New Delhi:
The government has been searching for consensus on how to acquire land from farmers for public projects. Sonia Gandhi made her stand clear today.
"New industries and infrastructure cannot be built without acquiring land. This is obvious and there is no argument about it. But land acquisition must be done in a manner that it does not result into the loss of large tracts of fertile and productive agriculture land," she said at the inauguration of a thermal power plant in Dadri in UP.
The Land Acquisition Bill, dating back to 1894, allows the government to take over farm land for developmental and industrial projects with little compensation. The Congress has suggested amending the bill to guarantee market prices for the land that's being taken over, and to provide complete rehabilitation for those families who'd have to move out of the affected area.
Allies like Mamata Banerjee's Trinamool Congress, however, want stronger measures to protect farmers' interests.
Recent weeks have seen massive farmer protests as the UP government moved in to acquire land in Mathura and surrounding areas for Mayawati's Expressway project. The region simmered with tension for weeks, till Mayawati finally agreed to pay higher prices for farmers' land.
Sonia Gandhi's firm stand today amplifies the support expressed last month by her son for tribal rights. Rahul Gandhi congratulated the tribals of Niyamgiri in Orissa for campaigning against giant corporation Vedanta, which was not granted permission to mine bauxite in the area. For the tribals, the Niyamgiri Mountain is sacred; this region is also their only habitat. Gandhi said that while he would always remain "your soldier in Delhi," it was the tribals who had won their battle with courage and non-violence.
With the Gandhis setting the tone, the Congress will likely head towards a greater pro-farmer till in the changes it is proposing to the Land Acquisition Bill. Analysts point to the Bihar elections next month as the catalyst.
In her speech today, Gandhi also stressed, "In whatever we do, we must not forget that our forest and mountains, majestic rivers and all other water sources. We have a responsibility to preserve them for coming generation."
It was a statement that seemed at odds with what Prime Minister Manmohan Singh recently said, ''We cannot protect the environment of this country by perpetuating poverty." And it sounded even more incongruous, delivered as it were at the opening of a thermal power project.