New Delhi: Seeking a more stringent law on
land acquisition to protect the interest of farmers, RLD
President Ajit Singh on Tuesday claimed he has garnered support of
some Opposition parties including the Left to pressurise the
Centre over the issue during the Budget session of Parliament.
Singh said the Land Acquisition Act 1894 does not have
enough provisions in matter of acquiring cultivable land and
demanded that the archaic law be scrapped.
Moreover, he said that the definition of national
interest is very wide and vague in the current Act, which
enables governments all over the country to acquire lands
citing national interest reasons.
"I have prepared a draft proposal in which there are
checks and balances for acquiring fertile land, akin to those
required when acquiring forest land," the Rashtriya Lok Dal
chief told reporters here.
"The alternative bill, which I am preparing right now
will have proper definition of national interest and also have
provisions for proper price fixation of land, to be given to
farmers in return of acquisition of their lands," Singh said.
The RLD chief said that the Centre had long back tried to
bring in a bill for replacing the existing law, but it could
not come through.
Singh said his party seeks to make rules for acquiring
cultivable land more stringent so that it can be done only if
reasons for such an acquisition are well defined.
"I had met CPI(M) general secretary Prakash Karat
recently and held a meeting with CPI general secretary A B
Bardhan too. Both the leaders are unanimous about changing the
archaic law," Singh said.
The Jat leader, who had spearheaded a campaign on
sugarcane prices late last year by stalling Parliament and
with the help of a unified Opposition had forced the UPA to
amend the ordinance on sugarcane prices, said if the need
arises he may again take the same route to get the law
scrapped.
Singh alleged the UP government has acquired land citing
certain provisions in the existing law which allows
acquisition of land on an "emergency" basis.
"I would like to know what kind of an emergency situation
had arisen which prompted the state government to use such
provisions for acquiring land of villagers," he said.
"The Uttar Pradesh government is acquiring thousand of
acres of land around Yamuna basin for constructing the Yamuna
Expressway and also for setting up hi-tech cities. The state
government plans to acquire land from 2,000 villages around
Noida, Ghaziabad and Bulandshahar for the purpose," he said.
The MP from Baghpat said most of the land which has been
and is being acquired by the UP government for its projects,
is cultivable land and contributes to around 25 per cent of
the country's total potato produce.
Singh said he would be meeting JD(U) chief Sharad Yadav,
Orissa CM Naveen Patnaik and TDP chief Chandrababu Naidu in
next few days for building greater consensus over the issue.
Singh hinted that he would also pressurise the Centre
over price rise issue along with Opposition parties.
PTI
First Published: Tuesday, February 09, 2010, 18:06