The Uttar Pradesh government is considering the idea of not only giving farmers good compensation for their land, which it will need to acquire for various development projects coming up in the state, but also a job for every displaced family as well as reserve one third of the residential plots in the land parcels that would come up alongside the projects.
Speaking to FE, a senior official of the state government said the idea has been mooted and the changes are likely to be incorporated in the Land Acquisition Act that is presently being drafted. ?We already have a clause wherein farmers? land is acquired through the karar niyamavali (negotiations) between the developer of the project and the farmers, but we are trying to fill up the lacunae that exist in the Act and make it more realistic as well as flexible so as to benefit the farmers, who would be losing their only source of livelihood for ever. The idea is to make him a partner in the development process that would be taking place at his doorstep, so that he can earn a livelihood through it,? he stated.
The immediate need to amend the present Land Acquisition Act has been necessitated by the growing murmurs of dissent from farmers who are declining to part with their lands at the current rates that are being given by the developer for chief minister Mayawati?s ambitious Ganga Expressway project.
Although the government has already been applying the ?Karar Niymavali? to acquire farmers? land for different development projects, under which the investor and the farmer reach a consensus on land rate, in actual practice, however, the rate is finalised either by the district magistrate or by the commissioner on the basis of the circle rate of the area. Invariably, there is a complaint from farmers that this rate isn?t fair.
?We are designing a rehabilitation package in such a way that all the development projects get the support of villagers and farmers. We are also trying to impress upon the developers the need for providing skill upgradation training to the farmers so as to make them employable in the land parcels that would come alongside the development projects,? he said, adding that in case that was not possible, the developer would provide one lakh extra compensation to the farmer for his land. ?We are also planning to give the farmers a piece of plot in the residential townships that would come up along the developed zone. This he can either use for his own purpose or sell it at the market price whenever he wants,? he said.
According to sources close to the development, the reason the government is seriously working on amending the land acquisition policy is that the recent developments in Singur, Greater Noida and Raigadh have made the government alert and it does not want to take any chances of annoying the farmers. Instead, it has now started re-working on its land acquisition rules and Rehabilitation and Resettlement (R&R) policy, in order to make it more farmer-friendly.
“By acquiring a farmer?s land, we take away his earnings. Therefore, the focus is to ensure a regular annual monetary income to the farmer whose land is acquired??, said another senior official close to the development. Currently, the government is studying the land acquisition and R&R policies of other states like Gujarat, Rajasthan, Haryana and Punjab. Uttar Pradesh chief secretary Atul Kumar Gupta has already held many meetings with senior officials of revenue, industry, irrigation and agriculture departments in this regard.
The fate of several projects in the state is hanging due to hurdles in land acquisition. ?The Central government has drafted a bill for rehabilitation and resettlement, which is pending with a parliamentary standing committee headed by Kalyan Singh. Until it becomes an act, the state government wants to have its own comprehensive policy??, the official stated.