MEETING ON
Ordinance Raj, Corporate Loot and People's
Movements
Struggle for Land Rights
Jan. 23-24, New Delhi
Dear
Friends,
Namaskar
!
British
India enacted Land Acquisition Act, 1894 and other Forest laws to
legalise their loot of the natural resources and address the
political challenge posed by agrarian communities both tribal &
farmer cultivators.
These laws were aimed at arresting the ongoing protest and revolts of
the Indian people and mainly the farmer. LAA 1894 became a tool to
acquire land for installing mining, industries, railway line,
Roads,irrigation & power houses. The 1894 Act consolidated the
concept of Eminent
Domain
of the colonial state, which continued even after independence and
the key question of who actually own the land remained unresolved.
This resulted in many agrarian struggles in Independent India till
the 70’s and large scale displacement and impoverishment due to
massive acquisition of land in the name of public good, development
and national interest. Globalization and neo-liberal reforms since
90s have only strengthened these struggles against loot of ntural
resources and ensuing displacement.
After
years of struggles by the people's movements in the country, the
colonial Land Acquisition Act, 1894 was repealed and a new law
titled, Right to Fair Compensation, Transparency in Land
Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act 2013 was
enacted. Although, this new act did not resolve the key issue of
eminent domain it did create some enabling provisions which would
protect the rights of people against forcible acquisitions, minimise
displacement, provide compensation and relief to livelihood loosers
and not only to land owners. The inclusion of the provision of Social
Impact Assessment was to address the interests of many other
categories of the people beyond the land owning communities. There
are many problems with the Act, and there is a scope for improvement
of the Act to ensure protection of the land rights of the people and
ensuring people's participation in the development planning process
and making it FRA and PESA compliant.
However,
without ever making an attempt at implementing the law, without
conducting any Social Impact Assessment, under a purposeful
propaganda spread by the corporations and corporate media NDA
government shamelessly promulgated the Land Ordinance along with
Coal, Mining and other Ordinances by surpassing the Parliamentary
process . This under the garb of legalities and putting the onus on
Opposition for not letting the Parliament function. The Indian State
has been engaged in covering the real conflict of ownership of land
and has put it as a crisis in land acquisition for development.
Just
before the General Elections and Assembly Elections in many of the
states NDA and UPA both claimed their efforts behind the enactment of
2013 Act. But once in power NDA took this anti farmer and workers
move taking away even little window within the 2013 Act address the
question of people's participation in development process, protecting
farm land, seeking consent of the project affected and addressing the
pain of the displacement and impoverishment due to loss of land and
livelihood.
The
Ordinance in a stroke does away with the key provisions of the 2013
Act and takes away the right of a farmer to take away his / her land,
it does away with the provisions to assuage the loss of livelihood
and provisions which would have provided justice to millions whose
land had been wrongly acquired in access or forcibly by the Colonial
Land Acquisition Act, 1894. However, the Ordinance will not put an
end to forcible land acquisitions and conflicts around that but
increase the loot of precious natural resources and makes it even
more draconian the 1894 Act. It will neither end the miseries of
displacement and nor compensate the communities affected and hence
our struggle for democratic development and against this corporate
loot need to intensify.
Land
acquisition and along with that the conflict is going to increase
given the large number of thermal power plants, dams, nuclear power
plants, special investment regions, industrial corridors,
manufacturing zones, highways, ports, airports, real estate projects
and other infrastructure projects planned by the governments
threatening the livelihood of millions and this Ordinance is to
facilitate that.
Along
with the Land Ordinance, NDA government has brought in many other
Ordinances and it seems that they are hell bent on bending all the
democratic and parliamentary norms. NDA government in Centre and BJP
government in many States are implementing the corporate agenda with
much greater ferocity than any regimes till now. These ordinances
will come up for passage during the Budget Session and a political
response is needed to this from the people's movements.
It
is in this context that we invite you to a two day consultation to
discuss and debate the provisions of these ordinances, its
implications for the Parliamentary Democracy and response of the
People's Movements in coming times.
The
meeting will be held on January 23-24th 2015 from 9:30 to 6:00 PM, at
New Delhi.
January 23 :
Strategy Meeting and Discussion on Ordinances
Venue:
N D Tiwari Bhavan 5th floor (Deen Dayal Upadhya
Marg), New Delhi
---------
January 24 : Public
Meeting and Dialogue with Political parties
Venue:
Constitution Club of India ; Rafi Marg, Behind
Reserve
Bank of India, New Delhi
--------
We
do hope you will be able to join us for this important meeting and
together develop a common strategy to fight the corporate design for
land and resource grab and develop a counter narrative to the
dominant development and growth propaganda.
We
look forward to be with you and do let us know, if you need more
information.
Warm
Regards,
National
Alliance of People's Movements, All India Union of Forest Working
People, Jan Sangharsh Samanvay Samiti, Chattisgarh Bachao Andolan,
India Social Action Forum, Delhi Solidarity Group, Right to the City
Campaign and many others
for
details contact : 9958797409, 9818905316, 9911528696
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