JOIN USFor countless years, farmers have been the backbone of the country, feeding entire country. Now, the NDA government’s steps to bring amendments to the Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Bill 2013 (LARR Bill) is giving an impression that the government is taking us back to the era of draconian British Land Acquisition Act 1894, which prevailed in the country till 2013.
If this is ratified, again millions of poor farmers will lose their precious land to the corporates without rehabilitation and resettlement. The future of the farming industry is doomed and India’s position as a leading food producer will decline.
Details of the proposed amendments to the LARR Bill are implicit and even have been held outside the purview of the RTI. While post-independence land-reforms strived to redistribute land from the clutches of zamindars to the poor, new policies seem to be snatching these lands back and given to the modern-day zamindars - the corporates.
Any policy at this hour is a double edged sword with diverse socio-politico-demographic structure of the country on one side and the need for fast industrial growth on the other side. Policy makers must understand ground realities of the country before enacting any law which would affect the entire course of the country as well as its vast population.
Nearly 117 million agricultural holdings in India are small with an average holding size of 1.16 hectares. While this land is minuscule for big projects, it is the whole world or an ecosystem for the farmer, as this land includes additional valuable assets like house, wells, bore wells, cattle sheds, livestock, trees, place of worship, cemetery for his ancestors and bullock carts, etc. When he loses this land, he loses his entire world or ecosystem.
As such, the government stamp duty rate or circle rate for lands do not represent actual market rate and even four times market rate will not fetch him the same size of land in other regions. Most of these farmers are illiterate and unskilled and they cannot compete against educated, skilled class and, therefore, they should be rehabilitated appropriately, provide a job and a pension to compensate loss of future crop income.
Now, the urban population is growing faster than the rural population, which is about 68 per cent, and a crossover point is expected to be around the year 2045. Growing urbanisation is going to shrink the agricultural land base and in the last decade alone, 2.57 million hectare of agriculture land has been lost to non-agricultural purposes.
Unscientific agricultural methods, depletion of water sources, climate changes and industrialisation are also contributing to the dwindling agricultural land. At this rapidity, by next century, there will be no useful agricultural land available in the country. All the achievements of the green revolution will be lost and the country may have to re-start importing the food like earlier. Already, India has one-quarter of the world’s food insecure people.
Even though it is rapidly falling, agriculture sector is still making a significant contribution to the national income and is the single largest private sector occupation providing livelihood to 65 per cent population.
While it supplies raw material to many industries, it is a market for many industrial products. Huge revenue comes from allied activities like livestock and transportation of agricultural products. Indian agriculture has cost advantage and its related goods contribute about 38 per cent of country’s total exports.
Growing food insecurity
The country needs land for infrastructure, manufacturing units and public utility institutions which everyone uses. At the same time, rehabilitation of deprived families, concerns of increasing population with growing food insecurity due to shrinking agricultural land base and employment concerns of agriculture labour released due to land diversion should be addressed. Rather, there should be synergy between both the sectors. With this background, the policy makers can take the following steps to create a win-win situation for all.
First, a Cadastral Land Census should be conducted and digital legal ownerships should be established. All the land acquired earlier, but unused or misused, and benami lands should be acquired. A cap should be put on the amount of the land that can be acquired depending on the region, quality and importance. Social Impact Assessment should be the rule rather than exception irrespective of the size of the land, as India is a country of diverse, unique and indigenous culture and traditions.
There are many legal loopholes in land ownerships and acquisition policies through which the mighty and influential can acquire the land by deceit, force, coercion or blackmailing and it should be addressed immediately.
To ensure sustainable growth in the country, there is a need for a prudent land use policy which should be integrated with overall all development of the country, holistic approach to rural areas, natural resource management and eco-restoration.
Any deviation from this will witness countless suicides, shrinking agricultural land areas and rampant food shortages. We need to wake up to the warning bell and save India from those whose vested interest is self-monetisation of few people in this vast country.
(The writer is Professor, Basave-shwara Medical College & Hospital, Chitradurga, Karnataka)