PRESS INVITE 

Whose Land is it Anyway?

New Land Bill: For People or Profit?

Public Meeting with representatives of political parties and social activists

on the relevance & implications of the proposed

RIGHT TO FAIR COMPENSATION, RESETTLEMENT, REHABILITATION AND TRANSPARENCY IN LAND ACQUISITION BILL, 2012

Monday, August 13, 2012 | 3 – 7 pm 

Dy Chairman Hall, Constitution Club, Rafi Marg, New Delhi

Dear Comrades, 

The current economic model of growth prevalent in India, with its strong neo-liberal leanings, needs to be re-assessed in the wake of increasing alienation and displacement of vast populations from their land and the wave of resistance, both violent & non-violent, against such activities that are being played out across the country.

The Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Bill, 2011 was introduced in the Parliament in September 2011 and referred to the Parliamentary Standing Committee (PSC), which submitted its recommendations in May 2012. Many of the key suggestions put forth by the PSC have been rejected and the Ministry of Rural Development is looking to get the Cabinet’s nod soon for virtually the same bill but in a new guise, now titled “The Right to Fair Compensation, Resettlement, Rehabilitation and Transparency in Land Acquisition Bill, 2012”.

The government’s rejection of the recommendations of the Parliamentary Standing Committee for the second time on the matter of land acquisition is not only unconstitutional but also reveals a lack of will in bringing about peoples’ participation, with free and prior informed consent, in development planning. The repeated rejection of a PSC report poses a threat to the very role of a PSC, which is an important link between the parliament and the public.

The rapacious use of Land Acquisition Act 1894 by the government to secure land for ‘development’ projects has caused over 100 million people to be displaced from their land, livelihoods and homes. The country is dotted with communities resisting State sponsored land grab which resonate the demand for a just law to ensure that there is no forced acquisition of land and resources, including minerals and ground water. The government must respond to the voices from movements across places such as Narmada, Koel Karo, Singur, Nandigram, Sonbhadra, Chindwara, Bhavnagarm, Kalinga Nagar, Kashipur, Raigarh, Srikakulam and mining areas in central India with genuine efforts to address the longstanding crisis concerning land Acquisition and resettlement & rehabilitation.

It is in this context that SANGARSH invites you to discuss the relevance and implications of these half-hearted measures meted out to the millions of people who are struggling to retain their means of livelihood and seek meaningful rehabilitation from a system in which they no longer seem to have faith.

The meeting will be joined by the representatives of political parties, Members of Parliament, representatives of mass movements from across the country and some academics and researchers working on this issue.

We do hope you will be able to join us for this important discussion on an important legislation. 

 

Yours Sincerely,  

Medha Patkar, Narmada Bachao Andolan - NAPM

Roma, Kaimur Kshetra Mahila Mazdoor Kisan Sangharsh Samiti - NFFPFW

Prafulla Samantara, Lokshakti Abhiyan, Orissa - NAPM

Dr. Sunilam, Kisan Sangharsh Samiti, MP - NAPM

Gautam Bandopadhyay, Nadi Ghati Morcha, Chattisgarh

Guman Singh, Him Niti Ahiyan, Himachal Pradesh

Bhupendar Singh Rawat, Bhumi Bachao Andolan – NAPM

Dr. Rupesh Kumar, Kisan Sangharsh Samiti,UP

Vimal Bhai, Matu Jan Sangathan, Uttarakhand – NAPM

 

Contact: Madhuresh 9818905316 | Bhargavi 9582452343 | Shweta 9911528696

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Regards,

Bhargavi