Agrarian crisis in the country is because of the “wrong policies” of the Modi-led Central government; the Land Acquisition Bill will be a disaster and it will harm food security of the nation, according to general secretary of All India Kisan Sabha Hannan Mollah.
Addressing a farmers’ seminar on ‘Land Acquisition Bill,’ here on Sunday, he said that many a good points in the Bill proposed by the previous UPA government were removed in the new Bill tabled by the Modi government.
Earlier, farmers’ consent was necessary before acquiring land and they had the right to approach court. Cultivable land, irrigated land and multi-crop land could not be acquired.
Moreover, if the acquired land was not utilised by the government in five years, the land could be returned to the farmers. But the Modi government removed these features in order to favour big companies, he said.
Worst of all, the BJP government said that a farmer’s consent was not necessary to acquire his land. It was not necessary to pay even compensation.
The role of panchayats was also denied. Land meant for hospitals, universities, and colleges and for public purposes could be taken without getting permission from the farmers. Government approval was necessary go to court against any dispute, said Mr. Mollah.
“Cultivable land stretching to one km on both sides of National Highways in the country will be taken in the name of development. Ultimately, the country will lose 39 per cent of land, which will pose a threat to agriculture and food production,” he said.
The government had made much efforts to pacify leaders of strong parties in the Rajya Sabha like All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam and the Trinamool Congress to pass the Bill, he noted.
“We have to build a strong platform to protest against Mr. Modi by mobilising farmers. A signature campaign with the aim of collecting one crore signatures will be launched,” he announced.
The Centre also refused to implement the Swaminathan Committee recommendations. Hence, the farmers would not get minimum support price, loan at low interest and subsidised input. It had already cut allocation for agriculture and rural development, said Mr. Mollah.
Farmers from Madurai, Tiruchi, Virudhunagar, Ramanathapuram, Sivaganga and Karur districts took part.
