After calling for an open debate on the contentious Land bill, veteran anti-corruption activist Anna Hazare has now written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi urging him not to pass the new ordinance on the legislation.
While expressing grave concerns over a new ordinance, the septuagenarian crusader offered several suggestions in a bid to safeguard farmers’ interests.
The Central government has been mulling a new ordinance after the Land Acquisition Bill that was passed in the Lok Sabha in its current form was prorogued in the Rajya Sabha. The validity of the old ordinance of December 31, 2014 will lapse on April 5.
Reiterating that there was widespread discontent among farmers over the old ordinance, Mr. Hazare emphasized the urgent need for land-mapping.
“The quality of land must be classified on a scale from 1-6 and the first three grades of cultivable land must be excluded from the grip of acquisition,” said Mr. Hazare.
The 77-year-old severely censured the removal of the crucial consent clause and the Social Impact Assessment proviso which was a prominent deletion in the old ordinance with the aim of smoothening the processing of acquisition b corporate and industrial bodies.
“Development should be carried out according to Gandhian principles by duly engaging local communities and gram panchayats,” he wrote in his letter to Mr. Modi.
Mr. Hazare demanded the retention of these provisions that featured in the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act passed by the United Progressive Alliance government in 2013.
“The amended act does not require consent from 80 percent of the land owners, if the purpose is for five sectors, national security, defence, rural infrastructure, industrial corridors and housing for the poor. The doing away of this clause leaves no shield for the farmer’s interests,” he said.
Mr. Hazare further stipulated land on which two or three crops were grown every year should not be considered for acquisition purposes and that one member of the farmer’s family whose land was being acquired be given a government job.
