JOIN USTerming Centre’s Land Acquisition Bill as anti-farmer, CPI Mangaluru Taluk staged a protest, in front of DC’ office on Thursday.
Addressing protesters, CPI Mangaluru Taluk Secretary V S Berinja said the new Land Acquisition Bill will help corporates, land mafia and builders and not poor farmers.
The bill will be a threat to country’s food security.
Raising objections to Centre's proposal to remove clauses mandating farmers’ consent and conducting social impact assessment before acquiring land from Land Acquisition Act 2013 introduced by previous UPA-II government, he said according to previous Act, if land acquired remains unused for five years, the same has to be handed over to original owner. The NDA government has removed this clause too.
He said farmers have been demanding repealing of land acquisition act passed in 1894. Accordingly, UPA-II had passed Land Acquisition Act, providing few benefits to farmers. As per Land Acquisition Act 2013, 80 per cent of land owners consent was must to acquire farm land. However, Modi government has cancelled the provision.
CPI DK and Udupi district Committee Secretary V Kukyan said their intention was to see justice was done to farmers. CPI will stage protest against anti-people, pro-rich and pro-corporate policies of Modi government. The social impact assessment is essential to know the impact of land acquisition, he added.
“The centre is planning to set up 18 industrial corridors, for which, 35 per cent of land needs to be acquired. The industrial corridors and land acquisitions will wipe out thousands of villages in the country, creating social imbalance,” protesters said. Prior to protest, a procession was carried out from Town Hall to DC’s office.