Sreelatha Menon’s piece “These farms are not for sale” (August 29) simplifies a complex socio-economic problem of land management by converting it into an urban versus rural issue.
The process of converting agricultural land for industrial and/or urban development is an integral part of the wider economic development process. The crux of the matter is the need to move a vast proportion of the Indian population away from its dependence on sustenance agriculture to more productive industrial and services activities as well as from rural/hinterland to urban/developed habitats. This requires multi-pronged strategies (well known to “experts” in entities such as the Planning Commission). At the same time, access to economic opportunities, typically concentrated in urban areas, needs to be enhanced through vastly improved transportation and communication infrastructure.
Having lived in the rural areas of Aligarh district for two decades, I can assure you that there is not much pleasure in the “agricultural” life there. In spite of its proximity to the national capital, there is nothing to be proud of in the basic services of power, water, education and health in the area. The development of the expressway is welcomed precisely because it would enhance the access of these villages to Noida and Delhi and better connect them to the basic services and economic opportunities there. Already, thousands of people travel daily from the district to Delhi/Noida for employment, education and medical treatment.
True, coercion and use of state muscle power cannot be used to justify a private land grab. But the private company agreed to build the expressway (about which the villagers seem to very happy) only with the promise of being allowed to profit from real estate development, since the expressway will never make money on a stand-alone basis.
With millions of new urban residents likely in the next 20 years, the development of existing and new urban habitats is vital. Equally, with the need for our industrial and services output to multiply in the same period, the demand for well-located land will become more acute. Unless managed properly, this has the potential of creating Nandigrams and Tappals everywhere. Passing the land acquisition Bill can only be a beginning.
Regarding food security, the article is way off the point by portraying an alarmist scenario where the loss of a few thousand hectares of land could lead to food shortages. The real response lies in significantly enhancing agricultural productivity and for this a new “green revolution” is surely required. Finally, a correction: in Aligarh, there is no wheat crop at this time of the year.
Anshul Rai, on email
