by five persons who were in no way connected with the government office. They are merefarmers of Singur. He said this showed that the DM issued the notice under tremendous pressure. Thehead of the district administration had issued notice affixing five farmers as witnesses. Is this the waygovernment officers work? Pal questioned. Pal further argued that the agreement between WBIDC andthe company was reached on March 15, 2007 with a condition that the project should be completed onMarch 15, 2010. But on June 22, the government asked Tata Motors what their future plan was on theSingur land but never indicated the lease would be terminated. The argument will continue on Tuesday.(Times of India 26/7/11)Airport expansion: farmers seek land for land (4)The farmers of Buddhavaram and Davajigudem villages near Gannavaram are once again on theagitation path in protest against what they allege the unilateral move to acquire their lands for airportexpansion, even as the district administration has begun the process initially with the verification of