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

eceive any such complaints. Look at Ahmedabad which is developing but there are no complaints fromthat place. They have the same officers of the same cadre as in the rest of the country,” the court said,adding officers from other states can train under their Gujarat counterparts. The court even directlyaddressed Additional Solicitor General Harin Rawal, who hails from Gujarat, to say that the law officerwould “vouch” for the court’s remarks about his state’s policy on land acquisition. (Indian Express 5/8/11)Centre to evolve consensus on Land Acquisition Bill: Ramesh (4)Hyderabad, Aug 6 (PTI): Underlining the importance of addressing tribal issues more effectively, UnionRural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh today said that the Centre was trying to evolve a consensuson the proposed Land Acquisition Bill. "I know there are different views on the proposed Land AcquisitionBill. Many people welcomed it while many criticised. Through a process of debate, we will arrive at anational consensus on the legislation," Jairam told a press conference here today. "This is a sensitive Billin which rehabilitation and resettlement (of the displaced) is also a part. It is sensitive to farmers andcompensates not only farmers but also the landless and whose livelihoods are lost," he said. Under theproposed legislation, land acquisition process would not be completed till the rehabilitation andresettlement package is fully implemented. "Land acquisition has become the single biggest issue in stateafter state. As many as 50 million people have been displaced because of land acquisition in the countryin the last 60 years. Of these, two-thirds were tribals. They have been displaced not once but subjected tomultiple displacement," the minister noted. This has been one of the main contributors to the growth ofnaxalism in central India, he said. "We must address issues of tribal communities more sensitively. Landacquisition, mining, industry, infrastructure...unless we are sensitive to these issues, we will not be gettinga grip on what the emerging phenomenon is," Jairam observed. Referring to the Mahatma GandhiNational Rural Employment Guarantee Programme, Jairam said the 'structure of power relations' in ruralIndia was changing because of NREGP. "The NREGP has created three impacts: agricultural wage rateshave gone up, which is a positive sign as rural poverty will come down; distress migration is downdistinctly and community assets are being created. There is also a 10-20 per cent increase in cultivablearea due to NREGP in both agriculture and horticulture," Jairam pointed out. Andhra Pradesh, he said,was showing the way to other states in respect of social audit in NREGP. "I am happy with the socialaudit system in AP but not in other states," the Minister said in reply to a question. He said theComptroller and Auditor General of India has agreed to appoint a Principal Accountant General forexclusively auditing rural development programmes. "Since we are spending a staggering Rs 90,000crore annually on rural development programmes – the second largest budgetary expenditure afterdefence – there is need for an exclusive auditing," Jairam added. (Deccan Herald 6/8/11)National consensus needed on Land Acquisition Bill: Ramesh (4)Hyderabad, Aug 7 : Underlining the importance of land acquisition related tribal issues, RuralDevelopment Minister Jairam Ramesh has said that the government is trying to evolve a nationalconsensus on the proposed Land Acquisition Bill. Addressing a news conference here on Saturday,Ramesh said there are different views on the proposed bill, many people welcomed it while manycriticised it. "I know there are different views on this Bill (Land Acquisition Bill). But through a process ofdebate, we will arrive at a national consensus on this legislation," he added. Ramesh further said the newbill will not only compensate the farmers but also the landless people, whose livelihoods will be lost due toland acquisition. "I hope that very soon we will have a sensitive Land Acquisition R&R (rehabilitation andresettlement) Bill that is sensitive to the needs of farmers. Let me tell you, this new bill not onlycompensates farmers and land owners but it also compensates the landless and those whose livelihoodswill be lost when land has been acquired," he added. Mentioning about the relief package in the proposedlegislation, Ramesh said land acquisition process would not be completed till the rehabilitation andresettlement package is fully implemented. "Land acquisition will not be completed till R&R package hasbeen implemented because let me say, let me accept that in the last 60 years over 50 million people havebeen displaced because of industrial projects, all over India. Out of the 50 million almost two-thirds aretribal population and many of these have been displaced not once, they are subject to multipledisplacements," said Ramesh. Ramesh said that such land acquisitions have been one of the maincontributors to the growth of Maoist activities in central India. "To my mind, this has been one of the maincontributors to the growth of naxalism (Maoism) in central India. So we must address issues of tribalcommunities more sensitively. Land acquisition, mining, industry, infrastructure, that is what I meant by