The Land Acquisition Bill proposed by Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance government was aimed at “grabbing” fertile agricultural lands from farmers, said former Communist Party of India MP M. Appadurai.
Addressing the participants of a demonstration staged by the party at Othakadai here on Thursday, Mr. Appadurai said that all the newly-incorporated features of the bill made the farmers vulnerable to “forceful grabbing” of the land without any room for them to put forth their fair contention.
The amendment the NDA had made to the bill stated that the government could take over any land without the consent of the farmers.
The earlier bill introduced by the United Progressive Alliance made it mandatory that at least 70 per cent of the land holders must give their consent before any land could be acquired for projects under public-private partnership. In the case of private projects, at least 80 per cent of the land holders should agree for parting with their land,” he said.
Similarly, in case of dispute over land transaction, the aggrieved landholders could not seek a legal recourse under the new features, he said.
The party’s rural district secretary, P. Kalidoss, said that the bill being projected as “honey” for poor farmers getting adequate compensation was actually a “poison.”
Stating that more and more farmers were migrating to urban areas seeking alternative employment, Mr. Kalidoss said that the new bill would wipe out farming, which was the backbone of the country’s economy.
It would compound the unemployment problem and lead to a stage where the country would be forced to import even paddy.
Hundreds of cadres who tried to stage protests in various places were arrested throughout the district and later released.
Over 70 cadres, led by party urban district secretary, Jeyaraman, who attempted a dharna were arrested near railway junction.
