The Land Acquisition (Amendment) Bill accompanied by the Resettlement & Rehabilitation (R&R) Bill, 2007 is slated to come up for discussion in the current winter session of Parliament. This Bill was first introduced in Parliament in December 2007 but never got discussed there because of widespread popular opposition. Immediately after it was introduced, it was referred to a Standing Committee; an attempt to table the Bill in June 2009 following the UPA II government taking office met with stiff opposition from the Congress' major coalition partner, the Trinamool Congress and the Bill was shelved for later.

The Bill is coming up for discussion in the wake of almost endless struggles of people across the country against eviction from their land and bloody clashes with the armed forces of the state as they defend their right to their land and livelihood. Governments have unleashed terror against those who are defying the power of governments to deprive them of their basic right to livelihood.

The issue

The issue of land acquisition is a very critical issue for both, the Indian bourgeoisie on the one side, and the Indian people on the other. Demand for land for setting up huge factories and industrial complexes, for hydel projects and dams, for amusement parks, for urban development, for airport expansions, as well as for the armed forces, has been rising rapidly across the country. The Special Economic Zones being set up near cities and towns, and along the coast, all across the country are of a magnitude that requires huge tracts of land. On the other side are the people who are living on this land, mostly engaged in agriculture or pasture. They have lived on the land for generations and are dependant on the land for their livelihood. The experience of the peasantry and tribal peoples all accross the country has been that through forcible eviction carried out in name of public interest, they have been deprived of their only source of livelihood and turned into refugees in their own country. In all cases, they have been evicted and then left to fend for themselves. Displacement of people and deprivation of their livelihood is justified in the name of ‘development’, "providing jobs", though the benefits of these projects never reach the people. On the other hand, they have suffered deterioration in the quality of their lives.

Colonial legacy

Where did all this begin? The Land Acquisition Act, 1894 granted the colonial rulers, and the Indian state after 1947, eminent domain - the power to take any private property for "public use". From the early decades after independence, the Indian state has used this power to acquire land for both public and private industry and has displaced an estimated 6 crore of people through such acquisition. In earlier decades, the Indian state was able to create and maintain the myth that all industrialisation was for public good. The public sector iron and steel plants, the townships of Tatas and Birlas were all built on the public lands acquired by the power of Eminent Domain vested with the state. In the mineral rich tribal populated areas, where concept of land rights did not exist, the people were simply evicted and left to fend for themselves.

This drive for land acquisition intensified in the 1990s when land was acquired by the government blatantly on behalf of the largest capitalist corporations under the guise of public purpose. In recent years, with the campaign to establish more and more SEZs, land acquisition has come up against militant opposition in several places. The myth of "public good" has been exploded, and the people can see clearly that their deprivation and poverty is the direct consequence of the growing power and riches of private capitalist corporations, Indian and foreign. People are left with no doubt at all that the government has exercised its power to acquire land solely and blatantly for the benefit of these interests.

The land acquisition act, 1984 needs to be scrapped

The people of our country have been incessantly demanding the scrapping of the Land Acquisition Act, 1984.

Again and again, the question is posed - what kind of justice is it that governments should intervene to render lakhs of people homeless and deprive them of their livelihood in order to enable capitalists to set up their factories and SEZs to earn super profits? The right of any government to forcibly acquire land came under question with the militant protests of peasants in Nandigram and other places. The militant and unrelenting opposition to this injustice forced the government to propose an "amendment" to the hated colonial legislation that prevailed till now.

But in reality what is the content of this "amendment"?

As early as 1962, a landmark judgment of the Supreme Court in 1962 held that the government could not justify acquiring land for a textile machinery manufacturer as a "public purpose". Thereafter, the government amended the colonial law to allow land to be acquired for a company "which is engaged in or is taking steps for engaging in any industry or work for a public purpose". It is the blatant violation of this "public purpose" facade that has fuelled the anger of the people.

The government has been forced to define public purpose in the Amendment Bill. In the proposed Amendment Bill, public purpose has been defined as purposes relating to defence or other vital sectors, infrastructure projects of the state or "any other purpose useful to the general public." First of all, for the persons deprived of their land, it is no consolation that defence or infrastructure projects are going to be set up. What kind of defence or infrastructure is being established by driving citizens of our country into becoming refugees? Furthermore, the amendment has a clear opening for the state to assist private parties to acquire land. If a person (includes a company) has already purchased under lawful contract to the extent of 70 percent of requirement, the government can provide the remaining 30 per cent required by the project! This is "purpose useful to the general public" - a classic example of how the bourgeoisie uses the law to legitimise its interests. In effect, the Amendment Bill retains the right of the government to define public purpose and ensure that capitalists are able to acquire land "legally".

The Expert Group of Ministers set up in 2007 to look into the issue of land acquisition for SEZs advised state governments to avoid using the Land Acquisition Act to seize agricultural land, but rather leave it to the ‘market forces’, i.e. the private capitalist is free to offer a price and buy land from those holding it. However, the bourgeoisie recognized that “leaving it to the market forces” makes it very difficult for the capitalists, as they do not want to meet the demands for increasing compensation from those holding the rights over the land. So the 70:30 clause has been introduced. The government has retained right to acquire up to 30% of the land that is required by the private party wanting to acquire land, and then hand over this land to the “developer”. This means the private capitalist or SEZ developer and the government will work in tandem, to break the resistance of the farmers through “market forces” and if that fails, with the full force of state machinery.

The mandate against the Amendment Bill is unanimous among the people most affected by such land acquisitions across the country and among all those who stand for justice. People's movements have been spearheading the struggle against this Bill and the deceitful attempts of the government to table this "amendment" which is presented as a just alternative to the existing legislation. The people are saying very clearly that public consultation must be held and prior consent obtained before public lands are arbitrarily handed over to private ownership. The state does not have the unilateral right to hand over public lands to private owners.

The Communist Ghadar Party of India, and many people's organisations have put forward demands that include:

Immediate repeal of the outdated Land Acquisition Act and the SEZ Act.

Withdrawal of the Land Acquisition (Amendment) Bill.

Any future law that is worked out following these consultations must be consistent with the following

1. Right of human beings to livelihood and shelter are inviolable. 
2. Right of people to common property resources should be recognised.
3. There should be no use of force to acquire land under any circumstances.
4. Prior informed consent should be a right of all.
5. No project can be commissioned until all the affected people are suitably and verifiably rehabilitated first. 
6. Rehabilitation should be comprehensive and include housing, livelihood, access to common resources, etc. Alternate land of equivalent quality in the close vicinity must be granted to all persons who are affected by such acquisition.
7. Involvement of local committees should be ensured in the implementation and monitoring of projects, including the rehabilitation component.
8. People have to be compensated not only for the land acquired, but also for the loss of access to other common resources. Not only the owners of land, but those whose livelihood is linked with farmers, such as the agricultural workers, the artisans etc must be verifiably resettled and compensated.

There must be unrelenting and united militant opposition to any attempt made to hand over public lands for private appropriation by the rich capitalist corporations.