'We are in a state of emergency'

Q&A/ Aruna Roy, founder, Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sangathan

Aruna Roy, one of the founders of the Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sangathan and a former member of the National Advisory Council who recently took part in the Jan Adhikar Yatra through Rajasthan, tells Prasad Nichenametla that the government's approach on SEZ and jatropha farming has been "undemocratic"

What led to the Jan Adhikar Yatra in which you took part recently?

In Rajasthan, there are several policies pursued by the state government against the common people's interest.

While land is being acquired for special economic zones (SEZs), the government is also allotting wastelands and degraded forest lands on commercial scale for jatropha cultivation.

These processes involve no dialogue with the people who would lose their land and livelihoods.

The state is also amending the Rajasthan Land Tenancy Act, 1955, to facilitate land transfer from Dalits to non-Dalits, which would take away the land holdings of the former.

There are also concerns about improper implementation of the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA) and the Right to Information Act (RTI).

So, to know the problems of the people and make them interact on these issues, we organised the Jan Adhikar Yatra.

The basic idea is while opposing the undemocratic manner in which the government makes some policy decisions, we want to initiate a discussion among the general people, the intelligentsia and the political class.

What kind of response did you receive from the Yatra?

A state-wide procession started on August 9 from Alwar, Tonk, Ajmer and Sikar towns to converge in Jaipur after interacting with villagers on the way.

The marches were followed by a discussion till August 26 where people took part in large numbers. About 1,300 km were covered by 500 padyatris (processionists) who travelled through 800 villages. The yatra was supported by about 50 organisations.

What about the issue of land acquisition by SEZs?

The Centre has approved the SEZ Act in just two days, without taking into consideration concerns expressed by various quarters.

This only reflects the government's reluctance to involve a democratic discussion on a sensitive issue like land acquisition and displacement of the marginal sections. Only after the Nandigram episode, the government has constituted a Parliamentary Committee to look into the issue.

The same applies to Jatropha cultivation, regarding which the state cabinet has approved a policy to acquire huge tracts of land for companies to cultivate the plants. However, even representatives of the ruling party were not aware of the process.

Under the movement, we would like to know how viable are the projects like SEZs or Jatropha cultivation and how they would benefit the poor.

Are you satisfied with the NREGA?

I think the NREGA is better than any other employment generation programme in the country. While it has achieved around 60 per cent success, a lot more has to be done with a better participation of people.

But the pace of the Act is a bit slow. It is being implemented only in 330 districts, out of which 130 districts will get it in this financial year.

Social audit is a better way to share ideas and solutions and make the Act a big success. While it has shown positive results in Rajasthan and Andhra Pradesh, it seems the government lacks the space and time to take it to the national level. We need better infrastructure for better implementation.

What do you think about the implementation of the RTI? Will the Act with its present content be able to deliver perfectly?

I think the Act in its present form can deliver on its promise. But the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT), the nodal body servicing the Act and the Central Information Commission, is letting some vested interests play their part.

The DoPT website is still carrying the section on file notings. I think the RTI should be brought under some other ministries like the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting to make it free from such interventions.

What is your opinion about the Indo-US civilian nuclear deal?

I think the deal paves way for the imperialist forces like the United States to walk into the country. We are against the deal, and I am also a signatory to the memorandum submitted to the Centre demanding that the deal be stalled.

What are your plans? Your opinions on the course of people's movements in the country?

I think we have reached a point where there is a severe unrest over government policies and the overall democratic set-up. There are attempts to curtail the freedom of the citizens. We are in a state of emergency without being aware of it.

There is a dire need to save democratic spaces, whether it is the lack of space to hold protest in Jaipur or the lack of public participation in policy formulation.

This padyatra was the beginning of a long struggle to regain a voice in the decision-making process. I would continue my struggle for people's rights in all forms.