India: The Right To Fair Compensation And Transparency In Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation And Resettlement (Second Amendment) Bill currently before a Joint Parliamentary Committee

THE RIGHT TO FAIR COMPENSATION AND TRANSPARENCY IN LAND ACQUISITION, REHABILITATION AND RESETTLEMENT (SECOND AMENDMENT) BILL, 2015

It is my impression, that In the face of various kinds of pressures and lobbies, both from within the government and outside of it, our UPA 2 government was able to bring about The Right To Fair Compensation And Transparency In Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation And Resettlement Act, 2013.

However, while our UPA 2 government's Act of 2013 was an attempt to address serious problems in the then existing law which had a distinct colonial hangover, it is my opinion that due to various political compulsions, the Act that was finally introduced and passed, and which is now the law, did not do proper justice to the poor and downtrodden.

The only saving grace of the UPA 2's Act was the introduction of the concept of Social Impact Assessment (SIA), and the intention to not interfere with the implementation of the Forest Rights Act, ie the ST & OTFD (RFR) Act. (Although even these and other progressive sections were watered down by technicalities in the legal drafting).

Therefore, i am aghast at the NDA government's Ordinance (now a Bill before a Joint Parliamentary Committee- JPC), that seeks to amend and thus do away with the paltry provisions in the Act of 2013, that offered any hope to the disempowered, the impoverished and weaker sections of society.

The only ray of hope now is if the present committee (JPC) that is looking into the NDA's Bill to amend the Act of 2013, were to take a statesman-like stance and not shirk it's historic responsibility (and, indeed, opportunity), to make several amendments in favour of social justice, equity, sustainable development, and in the long run, world peace, which cannot be achieved by legitimizing lame excuses for acquiring land in unplanned, undemocratic ways, sometimes even in the name of defence production.

Security analysts should be careful not to have their analyses on the topic be hindered by the many lures of defence production, and should send in their recommendations, after consulting the best of legal minds, on how to redraft the Act (as well as the proposed amendments), as to bring about a much more just, humane and visionary law than the one that exists.

In addition to the many objections already raised by people's movements, groups and organizations, i would also like to point out the need for addressing the link between gender-biased personal property law, and how these negate the provisions of consultation, compensation, resettlement and rehabilitation.

There is also a strong need to reiterate the primacy of the Forest Rights Act, not only for those whose rights have already been recognized, but the rights of the potential outreach of that Act cannot be diluted, and must, instead, be facilitated.

At a political level, i urge all political parties and state governments to support these views. i urge them to not hesitate from making brave changes to protect the needs of the scheduled tribes, other traditional forest dwellers, disempowered, the downtrodden, and the weaker sections of society.

i advise the JPC to not let anyone cite the lack of time as an excuse to make the required changes. i further hope that the JPC realises the civilizational juncture at which it stands, and acts with leadership, courage and diligence.

V. Shruti Devi
Indian National Congress Party
24th June, 2015.
Fort Kurupam.