As part of the nation-wide protest demanding withdrawal of Ordinance to amend the Land Acquisition Act, cadres of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) staged a hunger strike in front of the Collectorate here on Monday. S. Ramesh, district coordinator, presided.
Speaking at the agitation, leaders of the AAP alleged that the ordinance allowed land to be taken away from farmers and adivasis without any process of obtaining consent or even an assessment of its social impact on numerous projects, which would fall in one of the five categories defined by the government.
They insisted that the land acquisition must not take place without obtaining farmers’ consent, should not be permitted in multi-crop land which would jeopardise the country’s food security, the process should be preceded by an assessment of its impact not just on land owners but on all sections of society and acquisition must happen transparently with the public hearings. Better standard of living should be ensured for the affected people.