When it comes to using land, the picture isn’t pleasant in either of the two neighbouring upcountry states. As for Haryana, the government has been forced to put on hold its land acquisition policy which it thought was one of the best in the country, while the more fertile Punjab is grappling with an agitation in a deep-south belt where farmers are up in arms against “forced surrender” of their plots to facilitate an industrial initiative.
For all its trumpeted merits, Haryana’s land acquisition policy has raised many eyebrows for a while now. The government seems, too, lately seems to have realised it, as it is now waiting to sense the outcome of a pertinent Central legislation, thus forced to delay its decision on all matters of land acquisition in respect of Section 4 notifications it issued since February this year. A notification under Section 6, it now says, will be issued after the wait is over.
The government, though, claims that putting the land acquisition on hold would have positive implications. Farmers, obviously, aren’t convinced.
The Bhartiya Kisan Union does not endorse the policy. Its state leader Gurnam Singh believes farmers and developers -- not the government -- should be left to decide the land acquisition prices.
The Bharat Bhumi Bachao Sangharsh Samiti concurs. alleges government has no role in acting as mediator for others. “We can’t accept the government playing a mediator’s role on behalf of industries,” says its president Ramesh Dalal.
Farmers in Fatehabad have been protesting against the land acquisition for a proposed nuclear plant to be set up in the state’s southeastern district. Kisan Sangarsh Samiti that has been spearheading the movement now almost a year old. Its president, Hans Raj Siwach, claims they enjoy the support of around 800 farmers who together own 1,000 acres of land.
Such protests have also jeopardised the state’s plans for SEZ developers. They are finding it tough to acquire land for the projects. Navin M Raheja, managing director of Raheja Developers, concedes the developers are fast losing interest in the SEZ at upstate Gurgaon, where his company has plans to come up with a 100-hectare Raheja engineering SEZ. “Acquiring land in is the biggest challenge for us developers in Haryana.”
Even Reliance Haryana SEZ Limited, which is coming with a 5000-hectare multiservice SEZ at Jhajjhar, so far claims to have acquired only one-fifth of the total land. Having sought extension for the SEZ approval till 2015 ,the company has urged the government to acquire balance land for enabling contiguous land parcel of minimum 1000 hectares so as to start development activity.
Stir in Punjab
A recent land acquisition by the Punjab government for an upcoming power project by private player in Mansa district has invited farmers ire. It may become a stumbling block for similar acquisitions in the near future. The farmers allege that they were forced to surrender their lands for the project by the State Power Corporation Ltd, which signed a pact with Indiabulls Power Ltd last year for setting up a thermal power plant in the district.
The company has plans to set up 540 Mw (2 x 270) thermal power plant, under the Power Generation Policy 2010 of the state. Indiabulls Power intends to set up three more units of 270 Mw each. The company has identified about 806 acres of land after this thermal project.
The government acquired 806 acres of land for the power project. The farmers allege that their land has been forcibly acquired and the compensation is far below the market price.
“The acquisition will affect 166 families and leave 66 families landless,” says Simranjeet Singh, a farmer. “We are not willing to part away with our land at any cost. About 35 farmers have expressed their intention to return the compensation cheques.”
Farmers haven’t accepted compensation for 171 acres. They have submitted an affidavit to return their cheques for 270 acres. While the remaining farmers says that compensation is not as per the market price.
At Gobindpura, in a setback to state government and to the prospects of proposed thermal plant, several farmers who had earlier accepted compensation cheques have now offered to return these, alleging that they were “forced” to accept the money. Seventeen farm unions are supporting the farmers cause.
The Bhartiya Kissan Union (Ekta Ugrahan) gheraoed the District commission office at Mansa, Amritsar and Jalandhar on Wednesday. “We are not willing to part away with their land at any cost,” says its general secretary Sukhdev Singh Kokri.
Prior to the unions, farmers were also protesting. Recently, a clash in Mansa district between the police and agitating farmers claimed the life of a person and left 50 others injured.
In a press release, former Chief Minister and Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee president Capt Amarinder Singh will launch the party’s movement against "forcible" land acquisition from Mansa on September 2. Demanding the Haryana model of land compensation for farmers, Amarinder said the farmer has to be compensated more than just price of land.
He added that Punjab can follow the Haryana model as it takes the long term interest of farmers into consideration. Not only does it guarantee market price to the farmers but they also get 33-year annuity with an higher annual increment in case the land has been acquired for the private company.
Recently, highlighting the trail of "repression" in the Gobindpura power plant land acquisition row, the Democratic Front Against Operation Green Hunt Punjab (DFAOGHP) released a fact-finding report on the "forced" acquisition and "repression" in Gobindpura. Stating the land acquisition process for the power plant to be set up by Indiabulls — as illegal, undemocratic and contrary to the policy framework finalised by Punjab government, the DFAOGHP demanded to halt the acquisition process and return the land to its owners.
The report added that whichever company was awarded the project, it should negotiate directly with the farmers and there should not be any interference by the government in the process.
Earlier, four private big thermal power generation projects have been cleared by the state government for which the state facilitated land acquisition by the private players at Talwandi Sabo (Sterlite Energy), Rajpura (L&T), Mansa (Indiabulls Power) and Goindwal Sahib (GVK Power).
