Land Acq-2013.pdf - Indian Social Institute

LAND ACQUISITION/SEZ – 2013 (January to December - 2013 Compiled By Fr. Paul G Documentation Centre∗ Land acquisition at 400% of market price mooted: Pawar (4) KOCHI: The new amendments to the Land Acquisition Bill seek to provide 400 per cent of the market price to the farmers for acquiring the lands for industrial projects, Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar has said. The amendments also propose to provide jobs to one member of the family or salary for 20 years, once the land is acquired. Inaugurating the NCP central regional conference here on Sunday, Pawar said that the amendments, to be presented in the next Parliament session, recommend consent from 80 per cent farmers for the acquisition of their lands. “If there is no consent from 80 per cent of the farmers, then the land cannot be acquired. Also, new rates have been suggested. We have proposed that 400 per cent of the market rate should be given to the farmers,” he said. One member of the family should be given employment in the project or salary should be paid for minimum 20 years. “The attempt is to discourage the conversion of agriculture land to non-agriculture land,” Pawar pointed out. Pawar said that it is the responsibility of the state government to ensure and implement the support price for coconut. There are complaints from farmers in Kerala and Tamil Nadu on price stability and decreasing prices. “Once the Centre fixes the price, it is the responsibility of the state government to ensure that it is implemented. If the price goes down, the government should intervene in the market and make a purchase. The Centre will extend support tide over the financial loss suffered by the state government owing to this,” Pawar said. Referring to the delay in implementing the Kuttanad package, Pawar said that the state machinery should ensure that the projects initiated by the Centre are being implemented properly. The Central projects have not been reaching the real needy, he said. On the occasion, Union Minister and NCP leader Praful Patel said that attempts will be made to revive industrial establishments under his Ministry, including Hindustan Newsprint Limited and HMT. An in-principle decision has been made for increasing the pension age in the establishments from 58 to 60 and to carry out the pay revisions. He assured that the NCP and its Cabinet Ministers would take all possible initiatives to ensure that the Kochi Metro Project is entrusted to the DMRC under the leadership of E Sreedharan. He also promised to expedite the procedure for setting up the Kannur airport. “A sum of around `1 lakh crore comes to the country from Keralites abroad as foreign remittance. Hence, the state should be given more importance,” he pointed out. NCP state president Peethambaran Master, MLAs Thomas Chandy, A K Saseendran, party leaders Jimmy George, Mani Kappan and Uzhavoor Vijayan also attended. (Indian Express 1/1/13) Land acquisition for East RTO hits roadblock (4) NAGPUR: Even as the political parties fight for credit over government nod for land acquisition to build a permanent structure for the east regional transport office (RTO), the proposal has hit a roadblock and the deputy RTO has started functioning from the premises of the city RTO at Giripeth. The state government had approved the long-pending proposal of a deputy regional transport office (DyRTO) office in east Nagpur on August 24, 2011, and had also issued an order to this effect. Sources said that the fight between Congress ex-MLA Satish Chaturvedi and east Nagpur MLA Krishna Khopde (BJP) has led to a delay in acquisition of land to start the RTO office in east Nagpur. "Now, with land acquisition becoming a major roadblock, the deputy RTO (east) has started functioning from the premises of city RTO at ∗

This is a collection of previously published news and views from the print as well as the electronic media, whose reference marked at the end of each news items. Department of Documentation and Library (DDL) of the Indian Social Institute, New Delhi neither claims to the veracity of the facts in the news nor subscribes to the views expressed.

Giripeth," confirmed a source. Khopde, who claimed that he had been pursuing the matter since three years, had also raised the issue through a call attention motion in the state assembly on March 29, 2010. He had also succeeded in getting a defunct NMC school building at Hiwri Nagar sanctioned for the east RTO office. However, Congressmen backed by Chaturvedi, who too claim the credit for the east RTO office, protested the handing over of the school premises for the purpose. Such that, in spite of getting approval in NMC's standing committee meeting, the civic body had to withhold its decision. Now, Chaturvedi has issued a statement claiming that due to his persistence NIT has agreed to provide 18,000 sq meter land in Chikhli area near Dipti Signal to start the office. According to Chaturvedi, the RTO will have to pay Rs13 crore to NIT for the purpose. Deputy RTO Harishchandra Gadsinh, however, has denied getting any letter from the government or from NIT that approved the use of the land in Chikhli for the office. He informed that the office is presently functioning from city RTO premises. "The inspection of vehicles is being carried out on MSRTC's premises in Wardhaman Nagar," he said. All this political games have increased the hardships of the applicants from east Nagpur. "For no fault of ours, we have to go to RTO office at Giripeth to get the work done," they rued. "There has to be a timetable in place for land acquisition, handing over possession of land, and completion of various phases of the new RTO office at east Nagpur. In fact, the government should ensure that the new office starts functioning at the earliest," said applicants. It also seems that the government had made haste in declaring the opening of another RTO office in the city. The transport department in Mumbai had sanctioned staff strength of 35. Barring the appointment of an in-charge, not a single employee has been provided to run the office. Interestingly, RTO S Shelke has spared 17 personnel including 12 clerical staff from his city RTO office in Giripeth. (Times of India 4/1/13) New industrial policy to create 20 lakh jobs (4) Mumbai: The Maharashtragovernment has approved the state’s new industrial policy which seeks to create 20 lakh jobs by attracting around Rs5 lakh crore in investments. The policy seeks to accelerate manufacturing growth and incentivises industrial investment in backward areas. The long-pending policy was approved by the state cabinet in a marathon meeting on Tuesday. The state has introduced changes in the SEZ policy where the land taken into possession for SEZ projects — which are in limbo due to land acquisition problems and policy issues — can now be used for integrated industrial zones. The new industrial policy aims at accelerating the manufacturing sector growth to around 11-12% annually and hiking the industrial sector’s share in the Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP) from 18% to 28%.This ‘Magnetic Maharashtra, Brand Maharashtra’ policy gives priority to micro, small and medium enterprises and seeks to develop industrial corridors on the Mumbai-Pune-Solapur, Mumbai-Nashik-AurangabadAmravati-Nagpur and Mumbai-Ratnagiri-Sindhudurg alignments on lines of the Delhi Mumbai Industrial Corridors (DMIC) and seeks to develop helipads in MIDC areas. The MIDC areas will allocate 5% land on priority to women, SCs, STs and self-help groups. The new policy also has a concept of ultra-mega projects with investment of above Rs1,500 crore and employment potential of over 3,000. Maharashtra’s previous industrial policy was announced in 2006. (DNA 4/1/13) Planners, activists seek focus on urban land acquisition (4) PUNE: Activists and urban planners have demanded that the central government should amend proposed land acquisition Bill to incorporate provisions focusing on urban areas or else introduce separate Bill for urban vicinities. Right to Fair Compensation, Resettlement, Rehabilitation and Transparency in Land Acquisition Bill, 2012 proposed by the government starts with the introduction, "Infrastructure across the country must expand rapidly. Industrialization, especially based on manufacturing has also to accelerate. Urbanisation is inevitable". However activists and urban planners observe that the Bill focuses only on the rural land acquisition and rehabilitation and excludes urban area. "Apart from the proposed Bill, there should be separate Bill for urban areas which will consider the vital fact of increasing land value in urban areas. The government norms and rules for land acquisition should

move with time. Jairam Ramesh, minister for rural development has shown concern for rural areas, but the urban scenario remains neglected in the proposed Bill" said urban planner Anita Benninger - Gokhale speaking to TOI. She added that the issue if Bio Diversity Park (BDP) in Pune city is pending for years as the issue of compensation has become bone of contention. "Once you have laws giving confidence to land owners that they will get 100 per cent or maximum compensation, there will be no opposition to land acquisition" she added. Urban planner Ramchandra Gohad said, "Land acquisition in urban areas has become major issue. If the central government is not willing to bring new Bill, the proposed Bill should be amended and more provisions for urban areas should be incorporated. The central government should encourage Town Planning (TP) schemes in urban areas, which will facilitate urbanization".The McKinsey Global Institute report that states that the urban population of India would rocket to 590 million by year 2030 from 340 million in year 2008, and form about 40 per cent of the total population. Activists question the Bill for "neglecting" the issues emanating in the urban areas when it comes to land acquisition, resettlement and rehabilitation. Various organizations under umbrella of National Alliance of People's Movement (NAPM) led by Medha Patkar have decided to raise voice against the " negligence" towards urban issues in the proposed Bill. " The Bill and the comments by both, standing committee as well as ministry of rural development almost totally excludes and have unaddressed the situation in the urban areas, where there is no land acquisition, but eviction, brutal and unjust, for any and every elitist real estate development to infrastructure without guaranteeing right to shelter, right to life and livelihood" the NAPM stated in a press statement. The draft Bill states, " Where land is acquired for urbanization, 20% of the developed land will be reserved and offered to land owning project affected families, in proportion to their land acquired and at a price equal to cost of acquisition and the cost of development. In case the project affected family wishes to avail of this offer, an equivalent amount will be deducted from the land acquisition compensation package payable to it".However NAPM objects the provision. " The only provision is to compensate with 20% of developed land for land owning families in urbanisation projects, which is not with regard to the cases where land belongs to the government or private entities but people are evicted. We demand a separate section or a separate act for the millions of the urban persons and urban land from getting misappropriated. The Bill with the presently proposed content need to be called only Rural Bill" states the NAPM statement. NAPM members alleged that "rapacious" use of Land Acquisition Act 1894 by the government to secure land for "development" projects has caused over 100 million people to be displaced from their land, livelihoods and shelters. " The country is dotted with communities resisting State sponsored land grab which resonate the demand for a just law to ensure that there is no forced acquisition of land and resources, including minerals and ground water" said NAPM members. Activists said that if the UPA government is serious about addressing the conflicts over the land and other natural resources then it must listen to the voices of those struggling or else it will only aggravate these conflicts all across the country. " The need of growth, infrastructure and urbanisation can't be fulfilled on the graveyard of millions. A pro-people Development Planning Bill with complete participation of the Gram Sabha will go a long way in stopping the massive corporate corruption and lead to decentralization of power having an overall impact on the politics of the country" said activists.Pune's land acquisition moves at slow pace….. Times of India 7/1/13) Land acquisition for Posco fails to take off (4) Bhubneswar: Land acquisition drive for Posco steel unit project in Odisha's Jagatsinghpur district which was scheduled to commence from today failed to take off. "The work was to recommence today. But due to unavoidable reasons it could not be taken up. It'll start soon," Paradip additional district magistrate Surajit Das said. The land acquisition work had been suspended in the area since a violence in the area on June 10, 2011. The state government has already acquired about 2,000 acres for the greenfield project and required only 700 acres more for commencement of the project work. The district administration had sought cooperation of the villagers to acquire the required additional 700 acres of forest land for the South Korean steel major. The district collector last week had convened a series of

meetings with residents of Gobindpur, Gadakujang and Nuagaon villages, which are at the proposed plant site. The villagers had insisted on fulfilment of their demands which include adequate compensation, convening of meeting by the revenue divisional commissioner and initiating of efforts to restore normalcy in the three panchayats. Meanwhile, over 600 anti-land acquisition supporters led by Posco Pratirodh Sangram Samiti (PPSS) held a demonstration near Gobindpur during the day opposing the setting up of the proposed plant at the site. "If the district administration attempts to resume land acquisition work, we will oppose it and not allow it at any cost", PPSS leader Abhay Sahoo said. He said no environmental clearance has been obtained for land acquisition, court cases against it are still pending and none of the demands of the local people has been met by the government. (Indian Express 8/1/13) Maharashtra’s SEZ exit policy may not be successful: CREDAI (4) Mumbai: Raising doubts about the success of the new industrial policy for Maharashtra, developers’ apex body CREDAI on Wednesday said integrated industrial parks may not be successful as Special Economic Zones have failed to take off. “We wonder how the integrated industrial township policy will be successful where the SEZ concept to promote industries with a plethora of concessions has failed,” Confederation of Real Estate Developers’ Association of India (Credai) President Lalit Kumar Jain said in a statement here. The new policy allows an exit route for special economic zone (SEZ) developers, whose projects have got stuck due to issues like land acquisition or changes in tax laws by the Union government. “It is heartening to note that state government is trying to give some incentives to generate higher employment. The new industrial policy is welcome in that sense. However, the policy on conversion of SEZ seems to be going nowhere. Government needs to understand as to why and how SEZs have failed,” he said. It is for the Centre and state together that facilitated SEZ, to ponder over the failure of SEZ and take corrective measures to ensure that its aims and objectives are met, Mr Jain said. (The Hindu 9/1/13) Compensation for widening of NH in Doon district to be given soon (4) DEHRADUN: The special land acquisition officer Ranjana Verma has informed that the owners of land and buildings acquired for widening of the national highway in Dehradun district, who have not yet received payment against land acquisition should collect it within eight days. Failing this, the compensation amount will be considered disputed and deposited in the District judge court. Lands and buildings were acquired for the highway expansion in Mohkampur, Miyawala, Khairikhurd, Khairikala, Bhaniyawala, Kanharwala, Lacchiwala, Jivanwala and Athurwala (Rishikesh Tehsil) in the district. Verma informed that most of the land/building owners had received the payment against acquisition while those who have not receive this should collect it within eight days, failing which the amount will be deposited in the court of the District judge for which the land/building owners will be responsible. In order to collect the payment, they are required to present the original copy of the Khatauni, two latest passport size photographs, PAN card, passbook copy and affidavit. She further informed that a camp will be organised on January 15 at Harrawala Panchayat hall to disburse payment to owners of land/building acquired in Harrawala for highway construction. The eligible persons should reach the venue with the above stated documents to receive the payment. A similar camp will also be organised on January 17 at Khairikala Panchayat hall for the owners of land/building acquired for highway construction in Khairikhurd and Khairikala (Rishikesh Tehsil), she added. (Pioneer 10/1/13) Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee attacks 'faulty' business policy of Mamata government (4) KOLKATA: Days ahead of the Bengal Leads Summit much-touted investment summit by the Mamata Banerjee government in Haldia, former chief minister BuddhadebBhattacharjee on Sunday alleged that the state government's faulty policy on land acquisition and SEZ will drive away even the existing industries in Bengal. Bhattacharjee argued what good is a policy if it isn't enabling new industries in the state. "Infosys wants an SEZ status. Wipro wants it too. They are here for business. They have a reason. They need to export. This government will not allow it. So they will go to some other state. And to work in

these very companies, our boys and girls to work in these very companies have to go to other states. Why?" he said. "What good is a policy if it is not being an enabler (for new industries)? Industrialisation is the only way to generate employment and not a single new industry has been set up in Bengal in this one year and eight months," he said at a party meeting in Kalindi. "Take for example, Singur. It is a crematorium now. Why did we want Singur? We believed three sectors need to be developed in Bengal automobiles, steel and petrochemicals. Chennai and Gurgaon are the country's auto hubs. A Tata project, therefore, wasn't just about a single car. The ancillary units would have catalysed fresh projects. That is why I told them, even personally, that how can we give away 400 acres from the project site. The project couldn't have taken shape in less than 900 acres," he said. "We couldn't keep them. They went to Gujarat. Now multi-national car manufacturer Ford has also invested there. So have others. Chennai, Gurgaon and Gujarat (read Sanand) can do it and Bengal will remain in dark," the former CM added. "People were made to understand that the Left Front government only meant Singur and Nandigram. Your land will be forcibly taken away. We had acquired land here in Naihati (North 24-Parganas), Kharagpur and Purulia. Was there any land acquisition problem? People willingly gave their land," he said. Taking a dig at claims of the state that nearly a million new jobs have been created, Bhattacharjee said, "Where are the new jobs? To have a new job, one needs new industries. Has there been a single addition to what we'd done. Instead, many set up in our tenure are now looking for a way out of the state," he said. Using his Singur logic to explain the alleged lull in fresh IT investments in Bengal, Bhattacharjee said, "In 2001, we framed our IT policy. And since then, we'd created 70,000-80,000 new jobs there. Our youths are skilled and educated. Now I'm told that even the existing companies are going elsewhere. The office space price has fallen sharply. Where are we heading towards then?" "We believe the people will say the last word in a democracy. It is for you to decide the wrongs we'd done and the wrongs being done now," the CPM leader said. (Times of India 14/1/13) Under pressure, government draws up guidelines for denotifying acquired land (4) Bangalore: After facing serious criticism from various quarters, including from the Karnataka High Court for indiscriminately denotifying acquired land, the State government has come out with a set of guidelines aimed at preventing “unilateral” decisions to denotify land acquired for public purposes. The government has decided not to denotify any land of which possession has already been taken by the authorities concerned, and is laying down a set of guideline for taking possession of land after acquisition. Denotification of land, particularly during the tenure of the former Chief Minister B.S. Yeddyurappa, acquired decades ago had come under scrutiny from statutory forums, and the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) in its November 2012 report had pointed out that the State’s authorities had subverted a well-settled law that land cannot be denotified after taking possession. Also, a high-level committee, headed by an Additional Chief Secretary, has been set up for scrutinising all applications, pending and new, for denotification of land in cases where possession of acquired land has not been taken by the authorities concerned. The guidelines state that the discretionary power under Section 48 ((1), in cases where possession of land has not been taken, can be exercised by the government only in a “fair and non-arbitrary manner”. The government would also be under an obligation to hear the views of the company or cooperative house building society or agency or instruments of the State, for whose benefit lands were acquired, before passing orders on application for denotification. And the government should also hear the views of parties likely to be affected by the order of withdrawal from acquisition or cancellation of notification to withdraw from the acquisition of land. Similarly, guidelines for taking possession of the land states that the authority shall go to the spot [land] and prepare panchanama for taking possession. If there are standing crops on the land or buildings exist, the concerned authority should issue notice to the cultivator or occupier of the buildings and prepare panchanama in the presence of independent witnesses at the time of taking possession, and obtain their signature on panchanama. If the acquisition is of a large tract of land, the authority should take possession of land by preparing panchanama in the presence of independent witnesses and get their signatures on such documents.

Photographs, videographs and aerial pictures can also be taken to avoid alteration of land subsequent to taking over possession. These guidelines would be applicable for the land acquisition process under the Land Acquisition Act, the Karnataka Urban Development Authorities Act, the Karnataka Industrial Areas Development Board, the Karnataka Housing Board and the Bangalore Development Authority Act. (The Hindu 16/1/13) Bengal to have new urbanisation policy (4) Kolkata: With the auction route for land allocation unlikely to help realtors, facing acute land shortage for new development, the West Bengal government is set to bring out a new policy for land acquisition, meant specifically for land owned by private individuals or groups. However, much to the disappointment of developers, the government was unlikely to dissolve the urban land ceiling Act, one of the key demands of realtors, said sources. Recently, the West Bengal government came out with a new land policy for government-owned land, under which land parcels will be allotted for commercial use through auction route, against the earlier mode of a tendering process. Under the policy, land for housing meant for (low income group) LIG, poor or economically weaker sections (EWS) have been kept be exempt from auction. However, realtors are not particularly contented with the exemption. While on one hand, government unlikely to unlock much of the land for real estate development due to the limited size of state land bank, on the other hand the auction pricing might increase land prices, say developers. “The government-owned land is not sufficient in amount to meet the demand for housing. So the new land policy is not much significance for developers. We are expecting a new urbanization policy to address the issue, and have alredy submitted our demands,” said Santosh Rungta, a city-based realtor and former president of Confederation of Real Estate Developers Association of India (Credai). One of the biggest hurdles in developing new townships in West Bengal is the the Urban Land (Ceiling and Regulation) Act (ULCA), 1976. According to the Act, the ceiling limit on vacant land in a category ‘A’ city like Kolkata is 7.5 cottah or about 500 square meters. West Bengal is one of the few states in the country to have a legislation like the ULCA. The demand for repealing the ULCA was raised for the first time by Godrej Properties chairman Adi Godrej, at an industry meet within the first month of Banerjee taking over the chief minister’s office. “The new land policy is not likely to solve the problems surrounding land issues in West Bengal. We are optimistic about the upcoming urbanization policy,” said Pradeep Sureka, Managing Director of Sureka Group. In November last year, during a summit on real estate sector in the state, Bengal Builds, real estate developers had vociferously demanded lenient laws and sops governing real estate development in the state. However, Mamata Banerjee, chief minister of West Bengal, had ruled out any concessions to the realtors due to the poor financial condition of the state. The chief minister had announced the formation of a task force to examine the hurdles for urban infrastructure development in Bengal, with the aim to formulate a new policy on urbanization. Business Standard 17/1/13) Biggest land acquisition in West Bengal soon (4) Kolkata: The Trinamool Congress government, which has voiced its opposition to land acquisition by the state government, is going in for the biggest land acquisition drive after coming to power. A decision of the Left Front government in December 2010, to acquire 3, 600 acres of land at Gourandi and Banjemari mouzas of Burdwan district to build a housing project for the people evicted by Eastern Coalfields Limited (ECL) for its mining projects has been re-approved by the Commece and Industries Department, and the proposal will be placed before the state cabinet for its re-validation. "Minister for Commerce and Industries Partha Chatterjee has given his seal of approval, and it is going to be put before the cabinet shortly," an official of Land and Land Reforms Department told The Indian Express. The project will be executed by Assansol Durgapur Development Authority (ADDA) at a cost of Rs 2,650 crore. While the state government through ADDA will acquire the land, the money for the project will be given by the ECL. The then Left Front government could not go ahead with the project because of opposition by some of the land owners. As the 2011 Assembly elections were drawing near, then Left Front government, stung by

land problems, decided to shelve the proposal. The Trinamool government decided to revive the project after conducting a survey. "We have arrived at a tentative figure of providing rehabilitation to 40,000 families," said Antara Acharya, CEO of ADDA. The families were displaced by ECL's mining activities in Burdwan district. (Indian Express 23/1/13) Govt to review delays in Rs 52,000-cr Posco project (4) The government will review the delays in South Korean steel giant Posco's proposed Rs 52,000 crore ($12 billion) project in Odisha, which has failed to take off due to problems in land acquisition and regulatory issues. The issue today figured in a bilateral meeting held here between Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma and visiting South Korean Minister of Knowledge Economy Sukwoo Hong, in which the Korean side raised the issue of delays in Posco project clearance, an official statement said. We have been concerned about the delays and will be conducting a review. Prime Minister [Manmohan Singh] himself has been monitoring this project," the statement quoted Sharma as saying to the South Korean Minister during the meeting. It added that the South Korean side emphasised the importance of the project for enhancing economic ties between the two countries. However, no time line for the review was given in the statement. In June, 2005, Posco had announced to set up a 12 million tonnes per annum steel plant in Odisha's Jagatsingpur. However, land for the project has not yet been fully acquired due to opposition from the local people. According to Posco India's website, the project has now been divided into three phases of 4 million tonnes per annum each. "Phase I is expected to conclude in 2016-17. Phase II will be completed three years after completion of Phase I and Phase III will be commissioned within three years after Phase II," the website said. Of this, first phase is estimated to cost $3.7 billion (Rs 16,650 crore), it added. For 12 million tonnes per annum steel plant, Posco required 4,004 acres of the land. However, after Odisha government expressing its inability last year to transfer the entire land in one go, the company decided to scale down the plant size to 8 million tonnes per annum initially and now needs about 2,700 acres of land. The Odisha government is believed to have acquired 2,100 acres of land so far for the project. The South Korean steel major also requires green clearances for the project. On March 30, 2012, the National Green Tribunal had suspended the green clearance granted on January 31, 2011, to the much-awaited project on not seeking clearance for the entire project. The Posco project also includes iron ore mine development over 30 years (total 600 million tonnes) at captive mines located in the Keonjhar and Sundergarh districts of Odisha and development of related infrastructure. The company requires 20 million tonnes iron ore for annual steel production of 12 million tonnes over 30 years. (Business Standard 28/1/13) Chhattisgarh land acquisition, large-scale tree felling for NH four-laning sparks row (4) More than 55,000 trees are being cut on the stretch of 115 Kms from Aarang to Saraipali, not only affecting those in possession of the land and trees but also the environment as a whole. "Large number of farmers is losing their lands for compensation less than the market value or even the actual value of the land. Chopping down trees in large numbers, despite the state facing a lot of pollution related problems due to industrialisation, is going to be serious concern in the coming years," locals told TOI. Though the affected farmers and people would get compensation from National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) but their grievances are now taking a shape of protest with even more complaints. A group of farmers and others have formed a committee and submitted a memorandum to State Governor Shekhar Dutt, Chief Minister Raman Singh. They are also contemplating to take up the issue with Prime Minister. "NHAI and the State Environment Conservation Board are supposed to issue the EIA (Environment Impact Assessment) report to all the related departments including Public Works Department, Municipal Corporation, District, block and tehsil officers and also the Sarpanch of all the blocks. Being a Sarpanch, I have not yet received any copy of the assessment report while as part of the process, a copy of EIA is supposed to be produced to the Sarpanch," said Vinod Sinha, sarpanch, Pithora. As per the norms, EIA reports are supposed to be issued to the sarpanch before organizing the public hearing for ascertaining

concerns of local and affected people, but they alleged that the hearing was done in a hush-hush manner in the month of September, 2012 without issuing EIA and without taking the locals into confidence. Meanwhile forest officials in Pithora said the farmers and affected people were being compensated depending upon the size of the trees and land. However, they refused to divulge the details of the compensation being given for land and trees. Farmers, however, told TOI that though the officials claim that centre's guidelines are being followed, the scenario shows that the farmers are being paid even less than the actual value of the land as fixed by the Mahasamund district administration for the purpose of registration of land deeds. "My land of 1.5 acres, which is an irrigated agricultural land with grown up trees, has been put on stake due to NH -53. As per the Mahasamund registry rate 2012, each acre of my land costs not less than Rs 6.3 lakh, which would provide me not less than Rs 10 lakh if considered the market value. But the amount calculated by the government comes down to a paltry Rs 5 lakh! This mere amount won't let me buy even a small piece of land according to the market value," HD Ghosh, a farmer in Pithora said. More than 600 farmers are being affected with four-laning work of NH-53. "The rate of the land located on the right and left side of the road differs with thousands of rupees, per square metre. The farmers are not even aware of the rate, which the government has fixed for their lands," the agitating locals alleged adding that the NHA directly issuing the cheques to the farmers without having any consultation. The rate of the land has increased to 30 per cent in a year but the farmers are not even getting the actual value of the land being evacuated by the government. (Times of India 29/1/13) CBI files report on land acquisition (4) CHANDIGARH: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Tuesday submitted a report before the Punjab and Haryana high court on acquisition of land for a solid waste management project that had allegedly helped three influential families of Punjab earn around Rs 5.63 crore at the expense of the state exchequer. One of the families is alleged to have close association with cabinet minister Bikram Singh Majithia. CBI was directed to probe the matter by HC on August 8 last year. The CBI probe was ordered by the HC in the wake of a public interest litigation (PIL) filed by one Jarnail Singh and others of Mandi Khurd village in Bathinda. When the matter came up for hearing on Tuesday, CBI submitted its investigation into a sealed cover before a division bench headed by Chief Justice A K Sikri. After examining the report, Chief Justice ordered to seal the same again and fixed the case for February 28 to decide if the copy of the report could be supplied to the petitioner or not. The case of the petitioner was that the state government had decided to acquire some land measuring around 36.81 acres in village Mundi Khurd for the purpose of setting up a project. A survey of the land was conducted on February 10, 2010. Most of this land had been purchased by Yadwinder Singh and two other politically influential families on February 18 and 23 at a price of 1.59 crore. Yadvinder Singh was district president of Youth Akali Dal, Ludhiana and a close associate of Bikram Singh Majithia. On February 25, 2010, a report was sent to the principal secretary stating that this land was appropriate for the purpose. A compensation of about 8.67 crores was paid to acquire the said land. Counsel for the petitioners, advocate Ramandeep Pandher had argued that Bathinda MC has a site of 36 acres situated on Bathinda-Mansa road, however, the state dropped the idea of setting up the plant on the said land on the grounds that it was not possible to install the above said solid waste project on the above mentioned land as 40 acres of land was required for this project. "Strangely, in the same time the acquisition of 35 acres of land at Village Mandi Khurd has been recommended inspite of the fact that the recommended land was even less than 36 acres of land which was already available with the MC," argued the counsel (Times of India 30/1/13)

Odisha land takeover for Posco plant passes peacefully (4) Bhubaneswar: Land acquisition for Posco's $12 billion steel plant in Odisha's Jagatsinghpur district passed off peacefully Monday under heavy police deployment, an official said. "The land acquisition was carried out in Gobindpur village peacefully. There was no trouble," District Collector Satya Kumar Mallick

told IANS. "At least 10 betel vines were demolished and compensation of about Rs.13 lakh was paid to the villagers. The land acquisition work was complete for today (Monday). It will resume tomorrow," he added. A senior Posco official said his company expects to start work for the project once the government hands over to it the required land. "We are very happy with the development. We would like to continue our dialogue with the local villagers so that no unexpected incident happens," In Gweon Lee, general manager of Posco India's corporate relations department, said. Posco's proposed 12 million tonnes per annum steel plant - the largest foreign investment in India - is to come up near the port town of Paradip, about 120 km from here. The local administration claimed it earlier acquired about 2,000 acres of land in the region in 2011. It needs to acquire another 700 acres - mostly in Gobindpur area - for the project. However, villagers had been opposing the acquisition. The land acquisition in the village started Sunday, despite protests by Posco Pratirodh Sangram Samiti (PPSS), which has been spearheading the movement against the project since the company signed an agreement with the state government for the plant in 2005. Hundreds of PPSS activists Monday held a rally in the region against the government's move. "The way the administration acquired the land without the consent of the villagers is undemocratic. Police entered the village forcibly and beat up residents, including women and children. Police also forcibly destroyed betel vines," PPSS spokesman Prashant Paikray told IANS. "Our protest against the project will continue," he added. Meanwhile, opposition parties criticised the state government for acquiring lands from the villagers forcefully. "We condemn the way police attacked protesting women and children at the site. The government must withdraw police from the area," Dibakar Naik, state unit secretary of the Communist Party of India, told reporters in Bhubaneswar. He said the party will submit a memorandum to state Governor M.C. Bhandare in this regard Tuesday. The state unit of the BJP also accused the government of using force against people and said it will send a fact-finding team to the area Tuesday. (Deccan Herald 4/2/13) Govt to speed up land acquisition for Posco (4) BHUBANESWAR: Unmindful of the continuing protests against plans for Posco's project, the state government is moving ahead to acquire as much land as possible within a month for the South Korean steel major to begin construction work, official sources said here on Tuesday. Posco requires a total of 2,700 acres of land to begin work, said sources. At least 14 platoons of armed police forces have already been deployed in Dhinkia area to crush the seven-year-old agitation by villagers unwilling to vacate their land. "If needed more police forces would be sent to the site," said a senior government official even as the government's action is being seen in many quarters as illegal as the project does not have an environment clearance (EC). Sources said Posco has informed the government that since the project has been considerably delayed it would start work on eight mtpa capacity plant in the first phase itself. Earlier, Posco had announced that the 12mtpa capacity plant would be built in three phases. "The company has informed to begin works from construction of three roads to the site at an investment of over Rs 52 crore. Other ancillary works including the peripheral development programme would continue simultaneously," said an official of Odisha Industrial Infrastructure Development Corporation (IDCO). He, however, refrained from commenting when asked if the state government has the locus standi at this juncture to begin police operation for land acquisition. Posco's MoU with the state government, which expired after five years, has not been renewed. "We had submitted our new MoU draft to the state government more than a year ago. There were a number of disputes on various issues like swapping of iron ore, etc. All these problems have been addressed at our end. It is for the state government to take the final call for the new MoU," said a Posco official. "We are only waiting for the land," he added. The protests against the project continued for the third consecutive day in Dhinkia on Tuesday with school children participating in demonstrations and rallies while gun-wielding policemen patrolled the area. Nearly two dozen betel vines were demolished during the day and their owners were paid compensation cheques. Abhaya Sahoo, leader of Posco Pratirodh Sangram Samiti (PPSS), began an indefinite dharna at the site demanding withdrawal of police forces. Jagatsinghpur SP Satyabrata Bhoi accused Sahoo of inciting school children

and 'terrorising' people to join the agitation. Sources said the government has targeted to arrest Abhaya Sahoo once again if he continues his agitation. In the state capital, the Congress organised a dharna outside the Raj Bhavan. Party leaders met the governor and submitted a memorandum condemning the police 'brutalities' in the Posco area and sought his urgent intervention to stop such 'state atrocities on innocent people'. The BJP sent a delegation led by senior leader Ashok Sahoo to Dhinkia area to assess the situation. Referring to police action against villagers, Sahoo accused the government of becoming 'dictatorial to muzzle the voice of dissent in a democracy'. Prafulla Samantra, who had taken up the Posco issue before the National Green Tribunal (NGT) and got the final environment clearance issued by the Ministry of Environment and Forest suspended, described the 'land acquisition by force' as illegal and against the interest of the country. "An industry, more particularly by foreign direct investment, is not established through atrocities on people by the government. This is bound to send a wrong signal about the country," Samantra told reporters. (Times of India 5/2/13) Panel okays land acquisition for laying pipe from Bhama Askhed (4) PUNE: The standing committee of the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) on Tuesday took a step forward in drawing water for the city from the Bhama Askhed dam, situated about 40 km from the city in Khed taluka. The municipal commissioner has been given the right to acquire land for laying the pipeline. "The committee also gave a go ahead to generate funds for the project through the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission and the state government," said Baburao Chandere, chairman of the standing committee. The city is dependent on Khadakwasla, Varasgaon, Temghar and Panshet dams to meet its water requirement. Drawing water from the Bhama Askhed dam is one of the immediate options available for the PMC to meet the challenge posed by rapid urbanization. The civic body had prepared a plan to draw water from the dam and has sought financial help from the state and Centre. The option was first suggested by former municipal commissioner Pravinsinh Pardeshi when he had presented the civic budget for 2008-09. The city is expected to get nearly 200 MLD water from this dam. The first phase of the project will cost of around Rs 450 crore while the second phase will cost Rs 38 crore. The works of laying pipeline and creating water distribution infrastructure will be done using these funds. In another decision, the standing committee decided to allow purchase of petrol and diesel for PMC vehicles from private petrol pumps. The civic administration is expected to save about Rs 22 lakh per month on fuel expenses. (Times of India 6/2/13) Pro-Posco villagers demand land acquisition (4) KAHNU NANDA | JAGATSINGHPUR: Even as the anti-Posco brigade continued their agitation, in a major twist of events a group of Govindapur villagers met district Collector and SP on Saturday and sought protection to the betel vine owners who have of their own accord sold their lands for the project and urged for resumption of land acquisition in their village which has been halted since Wednesday. The villagers, led by prominent pro-Posco leaders Nirbhay Samantray, Ranjan Bardhan and Kishor Parida, met Collector SK Mallick at his official residence here and submitted a memorandum to him. They opposed any move of withdrawal of the police force from Govindapur as they apprehended that once the force is withdrawn, the village would come under control of the anti-Posco people and those who have sold their betel vines would be victimised by them. The villagers also urged the administration to restart the betel vine demolition and land acquisition drive. There are many more betel vine owners who want to sacrifice their vineyards and the situation is totally favourable for acquiring land for the Posco project, they maintained in their memorandum. According to the villagers, the Collector and the SP assured them that the police force would not be withdrawn from Govindapur and the administration would take steps for protection of the villagers from the wrath of the anti-Posco brigade. On the other hand, the anti-Posco agitation continued at Govindapur and its leader Abhay Sahoo’s hunger strike against alleged police atrocities on project protestors reached the third consecutive day. Meanwhile, SUCI leader Sadasiv Das

and Left ideologue Subashis Bhadra visited the Posco site and attended an anti-project protest meeting at Patan Hat. (Pioneer 9/2/13) Land acquisition to start again soon: IDCO chief (4) Kendrapada: Even as the government seems to have bowed out of the proposed Posco project site, albeit said to be temporarily, owing to the stiff opposition mounted by villagers unwilling to part with their farmlands for the South Korean steel giant, Odisha Industrial Infrastructure Development Corporation (IDCO) chairman-cum-managing director (CMD) has said most villagers are willing to forgo their lands and that work for the Rs 52,000 crore project is on track. "I interacted with many villages in Gobindapur and other villagers. They expressed their willingness to leave their lands and betel vines in lieu of proper compensation,"said IDCO chairman Vishal Dev, while visiting the proposed Posco sites at Noliasahi, Polanga, Nuagaon, Gadakujang, Gobindapur and other villages in Jagatsinghpur district on Wednesday. "Land acquisition work is going on smoothly in the project area. Posco needs 700 acres land in Gobindapur. The authority successfully acquired 2,000 acres in Nuagaon and Gadakujang gram panchayat two years ago. We will soon build settlement colonies for the displaced persons. Periphery development work in these areas will be started soon by IDCO," said Dev, who interacted with senior government officials during his visit. Security was tightened in the Posco site areas on Wednesday during the visit of top officials. District collector Satya Kumar Mallick who accompanied the IDCO CMD said, "The authority has already acquired 250 acres of land by dismantling betel vines of 51 persons and paid Rs 1.20 crore to the displaced persons in Gobindapur village under Dhinkia gram panchayat recently. We have temporally stopped dismantling betel vines. We have not completely withdrawn security forces from Gobindapur. Some security forces have been withdrawn as of now as the government requires their presence during the forthcoming assembly session in Bhubaneswar. We will restart land acquisition work soon after getting the green signal from the state government." The authority will organize a Rehabilitation Periphery Development Advisory Committee (RPDC) meeting in Jagatsinghpur shortly to sort out land acquisition, compensation, rehabilitation and other issues, the collector said. "We will also build a 15kilometer-long road from Balimara to Earasama for the proposed steel plant. The CMD directed us to speed up land acquisition work and construction of coastal road work," he said. (Times of India 14/2/13) It’s now official: Posco gets 1,701 acres of land (4) JAGATSINGHPUR: Posco has received 1,701 acres of land for its mega steel project near Paradip from the State-run Industrial Infrastructure Development Corporation of Odisha (Idco), which is the agency tasked with land acquisition for the project. This was revealed in the latest paper on land allocated to the South Korean company. Out of the 1,701 acres of land, 401 acres is non-forestland while 1,300 acres is de-reserved forestland. The Jagatsinghpur district administration has been able to take possession of 401 out of the 558.51 acres of non-forestland in the project area while 1,300 acres of de-reserved forestland had been freed from encroachment till betel vine demolition was put on hold in the face of stiff opposition by the people of Gobindpur last week, official sources said. “Idco has already handed over 1,701 acres to Posco, which has taken possession of the land,” confirmed official sources. Posco has also acknowledged this in a letter to the Idco, they said. Idco CMD Vishal Dev had visited the project site on Wednesday to take stock of the land acquired so far. He held talks with the district Collector and SP and is believed to have impressed upon them the need to ensure that land acquisition remains peaceful. Altogether 62 betel vines were dismantled during the latest round of land acquisition that had commenced on February 3 and had to be “temporarily” halted following opposition by locals four days after.Compensation worth Rs 1.26 crore was paid to the betel growers, the sources said. Adequate care would be taken to ensure that acquisition of the 900 acres more needed for the project is done with the consent of the people and without any violence, they said. It may be noted that Posco, which had originally asked for 4,004 acres of land for a 12-million tonne-per-annum (MTPA) steel plant, later scaled

its acquirement down to 2,700 acres and the capacity of the plant to 8-million tonne-per-annum (MTPA) in view of the difficulties in land acquisition. (Pioneer 15/2/13) Land acquisition for proposed cricket academy stayed (4) Bangalore: The Karnataka High Court on Friday stayed the notifications issued by the Karnataka Industrial Areas Development Board (KIADB) to acquire land for the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) for setting up a cricket academy on Nandi Hills Road near Devanahalli in Bangalore. Justice Ram Mohan Reddy passed the interim order on a petition filed by Lakshmi Gopal Makhija and others challenging acquisition proceedings initiated by the KIADB in 2011 after the State government in 2010 approved the BCCI’s project. Nearly 50 acres of land in various survey numbers of Kodugurki and Yemaranahalli villages of Devanahalli taluk was proposed for acquisition for the project, which include construction of a cricket stadium, training centre, gymnasium and conference halls. It was said by the petitioners that sports did not come under the purview of industry and related purpose as envisaged in the KIAD Act. Moreover, the notified land was classified under green zone as it is used for agriculture. The petitioners said that initially the BCCI had proposed its Rs. 303.93-crore cricket academy project at Ramanagaram, but it was suddenly shifted to this area. They have claimed that the government cannot acquire private properties for handing over to private societies such as the BCCI. Also, the petitioners claimed that they had purchased these properties incurring huge investment and the KIADB, which issued preliminary notification for acquisition in March 2011, issued the final notification in December 2011 without considering the objections filed by them and without providing a hearing to them. (The Hindu 16/2/13} Govt invokes land act it once opposed (4) NANDIGRAM: When in the opposition, they had dug up roads and culverts to protest against a notice from the Haldia Development Authority to acquire land for industry. Now in power, the Mamata Banerjee government has invoked the Land Acquisition Act, 1894 - which the Trinamool Congress chief has consistently opposed - to acquire land for constructing a 1km road in Nandigram at rates allegedly far below the market price. The 1km road from Nandigram to Tekhali has been planned to connect villages of Nandigram Block I, bypassing the busy Nandigram Bazar. A total 3.38 acres spread over three mouzas Nandigram, Gadaibalbarh and Tarachandbarh - will be required to construct the road. The CM had spoken about this project during her recent visit to Tekhali. The price on offer for each decimal of land under the notified area varies between Rs 7,000 and Rs 17,000. Prior to her visit, the land acquisition collector had issued a special notice to landowners of these three mouzas to attend the hearing to be held at the Nandigram panchayat samiti office. This came after the gazette notification on December 31, 2012, expressing the government's intent to acquire land. The acquisition notice has sparked resentment among some landowners who are unhappy with the low rates on offer. Some of them went to the East Midnapore DM office demanding market rates for their land and also 30% solatium on the price on offer. "We put across our views to the DM in a meeting at his office. But the administration refused to pay heed. The officers tried to browbeat us saying that the land is being acquired in public interest," alleged a landowner. Nripendranath Das, who owns a 16-decimal plot (dag number 243) under Gadaibalbarh mouza, wrote to the East Midnapore ADM (general) Moloy Haldar, citing the land rates in nearby areas as recorded in the land registry office. "While the government offers a maximum price of Rs 17,000 a decimal in Gadaibalbarh mouza next to the Nandigram bus stand, prices registered with the land office (dag numbers 243/770, 243/771, 243/772, 244, 228) are between Rs 1lakh and Rs 4.2lakh a decimal," he pointed out. Sheikh Sufian, the East Midnapore zilla parishad karmadhyaksha who led the Nandigram land movement six years ago, is not willing to buy the argument. "The prices were fixed after several rounds of discussion with landowners. They did not resent the rates then. I fear some of them are making such claims now at the behest of the opposition," said the Trinamool leader. Leader of the opposition Surjya Kanta Mishra is, however, not opposed to land acquisition for road construction. "Our stand is

clear. The government can acquire land. But the landlosers have to agree on the price and the government has to take up their rehabilitation," Mishra said. Haldar admitted that his office has received complaints over the land rates. "We will consider their case," he said. (Times of India 19/2/13) Dues not paid for land acquisition: farmers (4) CHENNAI: Farmers in Kancheepuram staged a demonstration on Tuesday demanding compensation for land they gave to the government for the Kancheepuram Bypass. According to G. Mani, one of the protesters, around 85 farmers from the villages of Keezh Ambi, Thiruparuthi Kundram, Sevilimedu, Keezh Kathirpur and Putheri had to give up over 800 acres of land to make way for the two-lane ring road. The Rs. 34-crore stretch takes off from NH4 near Vella gate in Kancheepuram and goes up to Sevilimedu. The road offers connectivity to SIPCOT estate in Cheyyar. Land required to make the stretch a four-lane facility has been acquired. The farmers said they had not receive dues of over Rs. 2.80 crore. They also demanded interest on the amount and sought compensation for the loss of their livelihood. The highways department said Rs. 2.80 crore had been deposited with the revenue department towards compensation for the farmers. Another protester S. Mani said the government had turned down their suggestion for an alternate route via Vedavalli river and Keezh Ambi lake. “Government officials told us the road had to be completed within the stipulated time and so we handed over our land before the compensation came through. Now they are making us run from pillar to post for our rightful dues. If they do not want to give cash, why don’t they give land as compensation?” he said. The bypass cuts across the lands of several farmers. Mr. S. Mani said a farmer in Keezh Ambi lost all his 30 cents of land. He used to harvest around 14 bags of chillies and rear pigs on that property. “He had taken a loan of Rs. 2 lakh from the bank. Now, he has to repay with interest. He does not have any land and badly needs the compensation. There are many such cases here,” he said. (The Hindu 21/2/13) Policy paralysis, land acquisition issues need to be addressed (4) Kolkata: Order inflows in the construction sector have been subdued for the last 2-3 years. Policy paralysis and land acquisition have been the key problems so far. This Budget is expected to usher in solutions – be it higher allocation across segments such as roads, irrigation, urban infra, ports, airports and power. To improve viability of infrastructure projects, industry expects MAT (minimum alternative tax) to be abolished for the tax holiday period. According to Sumit Mazumder, Vice-Chairman and MD, TIL Ltd, the road infrastructure sector has completely come to a standstill because of numerous problems with the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI). “In 2012-13, around 9,700 km of land was to be released but orders were placed for 1,100 km. Except in airports, not much of anything else is moving,” Mazumder told Business Line. In the port segment, the issue is primarily on funding for development of infrastructure across all major ports, with a focus on privatisation and implementation of technology. According to a senior official of the Kolkata Port Trust (KoPT), nearly Rs 20,000-30,000 crore needs to be allocated annually across all the major ports. “Last year, ports were asked to raise Rs 5,000 crore worth of tax-free bonds. But there were no guidelines on how to go about it. We hope there will be some clarity this year,” the official said. Dredging also has been a major issue. While nearly Rs 400 crore was allocated last year, market sources claim that dredging work was “unsatisfactory”. Allocations have to be increased with a focus on dredging. The other expectation from this Budget is clarity on availing financing for the sector. According to Hemant Kanoria, Chairman and MD, Srei Infrastructure Finance Ltd, this Budget should aim at expediting infrastructure development through non-banking finance companies (NBFCs). These companies, which are into infrastructure financing, are handicapped with rules being mostly in favour of the banks. In order to facilitate financing by NBFCs, granting relief from taxation (tax deducted at source) for those involved in infra projects should help growth in the sector. According to Kanoria, NBFCs are also subject to higher taxation since they are not allowed to provision their NPA (non-performing assets). The issue too, should be looked into. Other benefits (at par with banks) include deductions in income tax, abolishing amendments relating to MAT, granting greater utilisation of the

external commercial borrowings window. Revising hedging norms for NBFCs involved in the financing infrastructure projects too needs to be re-looked (from 75 per cent of the exposure to 100 per cent). Market sources indicate that the industry is expecting tax offsets from loss-making special purpose vehicles (SPVs). (Business Line 22/2/13) Govt allows IT SEZs to set up backup centres anywhere in India (4) NEW DELHI: The government has allowed IT and ITeS special economic zones to set up disaster recovery centres outside their limits at any part of the country, meeting the long-pending demand of the industry. Issuing the guidelines for setting up of disaster recovery centres (DRC) and business continuity plan (BCP) for IT/ITeS special economic zones, the Commerce and Industry Ministry said the locations for such facilities will be approved by the respective development commissioner. "The DRC/BCP location will be approved by the development commissioner (DC) on an application made by the SEZ unit. Such approval will allow the unit to relocate its operations, data and employees to the DRC/BCP location upon the occurrence of a disaster," it said. However, it said that as this activity is envisaged as a purely internal exercise to be carried out across branches of the same SEZ entity to ensure that business continuity, there will be no commercial activity involved and accordingly, no commercial invoice will be raised in such movement of data, operations and employees. "It was a long pending demand of the industry. IT/ITeS SEZs need such facilities at the time of any type of disasters. It will certainly help the sector," an official said. Prevention and creating data back up is an integral part of the sectors' DR/BCP strategy. "The data are regularly backed up at locations which are isolated from the main business centres to prevent loss in the event of a disaster. This would entail movement of data from SEZ to a DR/BCP location outside the SEZ and movement of storage media back into the zone," it said. It also said that movement of data from outside the zone would not be treated as exports besides a record of movement of magnetic, storage tapes and devices would be maintained at the tax free enclave. However, the unit would have to pay necessary duty on the tapes and storage tapes on which the data is being moved. It said that the back up location where the "devices are moved could be a location under another SEZ or export oriented units i.e. a bonded secured location".Further, the guidelines have comprehensively defined the term 'disaster' and has classified it into categories - natural and manmade. The manmade disasters include hazardous material spills, infrastructure failure or bio-terrorism. It has also provided norms for setting up of these centres by a third party client. The move assumes significance as out of over 160 operational SEZs, about half of them relate to IT/ITeS SEZs. (Times of India 25/2/13) Land acquisition bill to re-enter with 157 changes (4) NEW DELHI: The UPA government is likely to reintroduce the Land Acquisition Bill with a mammoth 157 amendments in the budget session of Parliament. Out of the 26 'substantive' measure the government plans to push through includes a provision that in case of acquisition for urbanization purposes, 20% of the developed land would be reserved and offered to the original owners at a price equal to the cost of acquisition and development. But as has been the case in previous versions of the bill, the finer details of such provisions will decide who it favours in the end. Say, in this case, the definition of what constitutes 'urbanization' has been left undefined. Government managers claim it will give flexibility to state governments to decide upon the matter. The case for protecting rights of tribals in Schedule V areas has also fallen in such a grey zone. Consent from the tribal gram sabha concerned may not be a must for acquiring their lands as state governments will have the option of getting consent from a higher level panchayati raj body, such as zilla parishad or the autonomous district councils - an easier task. Community rights granted through UPA's other 'aam aadmi' legislation, the Forest Rights Act, can be taken away by giving money to individuals but the bill fails to define how it will be done. It also allows for 'involuntary displacement' of Schedule Caste and Schedule Tribe families but suggests higher compensation for SCs/STs over other categories of displaced people. But the Centre is likely to claim that several of these 'flexibilities' are part of its attempt to accommodate the wishes of state governments

while reworking the bill. State governments have been given the powers to do away with the land-for-land formula in case of irrigated multi-crop or agricultural lands. Similarly, deciding at what threshold the resettlement and rehabilitation provisions will be invoked in the case of purchase by private parties has been left for state governments to decide. If the projects fall above the threshold, consent would be required from 70% of land owners in case of PPP projects and 80% of landowners in case of private projects but not other project affected people. The functioning of the critical R&R committee too has been left to states for a final decision. The states will also have the flexibility to decide the compensation amount for rural lands within a given range of market value. The upper limit on how much irrigated farm land can be acquired in each district would also be decided upon the discretion of the state governments. District magistrates will have the power to calculate market value in a more flexible manner. (Times of India 26/2/13)

Land acquisition for Posco resumes (4) DHINKIA (ODISHA), March 3, 2013: As uneasy calm prevailed after the death of three anti-POSCO project activists in a bomb explosion in Patna village on Saturday, the Jagatsinghpur district administration resumed acquiring land on Sunday for the South Korean major’s mega steel plant. The betel vines of three persons were torn down at Gobindpur without any resistance — many residents had fled the villages fearing police action — and Rs. 10.45 lakh was paid in compensation. “We have destroyed three vineyards. Land acquisition will be carried out on a bigger scale in the coming days,” Superintendent of Police Satyabrata Bhoi said. The administration said one person was also seriously injured in Saturday’s explosion. But the Posco Pratirodh Sangram Samiti, which has been spearheading the movement against land acquisition, has urged all political parties and rights organisations to carry out an independent investigation, charging the police with spreading a false propaganda over the deaths. “The police claim that three persons lost their lives while preparing bombs is rubbish. In the past eight years of our struggle, we have never taken up arms. In fact, bombs were hurled at the three activists, who were in hiding for fear of police action. As heavy police deployment was made prior to the resumption of land acquisition, project supporters got excited and executed the fatal attack,” PPSS president Abhaya Sahoo said. “The incident will not stop us from carrying forward our movement. We will intensify it, though the government machinery and hired criminals are being used to pin us down,” he said. As many as 12 police platoons were deployed in the area. Last month, the Odisha government destroyed 20 betel vineyards. Observers said the government was under tremendous pressure to complete the acquisition of 2,700 acres for the POSCO India Private Limited to set up the eight million tonne-a-year plant, which was announced seven years ago. (The Hindu 3/3/13) State government to take action against Industries acquiring private land without approval (4) BHUBANESWAR: Faced with criticism over its ‘inconsistent’ policy on land acquisition, the State government on Saturday decided to take 125 companies to take to task for purchasing private land without obtaining its decision. Revenue and Disaster Management Minister Surya Narayan Patro informed that 140 companies had purchased 5350.40 acres of private land in the State, but only 15 of these companies had taken due government approval prior to acquiring the land. “Only 15 companies have taken approval for acquiring 1876.05 acres of land as per 73 (C) of Odisha Land Reforms Act. Rest 125 companies have purchased 3474.35 acres of land without any approval,” Mr. Patro said. The Minister directed district magistrates to file cases against the companies those had acquired land exceeding ceiling limit as per Odisha Land Reforms Act. “Tehsildars who have fraudulently recorded land in favour of these companies should face disciplinary action. Besides, district magistrates should take steps to cancel record of rights settled in favour of the companies,” Mr. Patro said in a statement issued here. Recently, a draft performance audit report by Comptroller and Auditor General of India pointed out irregularities committed in land acquisition by industries. As per the draft report, Steel and Mines

Department had signed memorandum of understanding with industrial houses making commitments therein for land, water and minerals and thereafter allotted the same. The report had pointed out in eight out of 19 test checked MoUs-based industries in audit, administrative approval for acquisition of 1,745 acres of private land was given with approval of Minister of Steel and Mines prior to signing of MoU with the promoters, which was highly irregular and is indicative of extension of undue favour to private promoters. As many as 93 MoUs were signed by the State government with private companies between 2001 and 2012 for setting up of industries in the State. As of March 2012, 35,793 acres of land (25012 acres of acquired private land and 10781 acres of government land) was allotted to 54 MoU-based industries. After leakage of the draft report, sources in RDM department said, an internal investigation was set up (The Hindu 4/3/13) Govt not to acquire land for Posco from Patana village (4) Paradip (Odisha), March 6, 2013: Odisha government has decided not to acquire any area for now at Patana village where three anti-Posco activists died while allegedly making bombs even as land acquisition for Posco steel plant in Jagatsinghpur district continued for the fourth day on Wednesday. “Land acquisition was carried out and 10 betel vine plantations were razed to the ground at Gobindpur village with the cooperation of villagers,” Additional District Magistrate (Paradip) Surjit Das said. As many as 65 trees were also cut during today’s operations, he said, adding Rs 17 lakh would be paid to the farmers whose betel vineyards were demolished and trees cut. About 200 acres of land had been acquired since the current phase of acquisition began on Sunday, Das said, adding the process would continue as many villagers were voluntarily coming forward to hand over land. About 250 acres of land had been acquired during four days of acquisition drive undertaken last month, the ADM said. However, it has been decided not to undertake any land acquisition operation at Patana village for now, he said adding that earlier it had been made clear that no land would be acquired in Dhinkia village for the mega steel project. Three anti-Posco activists were killed and another was critically injured while allegedly preparing bombs on Saturday near a house at Patana village. While police maintained that explosion took place during bomb preparation, Posco Pratirodh Sangram Samiti (PPSS), an anti-project body, alleged there was a bomb attack by supporters of Posco. As land acquisition resumed on Sunday after remaining suspended since February 6, armed policemen in strength camped in the area to ensure trouble-free operation. Patna village under Dhinkia grampanchayat, considered the epi-centre of the anti-Posco agitation, continued to remain cordoned off by armed policemen. PPSS leaders said they would oppose land acquisition for the mega steel project as it would affect local farmers. (The Hindu 6/3/13) Differing with Mamata, MP quits as industry advisor (4) Kolkata: Differences with Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on the issue of land for industry may have prompted senior Trinamool Congress MP Saugata Roy to quit as advisor to the West Bengal Industries, Commerce and Information Technology departments. Differences with Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on the issue of land for industry may have prompted senior Trinamool Congress MP Saugata Roy to quit as advisor to the West Bengal Industries, Commerce and Information Technology departments. While Mr. Roy, who was entrusted with drafting an industrial policy, refused to comment on his resignation, senior leaders in the party said he had sent his resignation to the Chief Minister on Wednesday evening. His recent remark that “there is no scope to bring big industries to the State” because of paucity of land and the government’s policy on land acquisition was in sharp contrast with the claims of Ms. Banerjee and Industries Minister Partha Chatterjee. Both of them are maintaining that proposals for investments of over Rs. 2 lakh crore in the State have been made since the Trinamool came to power. Asked about Mr. Roy’s resignation, Mr. Chatterjee told journalists here on Thursday that he had “no information as yet” and “there is no difference between us.” Mr. Roy “is a veteran leader of the Trinamool,” he added. However, Opposition leaders said Mr. Roy had to quit for having tried to give the government some “rational” suggestions for attracting big investments. “The advisor lost his job for giving proper advice,” said

Communist Party of India (Marxist) Central Committee member Mohd. Salim. “What he said was correct but in the party [Trinamool] if something is not in agreement with Ms. Banerjee’s views then such is the fate people have to suffer,” Mr. Salim said. Congress leader Omprakash Mishra said many others would also quit their posts as the government had made very little progress in attracting investments. “The Trinamool government has neither a proper land policy nor a policy to attract industries. In this situation, is not possible for people like Mr. Roy to continue their work,” Rahul Sinha, State BJP president, said. Seven former Union Ministers from the Trinamool, including Mr. Roy, were made advisors to various departments in October 2012 after the party had withdrawn support to the Congress-led UPA government at the Centre in September. (The Hindu 7/3/13) Road Min mulling policy change for BOT projects (4) New Delhi: With several projects hitting roadblocks due to inordinate delay in land and environmental clearances, the Ministry of Environment and Forests’ submission to the Supreme Court on Thursday will pave the way for kick-starting pending projects. The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) has already been deliberating over a policy change for the Built Operate Transfer (BOT) projects mired in controversy over land, environmental and other clearances. The Ministry is considering inviting bids only after obtaining mandatory land and environmental clearances for faster execution of highway projects. At present, request for proposal (RFP) is given before getting these clearances. “All necessary clearances for a project have to be obtained before the RFP is called by the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI). “State related issues, in many cases political, also affect the projects. Before inviting bids, the authority will have to obtain the agreement details from State(s) which will obviously be backed by the Centre. For this discussions are at a preliminary stage with the Finance Ministry for a single-window system,” said a top MoRTH official. Inordinate delay in land acquisition, environmental, forest and other related clearances have become a roadblock in the construction of highways. In a written reply to the Lok Sabha early this week, Minister of State for Road Transport and Highways Sarvey Sathyanarayana admitted that development of highways has been a casualty of delay in land acquisition, environmental and forest clearances etc. Alarm bells started ringing in the Ministry after key players like GMR, GVK, Larsen and Toubro, backed out of projects citing inordinate delay in getting clearances. This affected projects nearly worth Rs 50,000 crore, and according to NHAI sources many more companies may withdraw from road projects. GVK Power and Infrastructure and GMR Infrastructure has terminated contracts for major highways like the Shivpuri-Dewas Expressway in Madhya Pradesh and KishangarhUdaipur-Ahmedabad highway last month. With big players exiting from major road projects, the officials also pondered over allowing an easy exit or changeovers for the developers from existing or underconstruction projects. The apex body of highway builders National Highways Builders Federation (NHBF) has written several times including very recently to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, seeking a direction to NHAI to invite bids only after acquiring land and putting other clearances in place. The NHBF stated there are projects where the NHAI is yet to specify dates for execution of work as there have been no environment and forest clearances. Several of them have problems related to land acquisition, they said. Peeved by the dismal performance in road construction, the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) early this week had discussed many issues and measures needed to resolve them. There was also a discussion over compensating the concessionaires in the event of delays due to clearances of projects besides a proposal that developers can change mid-way or be allowed to exit. “We are also worried about another situation wherein one developer is involved in more than one project and then makes an exit from most of them citing a financial crunch. They invest simultaneously in projects like power, roads, shipping, etc where there is a coordination problem and then they seek financial review from the Government in other stakes. This also hampers other projects and the Finance Ministry is reviewing the matter, especially for those involved in roads and highway projects,” added the official. (Pioneer 8/3/13) Mining experts demand review of draft land acquisition Bill (4)

Nagpur, March 12: The draft Land Acquisition Bill needs to be reviewed as land acquisition for mining and infrastructure projects is becoming increasingly difficult, say experts from Mining Engineers Association of India (MEAI). According to them, a simplified and easily implementable legislation is required with provision for adequate compensation to land losers. After the technical deliberations and discussions during a recently held National Conference on Mining, Environment and Allied Issues, MEAI, an apex body of mining experts have forwarded certain recommendations to the higher authorities in this regard. The recommendations include key issues of MMDR & legislation, Exploration, Mining Technology, Mineral Dressing, Environment, Forest and Mine Closure. MEAI sources said that the recommendations press for seamless process during grant and renewal of mining leases and transparent allocation of mineral concessions and coal blocks. The difficulties being faced by the mining lease holders in surrendering part of lease or for merger of two contiguous leases, should be looked into and considered by the state Governments and appropriate action need to be taken, the recommendations said, according to Indian Bureau of Mines (IBM), Controller General, C.S. Gundewar. The mining regulatory mechanism has virtually collapsed, sources said. Reports of illegal mining activity in various mining belts of the country indicate near collapse of the mining regulatory regime, one of the causes being non-appointment of qualified and experienced officers in different regulatory organisations, vis-à-vis the size of the industry and the number of mines in operation, Gundewar told PTI. The regulatory departments and administrative ministries should be strengthened by appointing qualified and experienced regulatory officers as well as legal experts in both at Central and State levels to undertake mine inspections and further follow-up action. There is an urgent need for simplification of procedure for grant of Environmental clearance and period consumed can be substantially reduced, he said. (Business Line 12/3/13) Affected farmers firm on opposition to land acquisition (4) Indore, March 12, 2013: The presence of ex-Depalpur member of legislative assembly (MLA) Manoj Patel bolstered the morale of affected farmers as they remained unrelenting in their opposition to land acquisition during Monday’s hearing on a residential scheme proposed by MP Housing Board (MPHB) at Palakhedi. Pointing out that the chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan had announced that the land would not be acquired against the farmers’ wishes, Patel reportedly said the officials would have to suffer the consequences if they continued with the acquisition in spite of opposition from tillers. The tillers also slammed the MPHB for adopting dilatory tactics in response to an Right to Information (RTI) application seeking documents pertaining to the project. “We sought certified copies of the gazette notification, governmental orders and other clearances after we came to know that there were some shortcomings in the paperwork. But they (MPHB) have yet to provide us with the documents,” said Rahul. He said the MPHB had promised to furnish the documents in three days during the last hearing on Monday. “But now they’re saying it will take some more time as nearly 1,000 papers have to be photocopied,” he added. Seventy-three farmers were served notices for the project proposed on 134 hectares. The farmers have, however, been strongly opposed to the scheme since it was first announced on grounds that large tracts of village land have already been taken for other projects. “Indore Development Authority has already acquired the land at Palakhedi for Scheme No 151 and 169,” said a farmer. (Hindustan Times 12/3/13) HC stays land acquisition for Kovvada nuclear plant (4) HYDERABAD: In a relief to protesting villagers, a two-member bench of the AP High Court on Monday restrained the state government from issuing any notification for acquiring land for setting up a nuclear power plant in Kovvada of Ranasthalam mandal in Srikakulam district. The bench comprising acting Chief Justice NV Ramana and Justice Vilas V Afzalpurkar gave the interim stay on land acquisition in response to a public interest petition filed by Captain J Rama Rao, a social activist. Notices were issued to the state and the central governments to file their counters within two weeks. The petition challenged the very idea of setting up a nuclear power plant in the area and the consequent land acquisition proceedings launched by the state. The proposed land acquisition for the nuclear power plant with six 1000 MW light water

reactors to be set up by the Nuclear Power Corporation of India (NPCIL) will take away the livelihood of scores of fishermen and farmers apart from making the area uninhabitable, the petitioner contended. "Since no clearance has been obtained from the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB), the land acquisition notification issued by the state is an exercise in futility," he said. Till today, the state and the Centre have not obtained clearance from the AERB but the state government is going ahead with its land acquisition process, he contended. According to the petitioner, the writ petition was filed in the interests of environment and the rights of the poor and innocent people and to get justice for them. The Kovvada villagers have been on a relay hunger strike since December 18, 2012 against the proposed nuclear power plant. The state government issued GO No 42, dated November 1, 2012, approving the notification for acquisition of over 1,900 acres from Ramachandrapuram, Kotapalem and its hamlets, Jeeru Kovvada, Tekkali and Gudem areas. According to the petition, the risk associated with the setting up of nuclear power plants cannot be compared with any other industry or project. In case of radiation leakage or accidents, the risk transcends not only local borders but also international borders. Further, the radiation can affect not only the present generation but also future generations, the petitioner said. The judge while directing the authorities to file their counters directed the state not to issue 4(1) notification under the Land Acquisition Act. (Times of India 13/3/13) "Not for forcible acquisition, but heritage structures are an exception" (4) Kolkata: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, while ruling out the forcible acquisition of land even for infrastructure projects, said here on Friday that there was no question of a “compromise” when it came to heritage structures, which are “national assets.” She was speaking at a function where the deed of the house in the city in which Sister Nivedita lived was handed over to representatives of the Ramakrishna Sarada Mission. Earlier this year, Ms. Banerjee had handed over the deed of the property adjacent to the house of Swami Vivekananda. The property had been acquired by the State government after it learnt that a massive construction had been planned on the site, which would obscure the view of Swami Vivekananda’s house. “I am opposed to forcible land acquisition. But these are our national assets…There can be no compromise,” Ms. Banerjee said. The Chief Minister said that before acquiring Sister Nivedita’s house in Bagbazar in the city, she had tried to negotiate the matter with the owner of the property and had been willing to offer up to Rs. one crore, but was refused. “At that time I decided that enough is enough. I asked the Land Department to start the proceedings to acquire the property,” Ms. Banerjee said adding that she was capable of being “rough and tough” when it came to taking difficult decisions. “If they [the owners of the property] want to go to court on the matter then we shall fight them in court,” she asserted. Ms. Banerjee also said that the State government will in no way interfere with the functioning of educational institutions run by the Ramakrishna Mission and its sister organisations. “There is a certain way in which you run these institutions from sunrise to sunset. Why should there be any political interference?” she asked. (The Hindu 15/3/13) Puri opposes temple admn’s move for land acquisition (4) Puri: Hundreds of activists of the Bhu Suraksha Parishad and members of the Puri District Bar Association led by Parishad convenor Surendranath Dash and Bar Association secretary Sarada Samal on Friday gheraoed the Puri Tehsildar office for hours and later submitted a memorandum to SubCollector Uddhav Chandra Majhi for onward dispatch to the State’s Governor. The activists have been agitating against the Revenue Department circular which asked revenue officers to settle all lands having lineage to Lord Jagannath in favour of the Shree Jaaagannath Temple Managing Committee and to delete the Marfatdar (intermediary) status from the land records. They flayed the circular, saying it amounts to contempt of court. They pointed out that s five-member Supreme Court Bench had clearly interpreted the status of the endowment of Lord Jagannath and that of the mutts. Besides, several cases in this regard are also pending in the Supreme Court for adjudication and this circular just opposes it, they said. The activists urged the State Governor to ask the Government to desist from taking forcible

possession of lands from the residents who have constructed houses and living there after buying the lands from the mutts with due permission from the Commissioner of Endowments. The residents would resist any such attempt by the temple administration to take forcible possession of the lands, they said. Many senior lawyers lambasted the temple administration’s “illegal” attempt to take all the lands from the residents on the pretext of recovering temple property. It may be noted that following persistent agitation by the residents the Chief Minister had asked a committee to examine the issue and address the difficulties of the residents. The committee had as its members the Chief Secretary, Advocate General, Law Secretary, local MLA Maheswar Mohanty and local MP Pinaki Mishra. While the committee was on the job, the circular issued by the Revenue Secretary and the RDC is illegal and aimed to defuse the process and to put the residents in difficulty, the agitation leaders stated. (Pioneer 16/3/13) Not for forcible acquisition, but heritage structures are an exception: Mamata (4) KOLKATA: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, while ruling out the forcible acquisition of land even for infrastructure projects, said here on Friday that there was no question of a “compromise” when it came to heritage structures, which are “national assets.” She was speaking at a function where the deed of the house in the city in which Sister Nivedita lived was handed over to representatives of the Ramakrishna Sarada Mission. Earlier this year, Ms. Banerjee had handed over the deed of the property adjacent to the house of Swami Vivekananda. The property had been acquired by the State government after it learnt that a massive construction had been planned on the site, which would obscure the view of Swami Vivekananda’s house. “I am opposed to forcible land acquisition. But these are our national assets…There can be no compromise,” Ms. Banerjee said. The Chief Minister said that before acquiring Sister Nivedita’s house in Bagbazar in the city, she had tried to negotiate the matter with the owner of the property and had been willing to offer up to Rs. one crore, but was refused. “At that time I decided that enough is enough. I asked the Land Department to start the proceedings to acquire the property,” Ms. Banerjee said adding that she was capable of being “rough and tough” when it came to taking difficult decisions. “If they [the owners of the property] want to go to court on the matter then we shall fight them in court,” she asserted. Ms. Banerjee also said that the State government will in no way interfere with the functioning of educational institutions run by the Ramakrishna Mission and its sister organisations. “There is a certain way in which you run these institutions from sunrise to sunset. Why should there be any political interference?” she asked. (The Hindu 17/3/13) HC stops land acquisition without finalizing resettlement area (4) NAGPUR: Granting respite to 11 farmers from Nanded district, whose land had been acquired for an irrigation project by Maharashtra government, the Bombay high court's Aurangabad bench has ruled that farm land can't be acquired unless the government notifies the affected and benefited zones as per law. "In the absence of declaration of benefited zone, properties of agriculturists cannot be acquired for resettlement purpose," a division bench comprising justices RM Borde and UD Salvi ruled while quashing and setting aside orders by subdivisional and land acquisition officers to acquire the land of petitioners. Digambar Langote and other members of his family had challenged orders of Degloor subdivisional and land acquisition officer on March 31, 2010, as per Land Acquisition Act, for acquiring their remaining agriculture lands for resettlement of project affected persons (PAPs) of Lendi irrigation project. This is an interstate dam being built by Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh governments. Some portion of the properties of these 11 farmers had already been acquired for the project. They contended that they themselves come under the definition of PAPs as per provisions of Maharashtra Project Affected Persons Rehabilitation (MPAPR) Act 1999, as their village Bhandegaon Khurd falls under the affected zone. However, the government initiated land acquisition without first resettling them in the 'benefited zone' as per the act, they argued. The judges, however, observed that petitioners are themselves PAPs from the affected zones, and their agricultural properties are being acquired for resettlement of other PAPs, without issuing a declaration as mandated by MPAPR Act. "The scheme of the act provides that PAPs

shall be rehabilitated in the benefited zone. However, the petitioners, who are themselves affected persons, are being robbed of their properties, thus rendering them landless," the judges tersely stated. The court further pointed out that persons from affected zone are required to be resettled in the benefited zone. "There is no publication of notification as required under Section 13 of MPAPR Act declaring affected zone and benefited zone. Although award is passed, the initiation of proceedings to acquire their land is illegal and in breach of provisions of the act. Since deficiencies go to the root of the matter, there is no alternative except to direct quashing of the award," the court held while allowing the plea by farmers. (Times of India 20/3/13) Two NTPC projects run into land acquisition trouble (4) BHUBANESWAR: Delay in getting physical possession of land and environment and forest clearances has put Darlipalli Super Thermal Power Plant in Sundargarh and Gajmara Power Project in Dhenkanal district of the National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) on hold, said regional executive director of NTPC (Eastern region-II) Malvinder S Soin, here on Tuesday. Soin said NTPC expects that the land acquisition for Darlipali project to be completed by July, whereas in case of Gajmara it may take longer. "For the Darlipalli project, NTPC has got physical possession of 90.66 acres of private land in Raidihi village and 1,115.46 acres in Darlipali village. The balance 69.11 acre in Darlipali village, 338 acres of government land and diversion of 34.47 acre of forest land are essential for the estimated Rs 12,850 crore power project, which would generate 1600 MW power in two phases. We have not faced any local resistance so far," Soin said. Similarly for the two phased 1,600 MW Gajmara project built at an estimated cost of Rs 11,400 crore in Dhenkanal district, Soin stated, "The section-4(1) for 796 acre private land required for the project was issued for the second time in June 2012. Section-6 notification is yet to be issued by Government of Odisha." Both the projects are under 12th Five Year Plan and expected to be completed by 2017. It takes almost four years to complete the construction work of a mega power plant after land acquisition. However, the responsibility of land acquisition for both these projects lies with the state government. Speaking about the other operational projects in the state he said, "NTPC eastern region-II has a present installed capacity of 3460 MW, which includes Talcher Thermal Power Station (TTPS) and Talcher Super Thermal Power Station (TSTPS) at Kaniha. Apart from the two upcoming 1600 MW Darlipali and 1600 MW Gajmara projects, NTPC is also planning expansion of TTPS. After expansion the total power production will go up to 1,320 MW, whereas at present its total capacity is 460 MW." "Fuel supply to TSTPS, Kaniha with 3000 MW capacity has been inadequate as a result the plant suffered a generation loss of 1586 MW till February 2013. Only 87% of annual contracted quantity (ACQ) of domestic coal for the station could be ensured so far," Soin said. Asked about the ash pond issue, which off late has become a major issue with NTPC's Odisha units, Soin said, "In this belt, we get coal which generates more than 40% ash. Disposing such quantity of ash is always a challenge. But we are presently filling up mines with ash. Hopefully, it would not be a concern in future." He also informed that NTPC is planning to venture into renewable energy sector. (Times of India 21/3/13) Officials told to acquire land for national highway by May (4) VIJAYAWADA: Collector Budhaprakash M Jyothi on Saturday told revenue divisional officers (RDO) to achieve land acquisition targets for national highways by April end. He asked the RDOs to coordinate with field level officers as well as officials of the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) to speed up the land acquisition. While the national highway (NH) between Vijayawada and Machilipatnam was being converted into a four-lanes highway, the Vijayawada-Gundugolanu NH was being converted into a sixlane one, the Vijayawada bypass into four lanes and Hanuman junction bypass into a six-lane highway, the collector said. "Proper negotiation is required to convince the land losers as it would be difficult for anyone to forgo his or her property," he said and asked the officials to be liberal in fixing the compensation. He said payments to the land owners must be made promptly. Most of the land required for the 63 km long Vijayawada-Machilipatnam road widening project has been acquired, he said, adding

that around 512 acres of land in 36 villages were notified for acquisition. However, the acquisition process in four villages in Vijayawada division and one village each in Nuzvid, Gudivada and Bandar divisions was yet to be completed. He asked the four RDOs to negotiate with the land owners and bring to his notice if they faced any trouble. (Times of India 24/3/12) Faces land trouble in Maharashtra (4) Kolkata: Trouble is brewing for Coal India Ltd (CIL) over land acquisition in Maharashtra, with land losers threatening to start an agitation for a hefty hike in compensation that was cleared by the state government a year back. The agitation, if launched, could impact work on close to 20 mines planned in the state. “Hundreds of affected land owners whose land was acquired by Western Coalfields Ltd (mining subsidiary of CIL) for opening new mines as well as expansion of projects are very frustrated over inordinate delay in getting due land compensation and employment to their dependents. They are even demanding their land be de-notified and returned to them,” S Q Zama, secretary general of Indian National Mine Workers’ Federation, affiliated to INTUC, said. INTUC has threatened to launched an agitation next month across Western Coalfields’ various projects and also at its head office at Nagpur if CIL doesn’t take immediate steps to pay the land losers revised compensation. CIL, through Western Coalfields, has 55 mines in three districts in Maharashtra. In April 2012, CIL significantly raised compensation for the land losers in Maharashtra, where the public sector coal major has about 20 planned mines and expansion projects. The compensation was raised from a low Rs20,000-30,000 a acre to about Rs6 lakh for every acre of non-irrigated, Rs8 lakh for less irrigated and Rs10 lakh for irrigated pieces of land. “A meeting was held in September wherein it was decided to expedite the process of disbursement of land compensation with revised rate,” a statement issued by the mine workers’ federation said. (DNA 25/3/13) Narmada Bachalo Andolan activists want Maheshwar dam project scrapped (4) BHOPAL: The acquisition of houses belonging to 6,500 families affected by the Maheshwar dam project lapsed on March 11, 2013 owing to failure of MaheshwarHydel Power Corporation Limited in depositing required funds for award of compensation to affected villagers. Activists of Narmada Bachalo Andolan (NBA) on Sunday demanded that Maheshwar project should be scrapped in public interest, and the status existing before the construction of the dam be restored. Alok Agarwal of NBA said, "As per norms of the Madhya Pradesh Land Acquisition Act, under which the company signed an agreement with government, the land acquisition should start only after the entire amount which is to be paid as compensation to project affected people is deposited by the company but it was not done". Illegal acquisition was done for two years, he alleged. "As per the agreement the entire acquisition process was to be completed within two years failing which it was to lapse and government has also sent a show cause notice in this regards," Agarwal told TOI. In the meantime, M P Power management company has also issued show cause notice to the Shree Maheshwar Hydel Power Corporation Limited for cancellation of resettlement and rehabilitation agreement to the government due to non-payment of funds. (Times of India 26/3/13) 'Cases of 1,015 displaced persons in dam project processed' (4) Jammu: Jammu and Kashmir government has processed cases of 1,015 displaced persons in the Thein Dam project and has provided appointments to 242 candidates. Minister for PHE, Irrigation and Flood Control Sham Lal Sharma on Saturday informed the Assembly that Deputy Commissioner, Kathua has stated that the Collector Land Acquisition (Thein Dam Project) Basohli has processed cases of 1,015 displaced persons for appointment, till date. The Minister was replying to a Calling Attention notice by Jagdish Raj Sapolia in the House. As per information received from Ranjit Sagar Dam authorities, only 242 candidates have been appointed, he said. According to the MoU signed between the government of Jammu and Kashmir and the Punjab government, 15 percent of the entire personnel required for

construction and operation of the Thein Dam Project in all categories, shall be taken from Jammu and Kashmir cadres, subject to actual availability, Sharma said. It has also been mentioned in the MoU to provide immediate employment opportunities to the displaced persons from the Thein Dam Project and preference shall be given to them in the Dam's construction, he added. (Zee News 30/3/13) Empowered committee gives approval for land acquisition (4) KOZHIKODE: The empowered committee led by chief secretary has given approval for the report submitted by the purchase committee for acquiring land for the development of the Francis RoadMankavu Road stretch in the city, Minister for Social Welfare Dr M K Muneer informed. The project is included in the City Road Improvement programme. The purchase committee headed by District Collector has suggested sanctioning of Rs 33.86 crore for the project. Revenue department has issued an order sanctioning Rs 16.42 crore as the first instalment. Steps will be taken for the release of remaining fund, the Minister said. With the approval from the Empowered Committee, land acquisition for all the six roads under the project will be completed. Tender for the project is likely to be floated in June. The City Roads Improvement Project aims to develop six major roads in the city. The project got delayed after it was entangled in issues related to land acquisition. (Times of India 1/4/13) Plea against land acquisition sent to bench headed by chief justice (4) Ahmedabad,: A division bench of Gujarat High Court on Monday referred a civil matter related to land acquisition in Bharuch district for Torrent Energy Limited (TEL) to another division bench headed by Chief Justice while calling it a matter of public interest. The petition, filed by 10 farmers of Ambhel village in Vagra taluka of Bharuch district, challenged the acquisition of their land for the TEL without following mandatory rules. According to Balram Jain, the lawyer for the petitioners, a power line of TEL passed through the region and a parcel of land was earmarked for acquisition, which was cleared by authorities. However, after land owners raised objection to this proposed acquisition, the plan was changed without following mandatory rules like getting approval of the Union Ministry of Power. Subsequently, the power company started digging work on the land of the petitioners. According to Jain, the aggrieved farmers approached the Gujarat High Court, which ordered a stay on the digging work on their land. However, TEL challenged the stay order before a single-judge bench, which vacated the stay. The villagers then approached a division bench of the HC. Jain said the division bench of HC comprising Justices V M Sahai and S G Shah considered the matter and observed it was in the nature of public interest. It referred it to the bench headed by the Chief Justice, which hears public interest litigations. Jain said TEL was represented by Advocate General Kamal Trivedi in his capacity as a senior counsel. However, under the constitutional provisions, the advocate general could not appear for a private firm. "While referring the entire matter to the bench headed by the Chief Justice, the bench headed by Justice Sahai also left us at liberty to raise the issue of the advocate general appearing for a private party," he said. (Indian Express 2/4/13) Eviction for National Highway 47 work to be completed by May 31, HC told (4) KOCHI: The Special Land Acquisition Officer of the NH 47 widening project on Tuesday submitted before the Kerala High Court that more than 291 occupants residing along the Mannuthi-Vaniyampara stretch will be evicted by May 31. The Special officer appeared before the court in person and informed the court that out of the 39 hectares of land required for widening the road, 35 hectares have already been handed over to National Highways Authority of India. The remaining four hectares are occupied by more than 291 private parties. The authorities have taken steps to evict the persons. A Division Bench comprising Chief Justice Manjula Chellur and Justice K Vinod Chandran considered the case and directed the land acquisition officer to see to it that the remaining acquired land is handed over to the NHAI by May 31. The project director of the NHAI was also present before the court.In an affidavit, Thrissur District Collector P M Francis had stated that the Collector’s presence is needed only when forced eviction is needed. Land acquisition is exercised by an authority authorised by the Central Government, the Collector said.The

National Highways Authority of India meanwhile submitted that the repair works will be taken up immediately. The project director submitted that by April 10 a statement will be submitted regarding the steps taken to repair the road. The officials made the submissions on a petition filed by George Kutty Mathew of Panniyankara against the negligence in undertaking the widening work of MannuthyVadakkanchery stretch. (Indian Express 3/4/13) Govt gives extra time to 14 SEZ developers to execute projects (4) The government has given more time to as many as 14 special economic zone (SEZ) developers, including Cognizant Technology Solutions and Parsvnath SEZ Ltd, to execute their projects. At a recent meeting, the Board of Approval (BoA) headed by Commerce Secretary S R Rao, also allowed three SEZ developers to surrender their project. The BoA is a 19-member inter-ministerial body that deals with SEZs and the issues related to them. The minutes of the meeting held on March 15 said that the developers surrendering their projects have to obtain a certificate from the respective Development Commissioners that "the developer has not availed or has refunded all the tax/duty benefits under the SEZ Act/Rules...". The government has denotified the zone of Welspun Anjar, which had planned a textiles SEZ in Gujarat. The other two which have surrendered their projects are Best on Health Ltd and Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation, the minutes said. It added that the denotification proposal of L&T Chennai Projects "has been withdrawn by the developer".Further, the other developers, which have sought more time to implement their projects, include Gujarat Industrial Development Corporation, Cochin Port Trust and Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority. The board has given one more year to Parsvnath SEZ for setting up of sector specific SEZ for Biotech in Andhra Pradesh. "The Board after deliberations extended the validity of the formal approval for one year up to 21st August, 2013, subject to condition that the developer should start construction within this period," it said. Parsvnath's project was notified on December 20, 2011. The developer had been granted two extensions, the validity of which was up to August 2012. Besides, the BoA has given formal approval to UP Electronics Corporation Ltd to set up IT SEZ in Lucknow, which would come up over an area of 40 hectares. SEZs have emerged as major route for attracting investments and increasing exports. So far, 166 zones are operational. SEZs contributed about 30 per cent to the country's overall exports. Exports from these tax-free enclaves increased by over 35 per cent year-on-year to Rs 3.53 lakh crore during April-December 2012 period. SEZ units are eligible for 100 per cent tax exemption for first five years and 50 per cent for the next five. The developers of the zones also avail 100 per cent income tax exemption for 10 years. (Business Standard 4/4/13) Call to speed up land acquisition for airport (4) The World Malayalee Council (WMC) has appealed to the State government to speed up measures for the acquisition of 162 more acres of land near the Karipur International Airport for its speedy development. Leaders of the Council, who submitted a memorandum on the issue to the Chief Minister, said around Rs.320 crore allotted by the Airports Authority of India in 2006 would lapse if the acquisition was delayed further. All the other airports in Kerala had utilised the amount allotted by the airport authority in time for the expansion works, they claimed. The WMC leaders also called upon the government to think of a suitable rehabilitation package for the expatriates who returned to their homeland. The amount collected by the Union government in the name of emigration clearance should be utilised for the purpose, they added. According to WMC leaders C.E. Chakkunni and K. Mohan Kumar, it was high time the government took the initiative for assuring employment for the gulf-returnees in government and semi-government firms in Kerala. The State was quite unprepared to face the aftermath of the new Nitaqat laws which had an impact on gulf Malayalees, they said. (The Hindu 6/4/13) TDP to support agitation of SEZ-displaced farmers (4) TDP president N. Chandrababu Naidu has said that the party will support the agitation taken up by farmers displaced by the Kakinada Special Economic Zone and see that they get back their land

legitimately. Addressing a public meeting on Saturday night here in Tondangi mandal, he said that former Chief Minister Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy had converted almost all SEZs into real estate ventures and Vanpic was the best example. He alleged that Rs.841 crore mobilised through sale of SEZ lands were pumped into YSRC president Y.S. Jaganmohan Reddy’s account in a shady deal with Vanpic. He said his party would spare no effort to bring national status for the Polavaram project. Earlier, Mr. Naidu interacted with students, priests, and farmers of SEZ at Gopalapuram village. Senior leaders Yanamala Ramakrishnudu, Yanamala Krishnudu and others participated in ‘Vastunna Meekosam’. (The Hindu 7/4/13) Dharna against Odisha land acquisition (4) PANAJI: The Goa unit of the Communist Party of India (CPI) will hold a protest dharna in Panaji on Friday in solidarity with the farmers of Jagatsinghpur district in Odisha who are agitating to save their land from acquisition for a Posco project. Christopher Fonseca, CPI national secretary, said, "the dharna would be in support of Posco Pratirodh Sangram Samiti of Odisha," and had been called by the national council of the CPI. He said that CPI supports the people of Odisha who are struggling to save their fertile agricultural land and fiercely resisting eviction from their ancestral land for the past seven years. In the course of the struggle, over six farmers have lost their lives, several hundreds have been injured and thousands have been lathi-charged in the villages of Jagatsinghpur district. The villagers including men, women and school going-children have participated in this people's agitation. The central government and the Odisha government are acquiring over 4,004 acres of fertile agricultural land at Jagatsinghpur district near the Paradeep port which will deprive the people of their land which is the sole source of their livelihood for over a century, he added. The governments were acquiring this fertile agricultural land to hand it over to the South Korean transnational corporation which is known as Posco to set-up a steel plant and also to establish their own private port at Paradeep. (Times of India 12/5/13) Land acquisition bill to be brought in this session: Ramesh (4) Anand (Guj): Union Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh on Saturday said Centre will bring in revised Land Acquisition Bill in the forthcoming session of Parliament as there was a political consensus on it. "We will bring the revised bill in this session. All political parties want to get it passed," Ramesh said here. "States have given their suggestions and I have also met opposition leaders like Arun Jaitley and Sushma Swaraj and had discussion with them," Ramesh said, adding, all the political parties wanted the 1984 act to be changed. "Land acquisition was done forcibly till now and farmers were not given adequate compensation, but this bill will address these concerns," he said. "There have been cases where land (acquired for public purposes) has been utilised for building shopping malls or private housing societies," Ramesh added. The Parliament session will start on April 22. An all-party meeting was held in New Delhi on April 9 to iron out differences on the bill. (Zee News 13/4/13) Chhattisgarh land acquisition in Human Rights Panel's lens (4) Raipur: Land acquisition for the industries in the mineral-rich state of Chhattisgarh has come under the lens of National Human Rights Commission (NHRC). The NHRC held a two days camp sitting headed by its Chairman Justice K G Balakrishnan in Raipur that concluded on Thursday. The Commission took up 27 cases for hearing in the Full Commission and Division Bench Sittings. Six cases were closed after satisfactory replies from the State Government. The Commission recommended about Rs 20 lakh as monetary relief in different cases of human rights violations. Besides the issues related to alleged rights violation in the sittings figured prominently, the social activists also drew the attention of commission towards the industry-related issues in the state that had been emerging as dream destination for investors. The activists pointed the issue of displacement of tribals for the industrial projects. The activists said the public hearing for required clearances for the industrial projects was conducted under the shadow of police protection. They told commission that those opposing the industry had to face police

action. Even the activists were not allowed to speak at the public hearing. The commission recorded the views of the social activists and asked them to report specific case. The activists had presented a general picture of the situation that the commission wanted in specific and asked the complainant to brief the particular case of police atrocities on people opposing industrial projects. The NHRC has asked the Chhattisgarh government to submit a detailed report within four weeks on the reports of more than 7000 unwanted hysterectomies conducted by doctors in the state to claim money under the health insurance scheme. On the issue of alleged fake encounter of 17 tribals including four women on January 8, 2009 near village Singaram in Dantewada district, the commission said it was unsatisfied with the report submitted by the police and asked Director General of Police (DGP) to seek an explanation of the officer who conducted investigation. (Business standard 14/4/13) With 1,700 acre, Posco hopes to begin Odisha project (4) With the pace of land acquisition picking up and the Government announcing handing over of around 1,700 acre for the proposed Posco project, the Korean steel major has expressed hope that it would be able to commission the Odisha project by 2018. The company expects to be provided with all of the 2,700 acre that it has sought for the establishment of 8 million tonne per annum (mtpa) capacity plant in the first phase soon as the Government is poised to resume land acquisition. The steelmaker has stated that around 548 acre land has been handed over while the process of handing over of the recently acquired 1,700 acre is underway. “Work would commence immediately, once the physical possession of the land is obtained. The first two years will be for rehabilitation and land preparation works. Construction would commence thereafter and completed within three years,” Chairman and Managing Director Posco India Yong Won Yoon said. Despite the persistent resistance and problems in land acquisition setting back the country’s largest FDI by over eight years, Yong asserted Posco’s commitment to the Odisha project. The company had signed the MoU for the 12 mtpa project with an investment of `51,000 crore in June 2005. However, due to the opposition and delay, the project has been downscaled to 8 mtpa spanning 2,700 acre in the first phase. The first phase would comprise setting up of two 4 mtpa capacity units. The second phase of 4 mtpa would be carried forward after the remaining land of the total required 4004 acre for the originally planned 12 mtpa integrated steel plant (ISP) is obtained. Allaying fears that Posco may backtrack from its Odisha ISP if it is not granted with mining licence with respect to the Khandadhar mines, which is under adjudication in the Supreme Court, Yong said Posco India will act as per the law and rules of the country. “We expect the verdict to be in our favour. If it doesn’t we will discuss the issue with the State Government and will explore buying iron ore to meet our needs,” he said. On the issue of renewal of the MoU, which lapsed in 2010, Yong stated that it has submitted a revised document agreeing to the new clauses that include dropping of the export or swapping of iron ore. “We have accepted all the new proposals presented by the State Government and submitted the revised MoU in 2011. We do not understand why the Government is not making moves for signing of the agreement,” he said. On the question of going slow on the proposal of the State Government for investing `200 crore in peripheral development in the project site in Jagatsinghpur district, which included infrastructure like roads and bridges, health, agriculture, education etc., the CMD stressed that its should go on simultaneously with the project development works. “Once we get the land it will be easy to manage peripheral development issues. However, we have started work on infrastructure development like roads,” he added. (Indian Express 16/4/13) Parties reach consensus on Land Acquisition Bill (4) NEW DELHI: A broad consensus was reached among political parties on Thursday over the muchawaited Land Acquisition Bill after the government gave in to a key demand of BJP for 50 per cent compensation to farmers and sorted out certain other sticky issues. The consensus paves way for consideration and passage of the significant but contentious bill in the second part of the budget session of Parliament beginning Monday. "We have reached a broad consensus on the Land Acquisition Bill,"

parliamentary affairs minister Kamal Nath told reporters after a 90-minute meeting convened by him. Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Sushma Swaraj stated the same with a promise of not opposing the Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Bill, 2011, in Parliament. The Bill proposes the payment of compensation that is up to four times the market value in rural areas and two times the market value in urban areas. BJP wanted 50 per cent compensation to the original farmers whose land has been purchased after the introduction of the bill in Lok Sabha in September 5, 2011. Raising the issue in the meeting, Swaraj said the "land mafia" was in land buying spree in many parts of the country after the introduction of the bill anticipating that the measure will be passed soon and they can reap benefits. If it happens, the farmers who have sold land at a lesser price will not be benefitted from the Land Acquisition Act, she said and asked the Government to have a provision specifying that there will be sharing of 50 per cent benefit with the original farmers. Government also agreed to another demand of the BJP, which had suggested that instead of acquisition, land could be leased to developers so that its ownership will remain with the farmers and would provide them with regular annual income. The government agreed to amend the bill to provide for an enabling provision for states to enact laws in this regard as leasing of land is a state subject. The first all-party meet on the Land Acquisition Bill, which was held here on April 9, had failed to iron out the differences between the government and major parties like the BJP, SP and the Left Front….. (Times of India 19/4/13) Have a fresh look at Land acquisition Bill, Brinda urges UPA (4) VISAKHAPATNAM: CPI(M) Polit Bureau member Brinda Karat on Saturday described as ‘historic’ the Supreme Court order making the gram sabha consent a pre-requisite for going ahead with the controversial Vedanta project in Odisha. She urged the UPA government to take a fresh look at the Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Bill, 2011. Instead of rushing the Bill through claiming that there was a broad consensus, she demanded that it be referred to a Parliamentary Select Committee. She alleged that the Bill, seeking to replace the Land Acquisition Act of 1894, had been diluted at the behest of private mining lobby. Ms. Karat, who was here to attend a two-day national executive meeting of the Adivasi Adhikar Rashtriya Manch, told reporters that the Bill in its current form was totally unacceptable to the Left parties. “It is totally against the interests of tribals due to certain objectionable provisions.” She said the apex court order had substantiated their argument that the Odisha government’s decision to grant bauxite mining lease in the Niyamgiri hills to Vedanta and allow it to set up a bauxite mine and refinery in Jagatsinghpur bulldozing the struggle against it by tribals was ‘against the law of the land.’ (The Hindu 21/4/13) Land acquisition for Posco starts again (4) PARADIP: After remaining suspended for about two and a half months, land acquisition on Monday resumed for Posco Steel's Rs 52,000 crore mega project in Odisha's Jagatsinghpur district. Ten betel vine plantations were dismantled in the first few hours without any resistance from locals, official sources said, adding that payments would be made soon. Meanwhile, anti-Posco members belonging to Dhinkia, Patna and Gobindpur villages took out a procession to Phulkhai temple in Dhinkia where they held a meeting leading to simmering tension. Posco Pratirodh Sangram Samittee leader Abhay Sahoo, who is spearheading the agitation against the mega project, was away at Bolangir taking part in a protest against setting up of the Lower Suktel project there. "We have re-started land acquisition involving dismantling of betel vines this morning. The villagers are cooperating in the work undertaken by the administration," Jagatsinghpur Collector S K Mallick said. Two teams were dismantling betel vine plantations of consenting farmers in Gobindpur village, Additional District Magistrate ( Paradip), Surjeet Das said. The work, with the use of machines, was being carried out smoothly in groups separately led by tehsildars of Kujanga and Ersama, Das said. Another team was making a survey of trees and horticultural plants in the area, he added. Earlier about 250 acre land had been acquired before work was suspended on February

11 ahead of the Budget Session of the Assembly. The land acquisition had witnessed a nude protest by women at Dhinkia, while a bomb blast led to the death of three persons. (Times of India 22/4/13) Posco land acquisition resumes sans resistance (4) Bhubaneswar: Land acquisition for the Posco steel project near here was resumed on Monday. As many as 21 betel vines were dismantled as of now without any resistance and a total compensation of Rs 23 lakh was paid to the vine owners, official sources said. Meanwhile, anti-Posco villagers of Dhinkia, Patna and Gobindpur took out a procession to Phulkhai temple at Dhinkia, where they held a meeting denouncing the resumption of the land acquisition drive. However, Posco Pratirodh Sangram Samiti leader Abhay Sahoo was away in Balangir district taking part in protests against the Lower Suktel Irrigation Project there. Jagatsinghpur Collector SK Mallick said, "We have restarted land acquisition involving dismantling of betel vines this morning. The villagers are cooperating in the work undertaken by the administration." Two teams dismantled the betel vines of consenting farmers at Gobindpur village, Additional District Magistrate (Paradip) Surjeet Das said. The work, with the use of machines, was carried out smoothly in groups separately led by the tehsildars of Kujang and Ersama, he said. Another team is making a survey of trees and horticultural plants in the area while four platoons of police force have been deployed to maintain law and order, he added. Earlier, about 250 acres of land had been acquired before the drive was suspended on February 11 ahead of the Budget Session of the State Assembly. At that time, there was a nude protest by women at Dhinkia while a bomb blast led to the death of three persons. (Pioneer 23/4/13) Patkar doubts government's sincerity on land bill (4) NASHIK: Social activist Medha Patkar on Tuesday said the proposed Right to Fair Compensation, Resettlement, Rehabilitation and Transparency in Land Acquisition Bill, 2011, was an 'eyewash' by the Centre in the name of better compensation to land owners. The activist, who has been spearheading the Narmada Bachao Andolan, said the law would be applicable only if land was acquired under defence and cantonment act or for special economic zone (SEZ). "The Centre is preparing the act to offer four times compensation to land owners in rural areas. This is misleading because the compensation is applicable only in case the land is acquired under the Defence of India Act, the Cantonment Act and the Special Economic Zone Act. This will not be applicable for the land that may be acquired under more than 90 other laws related to acquisition. This includes land acquired for the huge industrial corridors being planned across the country," she said. Elaborating her stand, Patkar said the government had 'dropped' the SEZ plan and 'stepped on' construction of industrial corridors like Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor (DMIC) that set its eyes on stretches running into thousands of hectares. "There is no urban land available, while land in villages is plenty. The government has sought to lure the farmers and take their land to be an agent for the industries and real estate companies. Ones the land acquisition process begins, the voice of the farmers, Dalits and the tribals can be gagged," Patkar said. She alleged that since the lawmakers were the first to know about the government's plans, they were also the first ones to invest in land outside the margin so that they fetched better returns once the projects were completed. The deliberations on the law saw the parliamentary committee, led by Sumitra Mahajan, demanding that fertile soil be avoided from being acquired. But the proposed act that has kept the suggestions aside only has the mention of skipping the land under multiple yields. "This is disastrous as well irrigated lands belong to big farmers and they go for cash crops. The food grains are grown generally by smaller farmers were only single crop pattern is possible," Patkar said. The activist also said the inquiry by justice (retd) J A Patil into the Adarsh Housing Society scam "appears to be shying away from its terms of references that include bringing to records the modus operandi of the scam and expose the nexus between builders, politicians and bureaucrats".She added, "Though the report is yet to be made public, the information available gives a clean chit to politicians and find authorities in the dock. So either the bureaucrats have grown stronger or the politicians are forcefully attacking them in fear of the officials." (Times of India 24/4/13)

Law must have two faces (4) The land acquisition bill should address the concerns of affected families while considering industry affordability. Land acquisition has emerged as a critical constraint in India's industrialisation and urbanisation, given pressures on limited landmass for multiple uses. The new law for land acquisition and resettlement and rehabilitation protects landowners and affected families. It must also encourage investments and promote development to create necessary jobs and foster inclusive growth. The current draft legislation, the Right to Compensation, Resettlement, Rehabilitation and Transparency in Land Acquisition Bill, 2011, replaces the archaic Land Acquisition Act of 1894. Industry hopes that it will serve as an instrument to impart impetus to sectors like manufacturing, construction and power, which are large employers and critical for the Indian growth story. It is imperative to streamline the land acquisition mechanism in a manner that balances the interests of affected families with industry affordability. It is heartening to note that industry has been included in the definition of "public purpose" in the proposed bill, and that the government will help industry in land acquisition. The government needs to play a prominent role in land acquisition as purchasing land from numerous owners in a single tract is challenging for the corporate sector, especially in the absence of proper land records and with small, scattered landholdings. Equally commendable is the inclusion of public-private partnership projects for the production of public goods or provision of public services, and the provision of land in the public interest for private companies. Large projects of national interest such as the Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor and National Investment and Manufacturing Zones have also been included in the definition of "public purpose", as per reports. This is welcome. However, going by reports on the all-party meet on the bill last week, industry has several concerns. First, the agreed compensation package for land acquisition is reported to be four times the market value in rural areas and two times the market value in urban areas. As per CII estimates, the land acquisition cost is likely to increase by 3-3.5 times, severely affecting the viability of industrial projects across the board and eroding the competitiveness of the Indian manufacturing sector. We suggest that no solatia may be imposed over and above the multiplier, and if at all the solatium is to be retained, it could be reduced to 30 per cent and the multiplier for urban areas be reduced to 1.5 instead of 2… (Indian Express 27/4/13) Cannot compel State to re-convey acquired land’ (4) MADURAI: Dismissing a batch of writ petitions the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court on Wednesday refused to direct the State Government to re-convey land acquired to establish a satellite city at Thoppur to its erstwhile owners. Petitioners submitted that the Government of Tamil Nadu had acquired their land in March 1995 invoking Section 4(1) of the Land Acquisition Act, for launching a housing project ‘Madurai South Neighbourhood Scheme’ in Thoppur. Though the land was taken over by the Tamil Nadu Housing Board (TNHB), they were still lying vacant. Hence petitioners wanted the ownership of the lands to be transferred back to them. In a counter-affidavit filed on behalf of the Land Acquisition Officer, the Madurai Revenue Divisional Officer contended that the TNHB was in the process of utilising the land for a public purpose. The TNHB Executive Engineer submitted that the Housing Board had already compensated the land owners concerned before taking possession of the land. The TNHB was planning to establish a satellite city at Thoppur and hence the land cannot be re-conveyed to its original owners. Addressing the core question as to whether it is open to the erstwhile land owners to seek re-conveyance of land on the ground that the acquired lands were not utilised for its stated purpose, Justice K K Sasidharan cited that in the ‘TNHB Vs Keeravani Ammal’ case, the Supreme Court had observed that it is not open to the court to assume that the project has been abandoned and direct the authorities to re-convey the property. The judge said the TNHB had submitted that it has already approached the Tamil Nadu Urban Infrastructure Financial Service Limited for conducting feasibility study on the proposed satellite township. The Board has done all the preliminary works. “Since the TNHB has very categorically stated that the land is required for the purpose for which it was acquired, there is no

question of directing the Government to re-convey the land to the erstwhile land owners,” the judge held. He also pointed out that the Apex Court had clearly said that the Government or Requisitioning Body cannot be compelled to re-convey the lands to the original owners. (New Indian Express 2/5/13) Big-ticket projects in Jharkhand tread over rights of tribals (4) On April 30, president Pranab Mukherjee was in Jharkhand’s Godda district, laying the foundation stone for Jindal Steel and Power’s 1,320-MW power plant. Barely a kilometre away, at the Sundarpahari police station, more than 50 people from tribal communities were detained from 10 in the morning till late evening. Locals from 11 villages in Nimpaniya and Goriajor blocks had assembled to protest land acquisition for the Jindal project, leading to their imminent displacement. Some of the protesters are being displaced for the second time, having earlier lost land to the Sundar Dam project. Gladson Dungdung, a prominent tribal rights activist from the state, has written to president Mukherjee, highlighting the violation of the rights of the tribals in the state in the backdrop of the incident. Voicing the indigenous people’s anguish with the state, Dungdung wrote that the government needs to protect their interests or “shoot them” down. Godda district is part of the Santhal Parganas where the Santhal Pargana Tenancy Act governs the sale or transfer of land. According to the Act, land in the area cannot be sold or transferred, irrespective of whether it is owned by tribals or non-tribals. Acquisition of land by the Jindal power project, therefore, is in violation of the Act, Dungdung pointed out. In detaining the tribal people, the government has willfully violated their fundamental right to freedom of expression even as they were preparing to protest the violation of SPTA, which comes under schedule V of the constitution, he said. But these violations come much later in a series which seem to have prompted Dungdung, a member of the Jharkhand Human Rights Movement, to ask for him and the other tribals to be shot. He has cited the supreme court’s recent ruling on the powers of the gram sabha under the panchayat extension in scheduled areas Act (PESA) over issues that relate to the cultural identity, community resources, dispute resolution within the community and preservation of traditions while highlighting the complete sidelining of the gram sabha in decision-making that went into the approval of the Godda power project. Land rights abuse is set to worsen in the state, with two industrial corridors — along the Koderma-Bahragora and Ranchi-Patratu-Ramgarh Road — set to come up under the Jharkhand industrial policy. The corridor will be made with 25 kilometres of four-laning on each side. A lot of the tribal land in the area will have to be acquired under the policy. Besides, the Jharkhand government has signed many MoUs with national and multinational companies for projects, including mining, in the Chottanagra region. In Jharkhand, the state worst affected by ultra Left-wing extremism, it seems government policy is being framed without taking into consideration interests of the tribal people. In Saranda, an iron-ore rich region in southern Jharkhand, the groundwork for mining projects has already started threatening tribal livelihoods and the tribal way of life. In many places, infrastructure work and land acquisition for industry (Steel Authority of India Limited) has desecrated sasandiris (stone graves) and disrupted livelihoods. In the face of this apparent apathy on part of the state and sustained cultural and livelihood losses, local activists worry that more people would follow the ‘armed resistance’ path of the Maoists, India’s single-largest internal security threat. (GovernanceNow 2/5/13) CAG flays Odisha for not resuming 7586 acres of unused land (4) The office of the Comptroller & Auditor General of India (CAG) has flayed the Odisha government for nonresumption of 7585.78 acres of land that remained unused for more than three years. The land with present market value of Rs 675.08 crore was alloted to 18 industries that had signed memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the state government. The departments of revenue & disaster management and industries have assured to look into the matter. In February this year, the State Cabinet had decided to take back land from developers if it remained un-utilized for more than three years. The move was aimed at weeding out non-serious players. Minister for revenue & disaster management S N Patro had said recently that huge tracts of land lying unused in Bhubaneswar area and the districts of Khurda, Puri

and Jajpur. The valuation of these lands was estimated at around Rs one lakh crore. At the Chandaka industrial estate on the city's outskirts, 780 acres of land leased out by government for different industrial projects is lying unused. Last month, the office of the Accountant General (AG)-Odisha had sought a status report from Odisha Industrial Infrastructure Development Corporation (Idco) on steps taken to resume alloted government land that has remained un-utilized for more than three years. AG pointed out in a recent meeting with officials of Odisha Industrial Infrastructure Development Corporation (Idco) and industries department that no steps were taken for resumption of un-utilized land. The AG is conducting a performance audit on 'Acquisition, Development & Allotment of land by Idco for industrial and other purpose'. The AG also wanted to know the reason for non-resumption of excess land alloted to educational institutions beyond the prescribed norm. Earlier, the CAG in its report (civil) for the year ended March 31, 2011 had rapped the state revenue department for acquiring nearly 5000 acres of land for six mega industries including Posco India and Vedanta Aluminium Ltd (VAL) by invoking emergency provisions without fulfilling the conditions prescribed under Land Acquisition Act-1894. An audit scrutiny of these land acquisition cases revealed that 4967.08 acres of land valued at Rs 165 crore (approximate present market value Rs 901.30 crore) were acquired between July 2002 and March 2011 for establishment of industries by six promoters- Aditya Aluminium Ltd (Sambalpur)-2021.41 acres, Bhushan Power & Steel Ltd (Sambalpur)-608.67 acres, Viraj Steel & Energy Ltd (Sambalpur)-2.58 acres, VAL (Kalahandi)-826.56 acres, Dhamra Port Company Ltd (Bhadrak)-1070 acres and Posco India Ltd (Jagatsinghpur)-437.86 acres. (Business Standard 4/5/13) Don't acquire land for power plant till Land Acquisition Bill is passed: Kolse-Patil (4) Opposing the acquisition of farmers' land for a power project here, former Justice B G Kolse-Patil has said that the Maharashtra government should wait till the land acquisition bill is passed by the Centre. "The Land Acquisition Act will be introduced soon and as per its provisions, land for any project can be acquired if 80 per cent farmers are willing to give their land. The state government should wait till the new act is passed by the Centre," he told reporters here yesterday after submitting a memorandum to the district collector demanding that land acquisition for the project should be stopped.n The state government machinery is currently acquiring land to set up a railway line for the thermal power plant of India Bulls at Sinnar with many farmers alleging that they were being forced to sell their land. (Financial Express 7/5/13) Idco to create land bank for industries (4) In a bid to provide litigation free land for industrial purposes, the state government has directed the stateowned Industrial Infrastructure Development Corporation of Odisha (Idco), nodal agency for land acquisition, to create land bank. "Idco has been asked to create land bank by acquiring lands in advance where there is scope for developing industrial hubs so that serious players can be provided land," said Surya Narayan Patro, state revenue minister at the Policy Round Table conference organised by Federation of Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Ficci). The state government is in the process of acquiring about 1,000 acres of land in Remuna area in Balasore district through Idco and a similar exercise is also being carried out in Korpaut, the minister said. The land bank to be created by Idco will meet the requirements of the small, medium and large scale industries. Big ticket projects like Posco, Arcelor Mittal, Sahara Power, JR Powergen are struggling to acquire land for setting up their units due to the local resistance. Patro rued that the large tracts of land which were allotted to some non-serious players are lying unutilised for many years. It may be noted that the office of the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) has recently flayed the state government for non-resumption of 7,585.78 acres which remained unused for more than three years. It had pointed out that the land with present market value of Rs 675.08 crore was allotted to 18 industries that had signed memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the government. Speaking on the occasion, state steel and mines Secretary Rajesh Verma said that level playing field should be provided to industries to promote competition and healthy

industrialisation. The industry representatives opposed the state government's plan for formation of a cell within the state home department to check illegal mining. The cell is planned within the home department so that police personnel can be involved in checking illegal mining activities. "The inspection by policemen without adequate knowledge may lead to harassment," complained Rita Singh, managing director, M ideast Integrated Steel Ltd, a Mesco group company. A book "Naturenomics-4.0 (Optimising Biodiversity and Social Security in Indian Mining Areas - An Earthy Vision) was also launched on the occasion. (Business Standard 9/5/13) Land Acquisition Act to be used to take over properties (4) HYDERABAD: Mayor Mohd Majid Hussain has directed Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) officials to acquire properties under the Land Acquisition Act if property owners do not come forward for negotiations. He also asked the town planning officials to file caveat in court cases to prevent status quo in land acquisition cases. Speaking at a review meeting with the town planning officials on road widening issues, the mayor said the Lakdikapul parallel bridge got delayed due to court cases otherwise it would have been inaugurated a year ago. Majid Hussain said the GHMC was spending about Rs 294 crore on flyovers, bridges, another Rs 94 crore on developing link roads and Rs 225 crore on road widening works. The mayor also called for explanation from officials on why a huge number of land acquisition cheques had expired and directed them to set some deadline for revalidation. He further directed the town planning officials to submit a report on the number of approvals that were given by the GHMC standing committee for land acquisition, proposals processed and number of cheques that had lapsed. The Land Acquisition wing officials explained that revalidation of cheques were getting delayed due to legal heir issues and said the process of revalidation would be simplified to save time. He directed the officials to dispose of all cheques that were ready in 10 days. (Times of India 10/5/13) Posco land acquisition to be over in a week (4) BHUBANESWAR: The land acquisition process for the South Korean steel company Posco at GobindpurDhinkia area in Jagatsinghpur would be completed within a week, revealed district Collector Satya Kumar Mallick on Sunday. Following the arrest of Posco Pratirodha Sangram Samiti (PPSS) president Abhay Sahoo by Jagatsinghpur police at the airport here on Saturday morning, the district administration became hopeful to acquire the land easily. “Out of a total of 2,700 acres of land to be allotted to Posco, the district administration has already acquired around 2,500 acres so far and after getting the rest 200 acres, the whole process would come to an end,” Mallick informed. “Now, the acquisition process is on. It will be completed within a week after demolishing a few betel vineyards and cutting trees from the demarcated area,” said the District Collector. The administration would acquire the rest land from Tuesday, he disclosed. Meanwhile, the pro-Posco villagers, who were living at the company’s transit camps for the last six years, would return to Patnagarh, their native village, very soon. They had been dislocated from their village and kept in the transit colony after they agreed to cede their land to Posco. However, because of the problems in the getting land in the anti-Posco bastion, which includes their village, the Government had decided to skip the area. These villagers had been demanding to return to their native place since then. After long delays, finally, the Government decided to repatriate these villagers to native village. “It’s is a matter of great pleasure that we are going to return to our village very soon. We will again start our normal life there,” said a person staying in the transit camp. In a recent development, the district administration has started development works like reconstruction of roads and provision of drinking water facilities at Gobindpur-Dhinkia area to woo the local people. (Pioneer 13/5/13) Land Acquisition Bill anti-people: Brinda Karat (4) SALEM: The Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Bill brought in by the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) is anti-people and against the constitutional rights of the tribal people, Brinda Karat,

Communist Party of India (Marxist) Polit Bureau member, said here on Wednesday. Speaking to reporters at Karumalai Koodal in Kalvarayan Hills, about 63 km from here, she said that the bill sought to legalise mass displacement of tribal people, with little compensation wherever their rights would be trampled and eroded. Ms. Karat was here to participate in a two-day State Level training programme for cadre, organised by The Tamil Nadu Tribals Association (TNTA). “Tribal people have rights over mineral resources in their area. Even in the Posco case, the Apex Court has upheld the traditional rights of the tribal people. But the Centre is keen on promoting the interests of corporate and mining lobbies and allowing them to plunder the natural resources”, she said. In the name of promoting tourism and development, industrialists and well known politicians encroach hundreds of acres in hilly areas. This should be stopped, she said. Ms. Karat also voiced concern over complaints that tribal people were denied community certificates in Tamil Nadu. “The government has assured to simplify the procedure and provide certificates. But it is the bureaucrats at different levels who refuse to issue certificates,” she said. To a question on the UPA Government surviving in spite of all scams and allegations, she said people should elect a non-Congress and non-BJP Government in the coming election. On the resignations of Union Ministers Pawan Kumar Bansal and Ashwani Kumar, she said that they should have resigned during Parliament session and not after that. “At least Parliament would have functioned without disruption”, she pointed out. She said that the Prime Minister should come clean and explain who is responsible for the coalgate scam. (The Hindu 16/5/13) Haryana releases 3 acre land from acquisition process (4) CHANDIGARH: Haryana government has decided to release around 3 acre land belonging to an industrialist and others from acquisition proceedings in Rewari district. The state government has planned to set up an industrial township in Dharuhera in Rewari and the Haryana State Industrial and Infrastructure Development Corporation (HSIIDC) on May 10 had acquired over 430 acres of land for the purpose. Four days before the announcement of the compensation under Section 9 of Land Acquisition Act (which is finalization of the acquisition process), the government decided to release 3 acres from the acquired area. According to documents available with TOI, the government has released around 2.5 acre land of Pashupati Spinning Mills at Kapriwas village, 0.05 acre of one Sukhbir Chhabra at Kapriwas village and 0.25 acre of a family at Malpura village after the acquisition process was completed. Government says the 2.5 acres were released as it was part of the industry while Chhabra's land was released because he had got change of land use licence for his land before the initiation of acquisition proceedings. The officials claimed that Malpura village land was released because there were residential houses. Initially, the farmers had opposed the acquisition of land for the industrial township in Dharuhera. In 2011, state cabinet minister Capt Ajay Singh Yadav had written to the chief minister to oppose the acquisition of farmers' land for commercial purpose. "During the past eight years, the government has released 2,272 acres of land from the acquisition proceedings to benefit builders and industrialists," alleged former Pradesh Congress Committee spokesperson Ved Prakash Vidrohi. He added that the government wanted to benefit its "favourites" by releasing land as the land in the nearby area of the acquired area has become it has become very costly. However, state principal secretary (industry) YS Malik said the land has been released on technical reasons like the pieces of land concerned are either part of an industrial unit or residential constructions. (Times of India 17/5/13) Probe ordered into land acquisition by Rampur distillery firm (4) Lucknow,: The allotment of land worth Rs 50 crore to Rampur Distillery owned by Radico Khaitan Limited has run into rough weather. The district administration has constituted a three-member committee headed by ADM Syed Nizamuddin to probe the alleged land allotment deal in favour of Radico Khaitan Limited. Rampur Distillery is one of the largest distilleries of India owned by Radico Khaitan. It is the manufacturer of famous brands in Indian Made Foreign Liquor. "As per primary investigation by the SDM, the land was transferred to Radico Khaitan by entering their name in the revenue records without official orders. Final

decision will be taken after completing the report," ADM Nizamuddin, who is heading the probe committee, said. The Congress has demanded a CBI probe into the matter. On the other hand, K P Singh, Director, Radico Khaitan Limited claimed that the issue is being raised after 30 years for different reasons. "We are a respectable industrial house and everything is in order. We will not be bogged down by such matter. We will come out clean after the probe," K P Singh said. (Indian Express 20/5/13) Land acquisition for PABR an unending saga (4) ANANTAPUR: Farmers of Yadiki and Peddavadugur mandals of Anantapur district are being pushed to the limit by officials of Penna Ahobilam Balancing Reservoir (PABR) stage-II (land acquisition), located in Anantapur with many being fleeced for money while they remain in almost continuous transit between their villages and the office here. The government established the PABR-II land acquisition office at Anantapur in February 2005 to acquire land by consent in over 5,000 acres under Chagallu reservoir, Pendekallu balancing reservoir besides the Yadiki branch canal covering Peddapappuru, Singanamala, Pedda Vaduguru and Yadiki mandals of the district. The work was expected to be completed in a period of less than three years, although the officials have yet to acquire 1,000 acres more and compensate the farmers suitably. Meanwhile, the office has been mired in controversies ever since the inception which also include pumping up the number of acres to be acquired for allegedly ulterior motives besides the continual complaint of fleecing by officials. A leader, Suryanarayana Reddy, representing the farmers in Peddavadugur mandal told The Hindu that about eighty farmers in the villages of Appecherla, Burnakunta and Bandarlapalli were fleeced at Rs. 10,000 to 15,000 per acre by a superintendent of the department by employing a broker, Jayaramudu, in one of the villages a few years ago. The total amounted to around Rs. 10 lakh. “When we brought the matter to the notice of the then Minister J.C. Diwakar Reddy, an inquiry was also conducted. But, the farmers were paid back their money overnight and warned of complaining to the inquiry officers, lest they face irate officials the next time they need to deal with them,” said Mr Reddy. Meanwhile, the farmers in Yadiki mandal also complained that the acquisition of their lands have been kept pending as they were not able to cough up close to 15-20 per cent of the compensation amount they would get, which is currently pegged at Rs. 2 lakh for wetland and Rs. 1.6 lakh for dry land. “I have been asked to part with Rs. 35,000 if I was to get a suitable compensation, which I paid only to find out that I was not being given any extra premium for my land but only the benchmarked price,” said Venkatramudu (name changed) of Cheemulavagupalli village of Yadiki mandal, who is one of the several farmers suffering at the hands of the officials. However, the Special Deputy Collector of the PABR stage-II (land acquisition), G.V. Venkatesam, denied any such allegations saying that he had not received any complaints and that he would take immediate action if he were to get such complaints even as he said that the entire land acquisition process has been protracted due to the sharp increase in land prices which were not in consonance with the government’s ceiling for the acquisition. (The Hindu 21/5/13) Land acquisition a challenge: CM (4) KOCHI: The escalating cost of land acquisition is the major challenge faced by the government in implementing major infrastructure projects in the state, Chief Minister Oommen Chandy said here on Thursday. The Chief Minister was talking after launching four major infrastructure projects intended for the overall development of Kochi and its suburbs. “For a city like Kochi, it is important to develop the existing infrastructure facilities. At a meeting recently held with the civic administrators from Kochi, we discussed the cost of land acquisition for some key projects mooted for the city. I was astonished to see the estimate of the land acquisition cost. For instance, for the widening of Thammanam-Pulleppady Road, the total cost will come upto `18 crore. But, the land acquisition cost will come around `200 crore. Same is the case with the proposed RoB at Atlantis. But, we cannot delay the works because of the shortage of funds for land acquisition. The government is thinking of implementing more projects on a Public-PrivatePartnership (PPP) basis and steps and incentives to prompt more people to surrender land for

infrastructure requirements will be taken. Hope the public will also understand the gravity of the situation and co-operate with us,” he said. Chandy said the government will encourage the public for the free surrender of land in the built-in areas of the city, where major infrastructure projects are planned. “Those who surrender the land will provided with incentives and alternatives. The government will also try to introduce Transfer of Development Rights (TDR) Scheme for acquiring land,” Chandy added. Regarding the other major infrastructure projects planned for Kochi, Chandy said the construction of new flyover at Edappally will begin in four month’s time. “We are considering a plan to construct four major flyover projects. Similar flyovers will be constructed at Palarivattom, Vyttila and Kundannoor. The district administration will soon start the preliminary steps for acquiring land for the construction of Edappally flyover,” Chandy said. Works Minister V K Ibrahim Kunju, Excise Minister K Babu, Civil Supplies Minister Anoop Jacob, P Rajeev MP and Benny Behnan MLA were also present on the occasion. (New Indian Express 24/5/13) HC notice over land acquired for mining (4) JAIPUR: The Rajasthan high court has issued notices to the state government and Jindal Saw Ltd requiring to show the authority of the government to acquire land for mining purposes of a private company owned by Jindal group. The order came on a writ petition filed by more than 50 villagers of Bhilwara district, challenging acquisition of land in five villages. The land of five villages, measuring 1258.05 bighas, has been sought to be acquired by the government for Jindal group under the garb of "public purpose," said the petitioners. The company was allotted two mining leases in 2010 and 2011 in around 20 sq km area along the Jaipur-Bhilwara-Udaipur national highway. "The procedure for allotment of mines is contained in Section 89 of Rajasthan Land Revenue Act according to which the farmer has a right to negotiate and fetch best price in lieu of letting the surface rights of the agricultural land allotted for mining purposes. A similar provision of law is also provided in Land Acquisition (Companies) Rule, 1963 and the Major Mineral Concession Rules, 1960. But the company, without approaching the farmers, applied to the state government for acquisition of the land forcibly, which is illegal," contended Abhinav Sharma, counsel for the petitioner. In the declaration published under Section 6 of the Land Acquisition Act, state government has given a reason that the private land is required to be acquired for purposes of establishing industry and mining by the private company whereas the government had on August 2, 2010 already earmarked 143.14 bigha of land wherein the industry has already been established by the company, the petition says. (Times of India 28/5/13) Indirasagar: CPI(M) alleges irregularities in land acquisition (4) ELURU: The tribals affected by the Indirasagar Project are crying foul over acquisition of lands by authorities of the Revenue department for payment of land-to-land compensation as part of revival of their habitat under the Relocation and rehabilitation (R&R) package. The process of land acquisition allegedly turned out to be a means of swindling of government funds in Buttayagudem and Jeelugumilli mandals. A delegation from the CPI (M) led by the Jangareddygudem division secretary Francis petitioned the Jangareddygudem RDO on Tuesday with an appeal for an inquiry on the alleged goof-ups in acquiring the lands. The CPI (M) leaders said the Revenue authorities were acquiring the lands hit by the 1 of 1970 Land Transfer Regulation (LTR) Act in possession of the influential non-tribal farmers for alienation in favour of the project oustees. Although the tribals and non-tribals are making claims and counterclaims on the ownership of the lands for several years and the dispute was pending disposal before the court, the officials are allegedly paying Rs 3 to Rs 3.8 lakh as compensation per acre to the non-tribal farmers, alleges the CPI (M). The administration has acquired a little over 1,000 acres in Jeelugumilli and Buttayagudem mandals for transfer to the project victims of Ramayyapet, Pidipaka, Pidakulapadu and Singanapalli villages. A sizeable chunk of the acquired land is allegedly hit by the LTR Act. Mr. Francis said compensation amounts were already disbursed to the non-tribal farmers for 150 acres at Reddyganapavaram under Buttayagudem mandal. Efforts were underway for another 150 acres for

similar measures at the same village in spite of resistance from the local tribals, Mr. Francis said while calling for an impartial probe on the alleged fraud. P. Trinadha Rao, convener of the Legal Cell, ITDA, Rampachodavaram, East Godavari district, urged the district administrations of both the West and East Godavari districts to hold a joint meeting with the Land Acquisition Officers to take stock of the alleged irregularities in land acquisition and initiate corrective measures to save the government money. (The Hindu 29/5/13)

Major projects hit land acquisition wall (4) Shillong, June 2: Civil society groups in Meghalaya have opposed land acquisition for at least two major projects in recent times in an apparent bid to protect the close-knit relationship people of the state share with their land. Their resistance to land procurement for the New Shillong Township in and around Mawdiangdiang and the Umngot hydel project in East Khasi Hills, among others, is in keeping with this age-old relationship. That land and the people’s identity share a close-knit relationship is something that has been known since ages. For Meghalaya, where a majority of the land belongs to the community, this relationship carries a lot of weight indeed. Meghalaya controls its land usage and transfer processes through the Meghalaya Transfer of Land (Regulation) Act, 1971, which regulates transfer of land from a tribal to a non-tribal. The act has been the sole armour of the indigenous people against alienation of tribal land. The land transfer mechanism is designed to protect indigenous customs and preserve nature while incorporating modern transfer procedures followed all over the country. The act, however, does not apply to areas falling under European Ward in Shillong where even non-tribals are allowed to buy property, including land, if a competent authority allows the transfer. In the Khasi hills, most of the land belongs to the community. According to Khasi customs, land can be classified into broad categories, including ri raid or land held by the community under a syiem (chief), ri lyngdoh or land held by the lyngdoh (priest), ri shnong or land held by the village council, ri kynti or private land, law kyntang or sacred forest and law adong or prohibited forest for use of the village. Local customs prohibit people from buying or selling ri lyngdoh, ri shnong, ri raid, law kyntang and law adong plots. The intricate land tenure system has also been a reason for delays in acquiring land for projects. Over the years, the act has come under stress and strain forcing the government, in April 2011, to put on hold any land transfer proposals to non-tribal entities in the state. In its recent presentation given to the Planning Commission, the state government has highlighted that during the preparation of the Shillong Master Plan 1991-2011, it was observed that the holding capacity of the existing city had almost reached a saturation level. In order to absorb two lakh additional future population, prevent undesirable development in already-congested city limits and create a new planned environment, establishment of a new township became a necessity. The masterplan envisaged setting up of New Shillong Township near Mawdiangdiang covering an area of 20.3sqkm within the Greater Shillong Master Plan area, the government had stated. The estimated cost for infrastructure construction at the township is Rs 1,250 crore (at 2009-10 prices). Recently, pressure groups and some traditional heads have opposed a government proposal to acquire land in certain villages for expanding the township. The groups had also sent a petition to Union tribal affairs minister V. Kishore Chandra Deo and sought his intervention while appealing him to halt acquisition of land belonging to the raid (community) in the East Khasi Hills. There was opposition after the government expressed its intention of acquiring 2,000 acres of land in areas near the township. The groups are of the view that land belonging to the raid has forest cover which provides livelihood to the people living in these areas. According to them, the government intends to acquire 62,84,153.05 sq metres of land in Umsohlang-Umtung, Nongkharai-Synrem, Jongksih and Mawpdang and another 9,65,173.23 sq metres of land in Wahskheh. Recently, in Umsawar village under Mawkynrew block in East Khasi Hills, villagers protested against a move by the Meghalaya Energy Corporation Limited (MeECL) to build a dam on Umngot river for the 240MW hydel power project. “We will not part with our land, the land is our lifeblood. If we sell it, we will die,” Phrang Suting, sordar (chief) of Umsawar village, said. The decision, he said, had

also been conveyed to the corporation during a public hearing held last year. The main reason for opposing the project is that cultivable land will be submerged if the project comes up. (The Telegraph 3/6/13) Slum dwellers demand right to live with dignity (4) RANCHI: Rehabilitation of slum dwellers, the issue of displacement owing to mining activities and industrial projects in rural Jharkhand, have long been part of debate, discussions and deliberations. But all in vain. Therefore, urban dwellers ousted from their slums owing to legal problems have decided to take the matter in their hands. Deprived of basic amenities, they have decided to come together to demand their right to live with dignity. A congregation of 105 different units of slums across the six major cities of the state have come together under the aegis of joint basti committee to put forth their demands. The forum of individual action groups have decided to stage a dharna in front of Raj Bhavan on Monday. They will seek government intervention in rehabilitating those who were rendered homeless after an order of the Jharkhand high court directed the administration to free government land of encroachment including those of public sector undertakings. "No one wants to lay claim to a government-owned land only to be evicted later unless the situation compels them to do so," said Lakkhi Das, a member of the committee. She said even after 13 years of the formation of Jharkhand as a separate state, there have been no schemes for the urban poor. "After the eviction drive of 2011, thousands of people were forced to live in temporary camps and makeshift shelters, as they did not have enough means to purchase land or a house while living in these cities to earn a living," she said. According to rough estimates, in the six major cities of the state, which includes Ranchi, Jamshedpur, Bokaro, Dhanbad, Hazaribag and Chaibasa, there are about t500 slums where thousands of families live without basic amenities. "We have conducted street plays and public awareness activities in 150 of these slums and asked the dwellers to join our movement for right to cheap and affordable housing," said Das, adding that the representatives of all these slums would be present at the Raj Bhavan dharna. (Times of India 3/6/13) Panchkula land grab: Private parties given compensation for govt land (4) CHANDIGARH: Investigations into a 10-year-old case regarding land acquisition in Panchkula district has opened a can of worms. The probe has revealed that the revenue officials distributed compensation amount among private parties after acquiring shamlat land (common land) in villages of Panchkula district. According to the investigations conducted by the chief minister' flying squad, it was found that the revenue officials were hand-in-glove with the villagers to grab the public money. The Haryana Urban Development Authority had in 2003 acquired 224 acres at Chowki village in Panchkula district to develop residential sectors. Of it, about 155 acres were shamlat land and Rs 9.83 crore was fixed as compensation amount for the same. Out of this, Rs 6.3 crore was disbursed among private parties while the decision on the rest of the amount was left to the court. A probe was ordered into the matter in 2010 when a villager, Mukhtyari Devi, alleged that the panchayat had suffered huge losses as the then tehsildar had illegally disbursed the compensation amount for acquiring shamlat land among the villagers. In villages, shamlat land is owned by the panchayat. According to the latest status report, the revenue officials were instrumental in disbursing the compensation amount in collusion with the land acquisition officer. Similar irregularities were also detected in the acquisition of shamlat land in neighbouring villages of Surajpur, Rajjipur, Manakpur Nanakchand, Dhamala and Milak. "The shares determined by the revenue authorities appear to be forged. The revenue officials, including the tehsildar, determined the shares for private parties and handed over the list to land acquisition officers without approval from the competent authority. The land acquisition officers at Panchkula disbursed the amount of compensation to private persons without getting the title of the land declared from the competent authority," the report added. According to sources, investigation into the matter is on. (Times of India 4/6/13) Land acquisition row, glitches threaten (4)

Allahabad; Even as a team of the Airport Authority of India (AAI) is carrying out a survey for the extension of the Bamrauli airport here to develop its civilian arm, various issues — ranging from technical glitches to opposition by farmers against land acquisition — threaten to put the project on hold. Allahabad District Magistrate Raj Shekhar said: "The team has pointed out a few issues like the narrow approach roads leading to the terminal, along with a road under bridge (RUB). We will have to wait for the team's final report. In any case, the interest of farmers would not be overlooked." Sources also pointed out that widening of the approach road from the city to Bamrauli airport will involve displacement of a large number of people because of the densely populated Mundera Mandi and Dhoomanganj localities. On the other hand, the alternative approach route could increase the distance to over 25 km, whereas it is not more than 15 km at present, they said. Last December, Union Civil Aviation Minister Ajit Singh had written to the state government seeking around 50 acres of land around the Bamrauli Airport, which is under the control of the Indian Air Force (IAF), for developing civilian air facility. The AAI team had visited the site on May 30. The farmers from villages like Chandrabhanpur, Gauspur and Kautahala, whose land will be required, have voiced their opposition against the acquisition. Two Samajwadi Party MPs have also come out in their support. Allahabad MP Reoti Raman Singh and Kaushambi MP Shailendra Kumar have written letters to the Chief Minister, saying that the farmers need not be forced to part with their land. "There are problems in Bamrauli. Kachri village is close to the Allahabad-Rewa Road and will be useful not only for Allahabad, but also for people from bordering districts of Madhya Pradesh, like Satna and Rewa," said a SP office-bearer and Singh's aide. (Indian Express 7/6/13) Posco hopeful of getting land for its project soon (4) BHUBANESWAR: Posco-India Chairman & Managing Director Yong Won Yoon on Friday expressed hope that they would be handed over the land for their proposed steel mill in the near future. Talking to presspersons after his meeting with Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik at the State Secretariat here, Mr. Yoon said they were thankful to the government for acquiring land for the project. “With the recent mining case going in our favour and the State government taking positive initiatives to clear the land, we are hopeful that the land will be handed over to us soon,” Mr. Yoon observed. Though the administration had acquired nearly 2,700 acres of land, over 1,700 acres had been handed over to Posco-India so far. The company requires 2,700 acres to establish an eight million tonne per annum capacity plant. The government has been continuing with the land acquisition work despite st (The Hindu 8/6/13) Court relief for woman farmer denied compensation for land acquisition (4) MADURAI: The land acquisition authority in Pudukottai has been ordered to consider the plea of a woman seeking compensation after her land was acquired for a national highway (NH) project. The order issued by the Madurai bench of the Madras high court may help her to get the compensation as her earlier attempt in this regard was ignored by the highway authorities and Pudukottai district collector. As per the latest order, special district revenue officer (NH land acquisition, Pudukottai) will be served notice after the court considered the writ petition filed by P Valli, 35, a resident of Kulathur in Pudukottai. The said land for which she is seeking compensation was acquired by the above authority as part of their project for building roads for NH 210 and 67. In her petition, Valli contended that she was denied compensation on the ground that concerned land was distributed to her under a special government scheme and hence ineligible for compensation. In 2007, Valli was given 0.40 hectare land in Kumaramangalam village by the state government under its scheme to distribute land to the poor. Though, she cultivated the land for two years, she was unable to continue farming due to water shortage. She had registered the details of the agricultural output from the land with the village administrative officer (VAO). Valli first approached the court last year after both the highway authorities and district collector of Pudukottai didn't respond to her petitions seeking compensation for land acquisition. After hearing her petition, on January 7 the high court had directed the authorities concerned to consider her representation. Pursuant to the court order, the authorities considered the same, but rejected her claim on

April 29 stating that she was not eligible for compensation. Aggrieved by it, she filed the writ petition before the court, which came up before Justice N Kirubakaran on Wednesday. Following it, the judge ordered the issue of notice to the special district revenue officer. (Times of India 10/6/13) AHRC concerned over forced eviction at Singda (4) Imphal, June 10 2013: Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has expressed concern over forced eviction of indigenous communities of Singda New Bazar in Manipur by Irrigation and Flood Control Department, Government of Manipur for expansion of the Singda Dam area. In an urgent message asking the UN Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples as well as the UN Special Rapporteur on Adequate Housing for intervention in the case, AHRC pointed the eviction has affected 220 members of around 60 households belonging to Vaiphei, Kharam, Ireng Naga, and Meitei communities of Singda New Bazar, Senapati and Imphal West District, Manipur in India. An official land acquisition order was issued on 28 May 2013 by the Revenue Department, Government of Manipur. The residents of the Singda Dam Bazar have expressed their willingness to co-operate with the Government of Manipur on the eviction of houses and farmlands within the boundary of the dam, but are appealing against the land acquisition, which will extend the adverse effect of the proposed plans to develop the area further. (Manipur E-Pao 11/6/13) Another Maharashtra airport plan lands in trouble (4) MUMBAI: After the Navi Mumbai international airport, the planned international airport at Chakan in Pune has also run into land acquisition trouble. The government is facing difficulties in acquiring the 3,300 hectares of land required for the project. Initial plan was to acquire land from seven villages in Chakan. However, since most of the affected land is under irrigation, villages here have presented a stiff opposition to the move. An alternative plan to set up the airport on land acquired for a private SEZ in the Khed-Chakan area has also hit a hurdle with the SEZ developer unwilling to part with all the land. On Friday, chief minister Prithviraj Chavan was briefed about the difficulties in finalizing a site for the airport. In a last-ditch attempt, Chavan asked officials to examine the feasibility of setting up the project on another piece of land near the SEZ. "We are trying to find a feasible solution that does not affect the SEZ project," Maharashtra Airport Development Corporation chairman U P S Madan said. Officials of the Airports Authority of India (AAI) will conduct the feasibility survey for the new site, which could take a month or so. This land, however, is only about 1,000 hectares, way short of what was initially planned. Madan agreed that the airport project might have to be downscaled. With the Navi Mumbai airport facing land acquisition trouble, the government is considering the Chakan airport as an alternative option to decongest air traffic over Mumbai. (Times of India 15/6/13) Gujarat farmers protest against land acquisition for Maruti plant (4) In the second such major instance by Gujarat farmers protesting against the State Government’s attempts to acquire agricultural land for industries, hundreds of farmers took out a rally in parts of Gandhinagar and Ahmedabad on Tuesday. In the last two years, farmers had protested on similar issues when Nirma tried to get land for a cement plant in Bhavnagar district. On Tuesday, farmers from 44 villages took out a tractor rally under the aegis of two voluntary organizations, Jameen Adhikaar Andolan Gujarat (JAAG) and Azad Vikas Sangathan (AVS). They had the rally from Vithalpur to Gandhinagar against the proposed Mandal-Becharaji Special Investment Region (SIR) where the State Government plans to establish an automobile and knowledge hub. Maruti Suzuki India Ltd also plans to set up a car manufacturing plant in this region. However, the district authorities had put up barricades at a number of places to prevent the agitating farmers from entering the Secretariat area and prohibited the entry of private vehicles on the nearby roads from dawn to dusk. After the rally, a delegation of farmers was allowed to discuss the matters over with the officials whose first attempt at talks had failed on Monday. The ruling BJP’s associate, Bharatiya Kisan Sangh, was also supporting the farmers. Reports said the

State Government sought to acquire nearly 51,000 hectares of land, including pastoral and wasteland, in and around 44 villages of Ahmedabad, Surendranagar and Mehsana districts for the proposed SIR. This includes the proposed Maruti Suzuki plant at Hansalpur on Becharaji-Viramgam Highway for which the State Government had allotted 700 acres last year. To meet the agitating farmers, the State Government had formed a four-member ministerial committee which failed to pacify the farmers on Monday, Sagar Rabari. Convener of JAAG, said. Last week, the farmers had submitted a memorandum to SIR CEO Pankaj Patel expressing their reluctance to part with their fertile land for the proposed SIR. (Business Line 18/6/13) Displaced tribals want land back, demand compensation (4) RAMGARH: Demanding the return of surplus land acquired for coal mining and adequate compensation for displacement from Coal India Limited (CIL), thousands of men and women under the aegis of the Raiyat Visthapit Morcha on Monday paralyzed mining activity as well as dispatch of coal by road and rail in four areas of Central Coalfields Limited (CCL) in Ramgarh. This led to the company incurring huge financial losses. Armed with traditional weapons, the agitators blocked almost all roads leading to the coal mines and other company sites in Barka-Sayal, Argada, Rajrappa and Kuju areas of CCL. The blockade continued till late in the day paralyzing coal production in all major collieries of CCL in the district. Transportation of coal to various industrial destinations by road and rail was also hit. No truck or dumper carrying coal to coal washeries and industries including Tenughat Thermal Power Station (TTPS) of Jharkhand Vidyut Nigam Limited could transport coal. Fagu Besara, president of Raiyat Visthapit Morcha said, "We have already given several reminders to CIL and it's subsidiary CCL about our demands but all in vain. This forced the displaced people to stop mining and dispatch of coal for an indefinite period. The coal companies are themselves responsible for financial losses thus created. The demands include return of surplus land to the tribes and other local villagers and proper displacement." He added that huge tracts of land owned by villagers were acquired by the Centre for mining in the 70's, which are still lying unused. The displaced were not given either employment or compensation in lieu of the land acquired. Besara said, "Villagers want their land back so that they can grow crops for their families as they have no means of income generation now. Their agitation will continue till their demands are accepted in writing by CIL and CCL." Sumit Ghosh, chief general manger, Barka-Sayal area, the biggest area of CCL in Ramgarh district said, "Coal production and dispatch of coal to various industries including coal washeries has been paralyzed following agitation called by Raiyat Visthapith Morcha as hundreds of villagers have blocked the roads connecting coal mines." (Times of India 18/6/13) Govt may scrap SEZ policy (4) Plagued by a series of controversies and scams, it seems, the government is finally planning to do away with the Special Economic Zone (SEZ) programme it had launched in 2006 with much fanfare. While the existing SEZs will continue to remain operational, those approved might not be notified and developers be allowed to utilise the land for other purposes. The commerce ministry has asked the Export Promotion Council for EoUs and SEZs (EPCES) to commission a study to Icrier to find if SEZs have met the economic objectives for which the programme was rolled out. It has been given six months for the study. Ministry officials told Business Standard this had been done to end the turf war between the commerce and finance ministries, as the latter believed some numbers given out by the former on exports, investments and jobs in SEZs were exaggerated. "There has always been some tension between the two ministries over the success of SEZs. So, we are doing a study by a neutral organisation on whether it has been able to measure up to its objectives. Else, we see no point in continuing with this scheme and giving them tax subsidies," said a senior commerce department official. The objective of the study was to find if the economic goals had been met, said P C Nambiar, director of the Pune-based Serum Biopharma Park (the country's first biotech SEZ), and the chairman of EPCES. "The finance ministry feels those have not been met," he said. It seemed the commerce ministry was also keen to do away with the policy so that it

could promote the National Manufacturing and Investment Zones (NMIZ), under the National Manufacturing Policy, officials indicated. It was the Minimum Alternate Tax, imposed on both developers and units from 2011-12 onwards, that took away the interest of companies in SEZs. Additionally, a dividend distribution tax (DDT) was imposed on developers. However, existing SEZs were reported to be doing quite well. This raised the finance ministry's apprehensions. According to the latest data, exports from SEZs rose almost 30 per cent to $88 billion in 2012-13, from $68 billion the previous year. These were up 17 per cent in 2011-12, compared with $58 billion a year before. These are quite impressive numbers, given that the country's total exports fell 1.76 per cent to $300.6 billion in 2012-13. It means exports from SEZs accounted for 29 per cent of total exports in 2012-13. Total investments in SEZs rose to $44 billion in 2012-13, compared with $43 billion the previous year. As of March 31, SEZs had generated 1,074,904 jobs. The government has so far formally approved 577 SEZs, of which 389 are notified. At present, 170 operate across India. The Parliamentary standing committees on both commerce and finance have been opposing the policy. It has often been said that SEZs have led to large-scale realty scams, offering developers the opportunity to make quick money while enjoying tax exemption. (Business Standard 24/6/13) Narmada dam affected from MP to launch protest from today (4) Thousands of villages from the five Narmada dam affected villages will launch a five-day Satyagraha in Bhopal under the aegis of Narmada Bachao Andolan (NBA) to take on state authorities from June 28. They will press for their demands; land against land, adequate compensation and sufficient time for resettlement. "We will once again raise our demand in favour of all five dam affected people who have lost their land, homes and arable land in interest of Indira Sagar, Omkareshwar, Upper Beda, Maan and Maheshwar hydel power project," Alok Agrawal, chief activist NBA told Business Standard. He further said that nearly 5,000 affected people have already reached Bhopal and more are likely to flock in by Friday morning. The state chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan had recently announced an additional rehabilitation compensation package of Rs 212 crore, which has been revised to Rs 225 crore, to the Omkareshwar project affected people. However, the affected villagers want land against land (and not cash), sufficient time to vacate the site. The state government has set a deadline of 15th of next month. The Narmada Hydroelectric Development Corporation (NHDC), a state-government entity and subsidiary of National Hydropower Corporation (NHPC) will raise its reservoir level to 196 meters and attain full generation capacity of 520 Mw of power once the affected people are removed. Nearly 500,000 people are affected from all the five projects or nearly 75000 families need proper land and job. "We welcome the compensation package recently announced by the government but they should follow Supreme Court orders and compensate accordingly. If they have to be compensated through cash it should be recalculated from prevailing market rates of the land," said Agrawal. (Business Standard 27/6/13) Calcutta high court land nod boosts East-West Metro (4) KOLKATA: The Calcutta high court on Thursday approved land acquisition for East-West Metro at Bowbazar, doing away with the need for a route realignment that threatened to further delay the project and push up costs by hundreds of crores. The division bench of Chief Justice Arun Mishra and Justice Joymalyo Bagchi set aside a trial court's order that had stalled the transport department's plan to acquire the land, where East-West Metro plans to build its Central station. The station is to be the East-West Metro's interface with the Dum Dum-Kavi Subhash Metro. The Central Calcutta Citizens Welfare Association had challenged the acquisition before Justice Jyotirmoy Bhattacharya of the high court, arguing the notification for compensation to landlosers hadn't been issued within the mandatory two-year period, according to Section 11A of the Land Acquisition Act, 1894. On September 12 last year, Justice Bhattacharya ruled the entire acquisition process had lapsed. As a result, tunneling work got delayed, resulting in huge cost-overrun . An alternative route via Esplanade, instead of Bowbazar , was also drawn up. The division bench, however, accepted the government's argument that the notification was issued

well within the stipulated period and upheld the acquisition. On Sept 12, 2012, Justice Jyotirmoy Bhattacharya of HC asks govt to return properties acquired from 90 families in Bowbazar. Why? Residents' association files petition challenging acquisition, saying compensation notification not issued within mandatory two years. HC rules entire acquisition process had lapsed. Route realignment subsequently proposed by transport department via Esplanade. It involved huge cost overrun and delay. Funding agency JICA and KMRC didn't agree. Govt appeals before division bench, argues acquisition is a linear process, where one action hinges on the previous. Says it notified acquisition in Nov '09 and compensation in Nov '11 and so was within time-frame Bench accepts it… (Times of India 28/6/13) Land acquisition for Posco resumes, locals allege use of force (4) PARADIP (Odisha): In its bid to complete land acquisition for the proposed Posco project near here by first week of July, the Odisha government on Friday resumed land acquisition amidst stiff opposition from villagers who alleged use of force to demolish their betel vines. "We have to acquire another 700 acre of land from Gobindpur village for the Rs 52,000 crore project. This is the last phase of land acquisition exercise," Jagatsinghpur district collector S K Mallick told reporters. Stating that the district administration of Jagatsinghpur along with the state-owned Industrial Infrastructure Development Corporation (IDCO) had been undertaking land acquisition for Posco project, Mallick said they acquired certain amount of land today by demolishing 18 betel vines. An amount of Rs 36 lakh has been given to affected farmers as compensation, he said. Mallick, however, rejected the allegation of use of force to acquire land at the proposed plant site of the South Korean steel major here. "Many of the 19 betel vine owners have given their consent to take their land," Mallick said. The district collector said the villagers had raised betel vines on government land and they were evicted today after paying compensation. "The land acquisition activities will continue tomorrow," he said. Jagatsinghpur SP Satyabrata Bhoi, who was present during the land acquisition site along with 6 platoons (180 personnel) of force, however, admitted that the police chased away certain protesters who opposed demolition activities. "There has been no lathi charge at the site. Police personnel have chased away certain people. We have maintained maximum restrain while dealing with women protesters," Bhoi said. The villagers, on the other hand, claimed that police resorted to lathi charge as owners of the betel vines opposed demolition of their betel orchid. "I am a strong opponent of Posco project. They demolished my betel vine without my consent," alleged Hiramani Rout. (Times of India 29/6/13) Land acquisition for Posco plant stopped again (4) Pradip: Last phase land acquisition process for Posco steel plant, which had resumed three days back after a gap of 20 days, in Gobindapur village had to be suspended again on Monday following protests by anti-Posco activists. Residents of Dhinkia and Gobindapur villages led by CPI leader Narayan Reddy staged demonstration and took out rallies protesting forcible demolition of betel vines. Collector Satya Kumar Mallick said, “We have no intention to expedite land acquisition process and demolish betel vines by creating law and order problem. Demolition is almost complete as only 30 to 40 betel vines are left to be dismantled.” The demolition process was stopped as tension ran high in the area. The work would resume on Tuesday, he added. On Monday, the district officials led by ADM, Paradip Surjit Das began the demolition of betel vines. After a brief lull, anti-Posco protestors attempted to disrupt the land acquisition process. CPI leader Reddy and Samajwadi party leader Arun Jena vowed to face any situation to stop the land acquisition process. Protesters demanding immediate halt to demolition of betel demonstrated at Patana. Following the resistance from anti-Posco activists, the administration decided to stop land acquisition operation for the day. Later, the district officials held a meeting at Posco transit camp office in Nuagaon in the presence of Posco and IDCO officials to chalk out a plan to expedite land acquisition process. PPSS leader Sisir Mohapatra said, “The presence of CPI leader Reddy for three days in Dhinkia village has helped us intensify agitation against Posco project. We have vowed to restrict the entry of district officials for land acquisition.” The protestors have threatened to resort to mass

immolation if the administration will continue to demolish the betel vines forcibly. The administration has dismantled around 59 betel vines during the last phase of land acquisition while not a single beneficiary has yet received the compensation. Only 21 beneficiaries are willing to receive their compensation of Rs 89.90 lakh. (Deccan Herald 2/7/13) Now Gujarat farmers up in arms against road project (4) Ahmedabad: After protests by farmers against a Nirma cement plant in Saurashtra, the proposed special investment region (SIR) near Ahmedabad-Gandhinagar corridor and the Mirthi Virdi Nuclear Power Station, anger is now brewing against land acquisition for a bypass for National Highway 8D near Junagadh in Saurashtra region. Farmers here have threatened to remove the demarcations made for the bypass jointly by the surveyors of the National Highway Authority of India as well as the district administration of Junagadh. They are for expanding an existing bypass to ensure farm lands are not diverted for the project. Under the banner of Khedut Heet Rakshak Samiti (organisation for farmers’ rights), they have decided to file a petition in the Supreme Court as well as send letters written in blood by women to Chief Minister Narendra Modi. Veteran Gandhian Chunibhai Vaidya, whose Gujarat Lok Samiti, has lent support to the agitation, says that Congress general secretary Madhusudan Mistry, former BJP legislator from Saurashtra Kanu Kalsaria who led the stir against Nirma and veteran lawyer Prashant Bhushan of India Against Corruption are backing the farmers’ Junagadh protest. Just about a fortnight ago, about 10,000 farmers from 44 villages on the Mandal-Becharaji corridor close to Ahmedabad and Gandhinagar gathered here in some 500 tractors and other vehicles to oppose a proposed auto hub called the special investment region. The government has already allotted land to Maruti Suzuki in this region. According to Lalji Desai, one of the leaders of the agitation, the area covers 63,000 hectares of fertile land. Such agitations have been building up in Gujarat in the backdrop of the fact that the number of farmers is falling at a steady rate in the State while there is a simultaneous rise in the number of landless labourers. According to 2011 census figures, the number of farmers in the State during the last decade has fallen by 3.55 lakh, while farm labourers — landless labourers — have grown by a whopping 17 lakh. There are several reasons for the increasing restlessness among the farmers in the State, says social scientist Achyut Yagnik. “The first is the government’s increasing tilt towards big industry; and then the high rate of urbanisation fostered by this,” he says. (The Hindu 3/7/13) Land acquisition for Posco over, says Odisha government (4) BHUBANESWAR: After eight years of struggle and controversy, the Odisha government on Thursday took a major step towards concretizing steel bellwether Posco's proposed mega steel plant in Jagatsinghpur district as it completed acquiring the 2,700 acre land required for the project's initial phase. "We have cleared all betel vines over 2,700 acre land and paid compensation to the concerned people. Land acquisition for the project's first phase is over," collector (Jagatsinghpur) Satya Kumar Mallick told TOI. He said they would wait for the July 11 decision of the National Green Tribunal (NGT), which had earlier put a stay on felling of trees in the project site, to know whether it could remove the trees. "We would need 15 days to clear the land of the trees. But till NGT gives the go-ahead we have to wait," he added. A total of 1.94 lakh trees have been felled while over 70,000 are left to be felled. Only after it removes the trees, the district administration can hand over the land to state-run Odisha Industrial Infrastructure Development Corporation (Idco), which would transfer it to Posco. In April, Idco had given 1703.68 acre to the steel behemoth. The government had in 2005 signed an MoU with the South Korean company for a 12 MTPA steel facility with an expenditure of 12 billion US dollars. The project, facing a host of legal and procedural battles, has been encountering stiff opposition from a section of the local villagers, who had built barricades to prevent the land acquisition work for years. This forced the government to drop Dhinkia village from the proposed project site. It took over land from seven villages,Gadakujanga, Noliasahi, Polang, Bhuyanpala, Bayanalakanda, Nuagaon and Gobindapur. Jagatsinghpur ADM Surjit Das said 488 betel vines of 420 villagers were dismantled at Gobindapur and

Rs 6.93 crore compensation paid to the land oustees. Earlier, 1,100 betel vines were demolished and Rs 15.93 crore disbursed to 993 people. As many as 35,143 fruit-bearing trees were cut and 564 tree-owners paid Rs 4.15 crore as compensation. (Times of India 5/7/13) Compensation for land after three decades (4) CHENNAI: A land owner will get compensation from the authorities more than three decades after the Tamil Nadu Slum Clearance Board acquired a piece of prime property in T. Nagar for the construction of tenement blocks in 1977. A Division Bench of Madras High Court, while ordering payment of compensation, also imposed Rs. one lakh as exemplary costs on the authorities, including the Slum Clearance Board and the Chennai District Collector, for denying due compensation so far. Sri Srinivasamurthy Mandiram, a trust, owned land measuring about 49 grounds in T. Nagar. In 1977, the owner gave conditional consent to the authorities to enter upon the property by paying adequate compensation. A notification to acquire 18 grounds was issued in 1981 under the provisions of Tamil Nadu Slum Areas (Improvement and Clearance) Act 1971. Since the compensation was not paid, the land owner has been fighting since then. In 1993, a Division Bench directed the authorities to pay compensation, invoking the provisions of the Land Acquisition Act as the Slum Clearance Act was struck down. A notification was issued for acquiring the entire 49 grounds. But no consequent award was passed by the Land Acquisition Officer. A single judge directed the government to determine the compensation under the TN Slum Areas Act 1971 (which was later restored by the Supreme Court). Disposing of the writ appeal, the Bench, comprising Justices Elipe Dharma Rao and N. Kirubakaran, pointed out that the notification under the Slum Clearance Act was issued only in respect of 18 grounds and the takeover of possession of the remaining 31 grounds was not covered by the notification. The Bench said: “It is common knowledge that T. Nagar lies in the heart of the city and is a commercial region. Each ground would easily fetch about Rs.3 crore and the present-day market value of 31 grounds would be about Rs.100 crore, whereas the appellant (land owner) very fairly sought only a paltry amount of Rs.75 lakh, which is not even the cost of one ground. ” (The Hindu 7/7/13) Apex court asks Tata Motors to clear stand on Singur (4) Kolkata/New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Wednesday asked Tata Motors to make its stand clear on its leasehold rights over the Singur land, as the company had already moved its small car project out of West Bengal. A bench comprising judges H L Dattu and Dipak Misra said: “The land was acquired for establishing a car manufacturing plant at Singur. Now, the purpose is no more there, as you have already moved out. Now, you cannot say you still have interests in the land in question.” The court said the “land should move back to the agriculturists and we may ask the West Bengal government to file an affidavit on the issue of giving the money back to you which you had paid at the time of land acquisition. In the interest of justice, we think it will serve the purpose”. The state government’s counsel is believed to have told the court the state was ready to compensate Tata Motors. Tata Motors said in a statement: “The Supreme Court is exploring a holistic solution to the issue. The apex court has asked us to consider alternative use of the Singur industrial land that is with us. We will certainly explore the possible options and inform the court on the next hearing. The apex court has mentioned that compensation will be paid if we can’t use the land and return it; and, the counsel for the state has agreed to the same. We will certainly consider this option, too.” The bench also said the court had the power to say the purpose of this lease had got frustrated. It asked the automobile major to file an affidavit making its stand clear on its rights over the land in the changed scenario, though the court would hear the arguments over the constitutionality of Act. The court was hearing a special leave petition (SLP) filed by the West Bengal government, challenging the quashing of the Singur Land Rehabilitation & Development Act by the Calcutta High Court. The next hearing for the case has been fixed for August 13. However, the comments couldn’t have come at a better time, given that panchayat polls in Singur are slated for next week. The Trinamool Congress is already claiming victory. Industry Minister Partha Chatterjee said: “This vindicates

our stand. It is a victory for the people of Singur. There is a provision in the Singur Act for compensation, which is to be decided by the magistrate. We will wait for Tatas’ response.” The division bench of the Calcutta High Court had, however, observed the issue of compensation was “vague and uncertain” in the Act. The state government had moved the apex court against the high court order, which had struck down the Singur Act that allowed it to reclaim the entire 997 acres allotted to Tata Motors and its vendors. The Division Bench of the Calcutta High Court had set aside the single-judge order, saying the Singur Act was related to land acquisition but was in conflict with the Land Acquisition Act, 1894. The President’s assent had not been taken for the legislation, either. Returning land to the unwilling farmers of Singur was Mamata Banerjee’s pre-electoral pledge and hours after assuming the role of Chief Minister, Banerjee had announced that the Cabinet had decided to return 400 acres to the farmers. Subsequently, after a flip-flop over an ordinance for the return of land, the Singur Act was passed in the legislative assembly by the state government, within a month of its formation. (Business Standard 11/7/13) No forced land acquisition: Modi assures farmers (4) AHMEDABAD: Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi met the affected farmers of the Mandal-Bechraji Special Investment Region(SIR) and declared that the state government will not do any force land acquisition. The state government has constituted a high-level committee comprising four senior ministers to suggest ways to solve the problems of villages to be affected by the proposed Mandal-Bahucharaji Special Investment Region (SIR) as part of Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor ( DMIC). The committee will consider all technical aspects of the SIR keeping in view the farmers' representation and their feelings and submit its report by August 15, 2013. This was in response to a large delegation of 100 farm leaders from 44 affected villages who met Modi expressing their apprehensions about the SIR project. Modi said that the state government has an open mind to the farmers' problems. He said that his government had decided to develop Mandal Bahucharaji region as SIR as it had remained behind in industrial and agricultural development. Both the talukas have been brought under the irrigation facility with the Narmada waters. Modi assured the delegation that the state government would not take any action in case of the SIR without the consent and against the wishes of the farmers. He suggested that only four farmers' representatives from the 44 villages and five leaders of Kisan Sangh could present their case before the high-level committee. (Times of India 12/7/13) Iskcon to protest land acquisition for metro (4) HYDERABAD: Determined to put up a fight against the government's move to acquire their land for Hyderabad Metro Rail (HMR) project, members of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (Iskcon) will launch a mass contact programme across the state next week. "We have decided to protest the proposal of taking away our land for Metro Rail project. We will launch an awareness programme across the state next week to mobilise mass support," Sahadev Das, president of Iskcon, Secunderabad, said. The HMR authorities had issued a land acquisition notice to Iskcon located on Sardar Patel Road opposite St John's Church in Secunderabad to get 1,700 sq yards of the 3,500 sq yards belonging to the temple. The land is required for metro corridor-III that runs from Nagole to Shilparamam via Sangeet and Iskcon. The devotees of Lord Krishna were in no n mood to hand over the temple land, said Sahdev Das. (Times of India 15/7/13) Rs 1,000-cr loan to be raised for ITIR land acquisition (4) Bangalore: A loan of Rs 1,000 crore would be raised to acquire land for the Information Technology Investment Region (ITIR) project here, Karnataka Information Technology Minister SR Patil said today. Patil told the Legislative Assembly that a notification has been issued to acquire 2,072 acres for the project for which the Karnataka Industrial Areas Development Board (KIADB) is raising the funds. The project is to come up near the Bengaluru International Airport. ITIR is to be spread over a 40 sq.km area with plans for the acquisition of a total 10,500 acres in the Devanahalli and Doddarballapur taluks. The

project is proposed to be taken up in two phases — from 2012 to 2020, and from 2020 to 2032. Once the acquisition process gathers pace, the government intends to develop the remaining 7,500-plus acres needed for the mega project in association with private parties. "We will not acquire this land (7500-plus acres). We will develop it through developers," Patil said in response to a question from Jagadeesh Kumar R of BJP who raised the issue during question hour. The Union Cabinet had approved the greenfield project on June 4 last. ITIR is a joint initiative by the Union and state governments to attract investments in the Information Technology, Information Technology Enabled Services and Electronic Hardware Manufacturing space. It would be an integrated IT township with world-class facilities and feature residential, social, educational and health infrastructure, officials said. The project is expected to generate 12 lakh direct jobs and offer indirect employment to 28 lakh, Patil said. Officials said total investment is expected to be USD 20 billion by the year 2030. Kumar expressed fears that delay in acquiring the 7,500-plus acres would make matters complicated as many houses and buildings would come up in those areas and the state may even lose the project. But Patil said that the state government was totally committed to the project and would not allow it to be shifted out of Karnataka. (Deccan Herald 18/7/13) Orissa won’t ask Mittal to reconsider pullout (4) Bhubaneswar: Orissa government is not going to pursue ArcelorMittal to reconsider its decision on scraping the proposed steel project in the state. "We are not going to request ArcelorMittal to renew its MoU," Orissa chief secretary JK Mohapatra said, adding, "If they come on their own with a proposal to revive the project, we would certainly consider." He said that the company officials requested him on Wednesday not to renew the MoU. Reacting to ArcelorMittal's allegation that the company withdrew from the 12 million tonne steel project due to delay in land acquisitions and grant of iron ore mining lease , the chief secretary said that there were some problem in the land acquisition. He, however, clarified the grant of mining lease could not be possible as the project did not progress as per the milestones laid down in the MoU. Sources in the state steel and mines department said that ArcelorMittal did not take interest in going ahead with the project. It did not deposit the required amount for land acquisition even though the state government issued 7(1) notification for acquiring 7,000 acres of land for the project in Patna tehsil of Keonjhar district. The company even did not submit the detailed project report (DPR) despite repeated reminders by the state government, the sources pointed out. The MoU signed for the R40,000-crore mega steel project on December 21, 2006, had expired in 2011. Though the company filed a request letter for renewal of the MoU, it did not respond to the state government's reminders for furnishing project status report to take a decision on the renewal of the MoU. (Indian Express 19/7/13) Land acquisition for Outer Ring Road to start soon (4) SURAT: Acquisition of land for the ambitious Outer Ring Road project is expected to start soon in the face of no major objections coming from the farmers for the eight town planning (TP) schemes. Surat Urban Development Authority (SUDA) and Surat Municipal Corporation (SMC) will acquire the land for Rs 5,000 crore project. A few farmers expressed their fear of becoming landless at a hearing of stakeholders last week, but the authorities have promised to allocate land to them at a different location. SMC and SUDA have prepared eight draft TP schemes for the proposed area of 500 meters on both sides of the 29 km stretch of road that will be developed in the first phase. The total length of outer ring road is 66 km. "There were no objections against the schemes from the people but many wanted the percentage of land acquired for public amenities to be reduced from 40 per cent," said Rajesh Pandya, a town planner with SMC. PK Datta, a senior town planner from SUDA said, "Some farmers whose land will be acquired in the next couple of months were a little scared. They would be getting land in place of what they loose. We did not face wholesale rejection from the people." The people have been given a month to send their objections in writing to the authorities after which the schemes will be sent for the government's approval. SMC and SUDA are looking for a consultant as they plan to develop this new outer ring road with all the

modern amenities and lots of greenery. For this road a free space index (FSI) of 0.6 will be given to the developer with a provision to purchase FSI up to 4 on payment of 40 per cent of Jantri rate. Buildings up to 70 meters in height will come up on both sides of the road and almost 2 lakh square meters of land will be developed on the outskirts of the city. (Times of India 22/7/13) Land acquisition law to get tougher, warns Jairam Ramesh (4) New Delhi: Days after two steel giants cited land acquisition problems to scrap projects worth Rs. 72,000 crore, Union rural development minister Jairam Ramesh acknowledged that the proposed land acquisition bill may make acquisition for industries difficult. Ramesh, who has drawn up a new land acquisition bill to replace the Land Acquisition Act of 1894, spoke to HT on various aspects of the new law. He said the bill is aimed at encouraging direct purchase of land and if private players want the government to buy land for them, it must be done under an equitable arrangement. Excerpts from the interview: Two international steel giants, ArcelorMittal and Posco, have scrapped projects worth Rs. 72,000 crore because of land acquisition problems. How do you react to this news? The problems that these companies faced were issues related to state governments. It has nothing to do with the policies of the central government. If the Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement (LRR) Act were in place, could these problems have been avoided? Certainly! The incidents prove that the LRR law is all the more required now to make the land buying process transparent. It would have put a transparent mechanism in place and ensured land owners get their due. But some industry lobbies think the proposed law will lead to a steep hike in land prices. If the bill leads to more direct land purchases by private players, so be it. Land acquisition had been too easy for too long for many private industries. But this can’t go on forever. The current law, enacted way back in 1894, has not been in the interest of livelihood earners. It has been said that this bill may actually dissuade companies from investing in India. What’s your opinion on this?Investments and industries are most welcome. But if they want the government to buy land for them, it must be done under an equitable arrangement where the land owners do not suffer. I am aware of the resentment in some quarters. But I expected this reaction. It is natural for those people who are reaping benefits of the current law to oppose the new law. What is your agenda now? My job is to ensure that the process of land acquisition is made transparent. For the first time, we are trying to do justice to the land owners, tribals and other vulnerable groups. We aim to redefine two most-abused provisions—the “public purpose” and the “emergency clause” in land dealings. The 1894 act was bad in design and worse in implementation. We will plug the loopholes (Hindustan Times 23/7/13) Settle Nandigram dispute, Calcutta HC tells CBI (4) KOLKATA: Disagreement between the state and CBI continued in Calcutta high court on Thursday over inclusion of the names of certain political leaders and police officials in the chargesheet for from the investigating agency's probe into the March 14, 2007 Nandigram carnage. Former chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee is reportedly a key politician, whose exclusion from the chargesheet, has irked the Mamata Banerjee government. On Thursday, the division bench of justices Ashim Kumar Banerjee and Mrinal Kanti Choudhury directed the CBI to sit with the government and report to the court at the next hearing, fixed on September 23. The directive came after the CBI counsel repeated his earlier argument that the agency had sought the state's sanction to charge sheet five IPS officers. The government, the counsel said, was insisting that names of some political leaders and senior police officials be included. The counsel, however, did not name either Bhattacharjee or any police officer in open court. Expressing dismay over persistent disagreement between the state and CBI over the chargesheet, the court said this could not continue. The court directed the CBI to initiate discussions with the state to settle the issue over framing the chargesheet in the 2007 Nandigram firing case. Responding to a petition by a Nandigram firing victim's kin Sukumar Jana, the court directed that a report of the meeting between the state and CBI be filed during the next hearing. In his petition, Jana alleged ever since the high court ordered a CBI probe in November 2007, the victims' relatives were not informed about the probe by the central

investigating agency. At the last hearing on June 21, state counsel Subrata Talukdar had submitted a report before the division bench in response to an earlier report by the CBI. The states report said, "The report submitted by CBI at the court has certain shortcomings, inconsistencies and drawbacks which we have mentioned in our report." The court had directed the CBI to respond to the state's report. On Thursday, the CBI reiterated its plea that its investigation had found evidence against five police officers and it had sought the state's sanction to prosecute them. (Times of India 26/7/13) Odisha villagers reject Vedanta mining plan (4) Bhubaneswar: Vedanta's plan to mine Odisha's Niyamngiri hills received a further jolt Monday with villagers opposing it unanimously at the seventh gram sabha (meeting) in the state. "Like the previous gram sabhas, villagers at Phuldumer in Kalahandi district said no to mining," protest leader Siddharth Nayak, who witnessed the meeting, told IANS. Vedanta has set up a one million tonne per annum alumina refinery at Lanjigarh in Kalahandi district, about 600 km from Bhubaneswar. However, it could never operate the plant at full capacity due to shortage of bauxite, the key raw material used to produce alumina. Vedanta had entered into an arrangement with the state government for supply of bauxite through a state agency from nearby Niyamgiri hills, but the move was challenged by anti-displacement groups. The Supreme Court April 18 asked the state to go to gram sabhas to understand the religious and cultural aspects of tribals in the region. The apex court's forest bench, headed by Justice Aftab Alam, said the gram sabhas would look into the religious and cultural aspects of the (Dongaria Kondh) tribals in the region in three months and take a decision. The state government, which decided to hold meetings in 12 villages, held such meetings at seven villages Monday. People of all the seven villages where gram sabhas were held have passed resolutions against mining and asserted their religious and cultural rights over the hills, another protester Prafulla Samantara told IANS. (Hindustan Times 29/7/13) Farmers get notice for land acquisition (4) AURANGABAD: Hundreds of farmers, who occupied SEZ land in Shendra last week, were called for a meeting today to discuss compensation to acquire their land. They were issued notices three days after they began tilling and sowing on the 35 hectare land. The district administration sent notices to the farmers in Wadkha Nathsagar in five star Shendra industrial estate on July 26. The notice invited one of them to discuss the acquisition of his land and finalising the rate of compensation on July 29. The farmers on Monday claimed that the officials have violated the orders of the court. Officials refused to comment on the issue. Two days After the farmers occupied 35 hectare land in Wadkha Nathsagar in Five Star Shendra Industrial Estate on July 23, seven days ago, the district administration shot a notice on July 26 inviting one of the farmers to discuss the acquisition of his land and finalising the rate of compensation in lieu of the prime land on Monday July 29. The sub-divisional officer and land acquisition officer, Aurangabad, through the notice issued on July 26 invited the farmers to discuss and finalise the rates of compensation for a piece of land sizing over four hectares and falling in the limits of the Shendra industrial estate. The notice stated that as the said land falls within the limits of the area proposed for acquisition under the Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation Act 1961, the owners of the piece of land should come to the district collectorate for discussion and finalisation of the compensation. The farmers, however, took a strong objection to the move by the administration. The farmers made a representation and once again pressed for their demand of a high level probe by a retired judge into the acquisition and allotment of land in the district. The farmers said that though they had not requested or applied for hearing into the land acquisitions, they had received notices stating that as requested by the farmers, they are being summoned for the hearing. In their representation, the farmers have made, stated that they no more trust the administration of paying any heed to their justified demands including a probe in to the fraudulent documents prepared by the government officials for usurping their prime land and later handing them over to the private companies at throw away prices. demanded an inquiry into the entire process of land acquisition by the irrigation department since 1989. A high level probe to check

how the MIDC, in 2007, certified possession of 100 hectare with clear ownership certificate. Using this certificate, the pharma company applied for SEZ and was finally approved. All the signatures and thumb impressions on agreement copies, possession receipts and other related documents should be probed for their authenticity and also a high level probe in the use of police force for ousting the farmers in December 2008. They farmers earlier had submitted a memorandum containing their demands including stern action against those involved in fraudulent acquisition of their farm land. (Times of India 30/7/13) 'Government shouldn't buy pvt land for mining' (4) Citing the recent Supreme Court decision that minerals underneath the soil of private lands belongs to the owner of the land, Lok Shakti Abhiyan, a civil rights organisation, has urged the state government to stop acquiring private lands for mining projects. "The state government should immediately withdraw the land acquisition orders for mineral bearing private lands following the apex court's order as the minerals except Uranium deposits belong to the owners,'' president of the organisation, Prafulla Samantara told media persons here. The para 57 of the order reads "we are of the opinion that there is nothing in the law which declares that all mineral wealth sub-soil rights vest in the state, on the other hand, the ownership of subsoil/mineral wealth should normally follow the ownership of the land, unless the owner of the land is deprived of the same by some valid process." Samantara demanded withdrawal of notifications for acquiring large scale agricultural lands in Chendipada area in Angul district for excavating of coal for Mahaguj colliery which is being developed by Adani group. (Business Standard 1/8/13) No agri land for industrial or mining project, says Soren (4) RANCHI: Weeks after global steel major ArceloMittal announced that it was scrapping its $12 billion project in Odisha and was also dissatisfied over the progress of two other projects in Jharkhand and Karnataka (collectively worth $18 billion), the newly formed government said they are keen to remove the bottlenecks and ensure the project sees the light of the day. However, chief minister Hemant Soren in no uncertain terms said the government would not allocate an inch of agricultural land for any industrial or mining project. "Fertile land is meant for agriculture and it will not be given for any industrial project. However, we will review the status of all pending industrial projects within a month and try to find the bottlenecks so that they are resolved at the earliest," he said. Admitting that ArcelorMittal's steel projects would bring prestige and employment to the state, he said the real reasons for the delay have to be identified first. Industries department secretary A P Singh said ArcelorMittal officials were apparently keen about mining clearances and have progressed in that direction . "Undoubtedly, land acquisition is one big issue for any industrial project. Sometime in 2010, they had plans to acquire land directly from the owners and have only recently approached the Bokaro district administration after identifying a 2,000-acre plot in the Chas region," he said. Singh said that while the mines project are awaiting clearance from the Centre's environment ministry, the company officials have themselves been slow on the front of land acquisition. Sources said that after their first attempt to acquire land in Torpa (Khunti) and Kamdara (Simdega), the company had to shift the project to Kasmar in Bokaro in February 2010 because of protests. Having acquired some land in Kasmar after holding talks with land owners directly, the company found new problems and then finally identified 1310.23 acres in four villages - Bijulia, ChakManoharpur, Dudhari and Gopidih. It is believed that after acquiring the said private and Raiyat land, the company would have to turn to the government for the remaining 30% of the required plot, which would require cabinet clearance. "Once it comes to government land, we are going to give all clearances soon," Singh said, clarifying that the company is yet to acquire the land from private owners. ArcelorMittal on Wednesday said that progress of its Jharkhand and Karnataka projects is "not very satisfactory". Chairman Lakshmi Mittal said ArcelorMittal may think of exiting these two projects if no substantial progress is made soon. He said: "There is a progress in these states, but at the same time, we would like to make it clear that these progresses are still not very satisfactory. We will continue to watch and see our

options going forward. If there is no progress in these states, we may have to think differently." (Times of India 3/8/13) For land acquired decades ago, Didi told to foot Rs 2,000 crore bill now (4) Kolkata: Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's claim of having inherited a huge debt has got enough credence with courts ordering her government to pay Rs 2,000 crore to farmers for land taken from them by previous governments. The cases of land acquisition date back to 1948 when Prafulla Chandra Ghosh of the Congress, the first chief minister of West Bengal, was at the helm. As many of the courts, where the farmers moved to get compensation, directed the state government to pay the dues, Mamata, who is in charge of the department of land and land reforms, asked her officials to find out a way out. But how did it all happen? The Land Acquisition Act of 1894, promulgated by the British, stipulated that land could be taken only after declaring awards (compensation) for farmers. The farmers might take it or might not take it but the money would be ready. But in 1948, a year after India got Independence, when the state had to acquire land fast owing to developmental necessities and the state government under Prafulla Chandra Ghosh was facing a severe cash crunch, an Act in the Assembly was passed which enabled the state government to acquire land first and declare the awards later. Large tracts of land was acquired in this manner till 1994 when the Act was repealed by the Left Front government under Jyoti Basu and land began to be acquired in accordance with the 1894 Act. "Between 1948 and 1994, huge areas of land was acquired for which farmers were not paid. Both the Congress and the subsequent Left Front governments are to blame for this. Many of these people moved court and we have been slapped with a total bill of Rs 2,000 crore. It is like a bolt from the blue for us. And we don't know how much land has been acquired in this way, where the government did not pay compensation. In that case the bill can shoot up manifold. We will have to pay for the inefficiency of the previous governments,'' an official of the land and land reforms department told The Sunday Express. ..(Indian Express 4/8/13) 270 major infrastructure projects running behind schedule (4) New Delhi, Aug 6 : About 270 major infrastructure projects costing Rs. 150 crore and above are running behind schedule, the Lok Sabha was informed Tuesday. Minister of State for Statistics and Programme Implementation Srikant Kumar Jena said as on June 1, 569 central sector projects were being monitored by his ministry. "About 277 projects are running behind schedule," he said. "Main reasons for delay in implementation are law and order problems, delay in land acquisition, rehabilitation and resettlement problems, fund constraints, delay in forest and environment clearances among other." The key infrastructure projects are executed by the ministries of railways, road transport and highways, shipping, civil aviation and power. He said these projects are monitored closely by the concerned ministry with respect to the target dates of completion. "A standing committee has been set up in each ministry to fix responsibility for cost and time overruns," he added. (New Kerala 6/8/13) Social body questions land acquisitions (4) AURANGABAD: The Aurangabad Social Forum (ASF) on Monday expressed concern over proposed large-scale land acquisitions for special economic zones (SEZ), the Delhi Mumbai Industrial Corridor and the Aurangabad metropolitan city. It cited the recent occupation of MIDC land by farmers in Shendra, who have alleged that large-scale manipulation and fraud was involved in the process. Addressing an ASF meet, comprising industrialists, educationists, social workers and NGOs, professor Vijay Diwan questioned the justification for the huge amounts of proposed land to be acquired for major projects. He said that this mass land acquisition would only result in the increase in the percentage of youths without jobs and will deprive people of both the acquired land and water. "In the name of development, not only the farmers but also the micro, small and medium enterprises are being killed by the government. Only major corporate houses are being favoured. Ironically, all the acquisition is being done around developing cities, eyeing the real estate market," activist Ulka Mahajan said on the occasion. She specified that the

"fight" is not between the farmers and industrialists, but between "the common man and a handful of major corporate houses" that are acquiring prime agricultural land. "No one is ready to answer the simple question why so much of land is required for setting up multinational companies," Mahajan said. (Times of India 7/8/13) Govt. told to reconvey lands acquired at Madhavaram (4) CHENNAI: Nearly 30 persons whose lands at Madhavaram here were acquired by the government can be happy now. The Madras High Court has directed the authorities to reconvey the lands to them within six weeks. The lands should be given back if the owners are willing to repay the sum paid to them or deposited in their favour as compensation, the court ordered. A Division Bench consisting of Justices Elipe Dharma Rao (since retired) and M. Venugopal passed the common judgment on a batch of writ appeals by one Dharmalingam and others. The court also said that the government could not come out with a fresh reason for using the acquired lands for a public purpose when the notification under the Land Acquisition Act (LAA) had been issued by the government more than two decades ago, i.e., March 1985. According to the government, out of 80.92 acres acquired, 64.80 acres were utilised for a bus and truck terminal. The balance 16.12 acres was under process of development. Of which 5.06 acres were under challenge before the High Court and detailed development of the said area could not be continued till date. The remaining 11.06 acres had been earmarked for “future development” in the scheme layout approved to accommodate future functional requirements. The petitioners wrote to the government to reconvey the lands to them. As this was rejected, they filed writ petitions. A single Judge passed orders in August 2009. Against this, the original owners preferred appeals. Counsel contended that the single Judge committed an error while passing the order in so far as rejecting the consequential relief of claim for reconveying the lands to the petitioners. In the judgment, the Bench said the single Judge was quite correct in concluding that the allotment of the acquired lands to the gunny bag merchants association was not a public purpose and rightly set aside the government’s impugned letter of October 23, 2006 rejecting the original land owners request to reconvey the lands. (The Hindu 10/8/13) Rehab policy to soothe ruffled feathers of project-affected persons in Navi Mumbai (4) MUMBAI: City and Industrial Development Corporation (Cidco) led by veteran bureaucrat Sanjay Bhatia had drafted a multi-pronged strategy to pacify agitated project-affected persons (PAPs) in Navi Mumbai. "We have learned lessons from the strife over land acquisition for the much delayed Navi Mumbai airport project. Now, we have drafted a 26-point action plan so that there will be less scope for the PAPs to launch an agitation," a senior bureaucrat told TOI on Tuesday. "Under our new policy, we have made an attempt to address basic issues raised by the PAPs. Our aim is that no project should be delayed due to agitation launched by PAPs," he added. Elaborating on the new action plan, the bureaucrat said within a month the process of allotment of 12.5% developed land will be made completely transparent. "We have proposed a uniform developed land allotment policy for a village. The new scheme will come into force within a month and entire data will be available on a website," he said. While a consumer facilitation centre will be set up for PAPs, a special redressal grievance officer will be appointed to take cognisance of complaints, while an IG-level officer will be nominated to probe complaints of graft. On the policy to provide financial assistance to schools set up between 1970 and 1995, it has now been proposed to grant Rs two crore for construction of new schools, 25% for repair and 15% for procuring laboratory equipment, computers and setting up of a library. In the project-affected villages, Cidco will set up infrastructure totalling Rs 200 crore. "We will construct roads, underground drainage, additional rooms in primary and middle schools and parking lots. Computers and furniture will be provided to schools constructed by Cidco," he said. A grant of Rs five lakh will be given to cultural events organized by the PAPs. mining belts will be given to them and in addition, Cidco will pay the fees of PAPs admitted in IITs and IIMs. The stipend to ITI students has been increased to Rs 4,500. Junior college students and postgraduate students will get Rs 7,500 and Rs 9,000 respectively and after every two years, there will be 10 per cent

hike in the grant. "PAPs will admission in schools on land allotted by Cidco. We will construct Hutatma Bhavan in Uran on the pattern of Agari Koli Bhavan in Nerul and proposed Bhumiputra Bhavan in Ulwe," he added. (Times of India 14/8/13) Court calls for material on cancellation of pact for SEZ (4) CHENNAI: With the Centre advising the Puducherry government to cancel its agreement with private partners to develop a Special Economic Zone (SEZ) in the Union Territory, the Madras High Court has now directed Puducherry Chief Secretary to produce material to show whether the administration has decided to cancel the pact or not. Justice K.K. Sasidharan passed the order on two writ petitions seeking a direction to the Union Government to issue the notification for proceeding with the project. Following the Centre’s announcement of the SEZ in 2000, the Puducherry government wanted to set up the project under public-private participation (PPP). In a petition, SPML Infra Ltd, New Delhi, a joint venture partner of the Pondicherry Special Economic Zone Company Ltd (PSEZC), said the Commerce Ministry had granted in-principle approval in December 2004 to the territorial government for setting up a multi-product SEZ in Puducherry. After the incorporation of the PSEZC in 2006, the real process of setting up the zone was set in motion. More than 300 hectares of land were acquired at Sedarapet-Karasur. All steps necessary for issuing a formal notification to proceed with the SEZ had been fully completed. This was clear from the approval granted by the Board of Approvals of the Commerce Ministry in August 11, 2009. Despite repeated correspondence and requests, the Centre had not issued the notification for implementing the project. A petition with a similar prayer has been filed by Om Metal Infra Projects Ltd, Jaipur, another joint venture partner. In an order a few days ago, Mr. Justice Sasidharan said the Union Territory’s decision to develop an SEZ was not approved by the Centre. In a communication to the Chief Secretary of August 6, 2009, the Union Home Ministry had said there were several infirmities in the process of selection of the strategic partner. The territorial government did not follow a transparent bidding process. The Ministry had advised the government to cancel the entire agreement with the strategic partner and not to part with the land in favour of Puducherry Industrial Promotion, Development and Investment Corporation Ltd (PIPDIC) or the SPV (Special Purpose Vehicle). In case any part of the land had already been transferred to PIPDIC or the SPV, it should be resumed immediately, the communication stated. The Judge said the counter did not indicate the action taken by the Puducherry government pursuant to the Centre’s 2009 communication. He directed the government to submit its response in writing. (The Hindu 16/8/13) 80 Badagubettu residents oppose land acquisition (4) UDUPI: With the Karnataka Industrial Area Development Board (KIADB) planning to go ahead with the acquisition of 269 acres in 80 Badagubettu gram panchayat for an industrial zone, villagers are living with a fear of losing their houses, sites and agricultural land. Recently the villagers have passed a resolution at a taluk panchayat meeting against the land acquisition for the project. The villagers had asked KIADB to exclude the village from the project. The Udupi Urban Development Authority had notified the land for the project about 12 years ago to develop the area. In a recent letter to the board the deputy commissioner giving permission to acquire 269 acres. However, villagers are of the opinion that the industrial zone can be set up in 20 acres. As the first phase of their protest they have submitted memorandums to as many as 23 people's representatives from the areas including GP members and MP. K Prabhakar Shetty, president, Jana Jagruthi Samithi, Badagubettu, said, "We are against the proposal to develop an industrial zone in 80 Badagubettu and a resolution has been passed in this regard'. We have decided to seek justice in the court of law and within 15 days we will initiate the process".The population of the GP is about 2,000 residents and there are 350 houses in the village. Sathish Nayak, a resident, said that no public hearing has been organized to understand the views of the villagers so far. ''We will not allow our fertile land to be acquired for industries'', he said. Meanwhile, district in-charge minister Vinay Kumar Sorake on Monday has said the villagers will be taken into confidence before any decision on creating an

industrial zone is made. When TOI contacted deputy commissioner M T Reju, he said that the Udupi Urban Development Authority had made an announcement in 2001 to notify 269 acres of land in 80 Badagubettu. "The move requires a revision now as such announcements are valid for only five years. As 12 years have passed, KIADB cannot acquire the land now and there is a need for a public hearing in this regard," he added. (Times of India 18/8/13) Villagers vote out Vedanta (4) Bhubaneswar: Villagers in south-western Odisha have rejected a proposal by Vedanta Aluminium to mine bauxite in the Niyamgiri hills, arguably in the country’s first referendum of its kind. The last of the dozen gram sabhas, or village councils, voted today at Jarpa in Rayagada district against the plan, casting the Anil Agarwal-owned Vedanta’s Rs 5,000-crore project into deep uncertainty. The state-owned Odisha Mining Corporation and Sterlite Industries, a subsidiary of the London Stock Exchange-listed Vedanta Resources, were to mine bauxite to feed a one-million-tonne alumina refinery nearby. The decision has reignited the intense debate over what comes first: local sentiment or industrial development. At the same time, Niyamgiri’s referendum could prove to be the way to go for projects that get tied up in controversies over land acquisition — as at Singur in Bengal — or any other local issue. All the 11 other village councils had earlier expressed their opposition because of their belief that mining would infringe upon their social, cultural and religious rights over Niyamgiri. The local Kondh tribals worship Niyamgiri as their god. Sources said that of the 10 male and six female voters who turned up for the village council meeting at Jarpa, not one spoke in favour of the project. “We will send the report of the proceedings to the scheduled tribe and scheduled caste development department,” said Rayagada district collector Sashi Bhushan Padhi. The department will compile a report on the outcome of the 12 meetings held in the hills for the Union ministry of environment and forests, which had blocked forest clearance for the project three years ago. A Vedanta spokesperson declined comment as the matter is sub judice. Sources said the company was now looking for alternative mines in Odisha. Odisha steel and mines minister Rajani Kant Singh dropped hints about bailing out the company, offering the argument that captive mines were required to run the plant. The village councils were organised following a Supreme Court judgment of April 18 that said mining could not take place by trampling upon the religious and cultural rights of the Kondhs. The meetings, held at various places in the Rayagada and Kalahandi districts, began on July 18. Whether or not the Niyamgiri example becomes the trendsetter to resolve similar controversies in the future remains to be seen, but it does offer an alternative mechanism to resolve differences. The trickiest problem for industrial projects has often proved to be land acquisition, because of which Tata Motors had to leave Singur. After the Niyamgiri development, observers have begun to wonder what the outcome of a similar public referendum in Singur might have been. It is not that the Niyamgiri case has been completely free of political association. Ruling Biju Janata Dal leader Balbhadra Majhi has accused the local Congress MP, Bhakta Charan Das, of trying to influence the outcome of the village meetings. Survival International, an NGO, has been campaigning against the project, leading to allegations that opposition was being funded by foreign money. The presence of two foreigners at an earlier village council meeting had triggered controversy. (The Telegraph 20/8/13) Farmers seek Rs. 45 lakh an acre for their land (4) GULBARGA: Farmers in Ferozabad-Honnakiranagi and Somanathahalli, on the outskirts of the city, who will be losing their land for a mega cement plant to be set up by Gulbarga Cements, have urged the State government to fix Rs. 45 lakh an acre as the price for their land. Submitting their appeal during a public hearing, chaired by Deputy Commissioner N.S. Prasanna Kumar here on Thursday, the farmers and advocates representing them said that agricultural land to be acquired by Gulbarga Cements was very fertile and the only means of livelihood for farmers. Taking away their land would deprive them of their livelihood and therefore, the government should ensure that adequate compensation was paid to landowners. Senior advocate Subash Konin, Mashaq Patil, Moinuddin and farmer Siddaramaiah said that

apart from paying Rs. 45 lakh an acre, the government should ensure that the members of land-losing families were given jobs in the factory. The factory should also take up community development programmes, including construction of roads, establishing hospitals and creating drinking water facilities in and around the village, where the factory would be set up. The factory had proposed to acquire 1,900.2 acres of land, adjacent to the land already acquired for establishing a thermal power plant, a couple of years ago. However, none of the farmers or their representatives expressed resentment for opposed the proposal to acquire their land. Their only concern appeared to be about getting a high rate of compensation. Earlier, the government had bought more than 1,000 acres for setting up a thermal power plant at Rs. 9 lakh and Rs. 10 lakh an acre, about two years ago. Mr. Kumar said that the land rate would be fixed and announced within three weeks. The rate of land would vary, in accordance with their location. The rate for land lying adjacent to the National Highway 218 that connects Humnabad with Jewargi would be different from the one to be fixed for lands about 15 meters or more away from highway, he said. Director of Gulbarga Cements Ramesh, who was present, assured the farmers that community development projects would be taken up in and around the village where the cement factory would be set up and employment provided to members of land-losing families. (The Hindu 23/8/13) Narmada in spate, forces called in for relief (4) Bhopal: Heavy rainfall has led to flooding in 24 of Madhya Pradesh's 51 districts. This is particularly severe in Hoshangabad and Dewas districts. So far 106 people have died in rain related incidents; 20 in the last 24 hours alone. The deaths of 300 odd heads of cattle, submergence of 15,581 hectares of farms and 26,861 homes has also been reported. A railway bridge in Betul district has been partially destroyed and train services on the Bhopal- Nagpur route have been disrupted. Chief Minister Shivraj Chouhan called for an emergency meeting on Friday, after reports came in from District Collectors that areas close to the Narmada and its tributaries have been submerged. He addressed a press conference with DGP Nandan Dube and Chief Secretary R. Parasuram, before leaving for an aerial tour of the affected districts. Mr. Chouhan said, "The Narmada is flowing 18 feet above the danger mark. This has resulted in approximately 50 villages being submerged and at least 50,000 people have been displaced. We request people not to resist and evacuate areas we have asked them to." He added, "There is no need to fear, but stay alert. Don't use rafts as they can topple over and don't use bridges that are unstable. Our first priority is to evacuate those stranded and then undertake rehabilitation." Compensation of Rs. 1 lakh each has been declared for those deceased, Rs. 50,000 for those with severe injuries and Rs. 10,000 for those with minor injuries. The gates of Bargi, Indira Sagar, Tawa and Omkareshwar dams had been opened when this report was filed. A column of approximately 300 troops was brought in from Jabalpur by train to Sohagpur in Hoshangabad for relief operations. Two Mi-8 helicopters of the Air Force are carrying out rescue and relief sorties in Hoshangabad and Dewas districts. Mr. Dube said choppers would also be dropping food and soup packets where needed. A chopper was engaged in rescuing 50 people stranded on an island on the Kanhan river in Chhindwara when this report was filed. The state has received 1139.8mm of rainfall, which is in excess by 64 per cent, this monsoon. An average of 44.5mm was recorded in the state today, which is 323 per cent above normal. Betul and Hoshangabad recorded the highest rainfall of 188 mm and 181 mm today respectively. Many schools across the state have been closed and turned into relief camps. Soya yield is expected to take a hit this season. Torrential rain is expected in Bhopal, Narmadapuram and Indore divisions tomorrow. (The Hindu 24/8/13) Dalits demonstrate demanding revision of Land Ceiling Act (4) New Delhi: Scores of people from Dalit community on Monday held a protest here demanding revision of the Land Ceiling Act, alleging the ownership of land and other resources have always been in hands of those who are "dominant in caste".The protest was organised by All India Dalit and Tribal Women's Forum (AIDTWF). "We met Jairam Ramesh, Minister of Rural Development, on Friday. We demanded that any land policy that comes in must be brought in after consulting Dalit and tribal women as well," said

P Sivakami, a former IAS officer and AIDTWF president. Dalit leader Udit Raj said that "in the name of trusts and institutions, people are today possessing thousand acres of lands. We demand a limit to be imposed on it. "Dalit and Scheduled Tribe women should be given land rights. Government needs special plans to provide mandatory assistance in irrational facilities," he said. He demanded certain amendment in the propose land law. "There must be provision that no man can sell his land without the consent of his wife, there should be revision of land ceiling from 15 standard acres to 5 acres," he said. The protesters also demanded taking back farm land from temples and other religious institutions and distribute them among landless people. A demand for specific rules to be brought to enforce ceiling on educational institutions, companies and corporate owning land was also raised. (Zee News 26/8/13) Land acquisition Bill should include coal mining also: CPI(M) (4) New Delhi: CPI(M) on Monday said the proposed land acquisition Bill should include the aspect of coal mining also and the party would seek amendement to this effect when it comes up in Parliament. "The land acquisition Bill is lacking on coal mining issue. When the land is acquired for coal mining under Coal Mining Act, it does not get covered under the proposed Land Acquisition Act. So, the provisions of compensation, rehabilitation and other benefits are not applicable when the land is acquired for coal mining," CPI(M) leader Prakash Karat said here. "So, our demand is to include it in the proposed Land Acquisition Act and we will seek amendments to this effect in Parliament", Karat said after a documentary show on coal mining here. The Colliery Mazdoor Sabha of India showed an half-an- hour film called "The Dark" depicting the condition and exploitation of mine workers. Taking note of pilferage of coal in these mines, Karat said "there are pilferages in the whole area of mining, illegal mining and the expolitaion of mine workers. "While we are arguing that coal mining which are nationalised should remain nationalised, the various corrupt practices including pilferage should be stopped. Government should take prompt steps to stop it," he said. (Zee News 27/8/13) Land Acquisition Bill will help economical use of land: P Chidambaram (4) New Delhi: The Land Acquisition Bill will help in economical use of land which is a scarce commodity in the country, government on Thursday said. Ruling out any adverse impact of the Land Bill and the Food Bill on financial markets, government said the two legislations have been debated upon for months and was factored in by the markets. "People will now realise land is a scarce commodity and it must be economically used," Finance Minister P Chidambaram said after the Cabinet meeting. He said "we have debated it. We believe that the Land Bill strikes a fair balance and renders a long-denied justice to those who are being deprived of it." On its huge cost that may affect the market sentiment, Chidambaram said "it is completely wrong to say that the markets are spoofed or the markets are enthused by this Bill. These have been factored in long ago by the markets." He said the Food Bill and the Land Bill have been there and debated for many months. "The Food Bill and the Land bill have been in public domain for many many months. These two bills have been debated for many months," the Finance Minister said. Asked whether the cost of projects will increase many times on account of high land acquisition cost after this Bill, Chidambaram said land as a proportion of project cost is an extremely small cost but will give other benefits like people now economising on land. On the Food Bill, the minister said the Rs 90,000 crore earmarked during the current fiscal for PDS distribution and Food Security Bill will be enough for the remaining five months of the year. (Indian Express 29/8/13) After words fly in acrimonious debate, Lok Sabha passes key land acquisition Bill (4) New Delhi: Lok Sabha on Thursday passed the land acquisition Bill, even as parties expressed reservations on aspects of the legislation. The Samajwadi Party questioned the need to take over agricultural farmland, and argued that barren land could instead be used for development purposes. Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh stressed the definition of the 'urgency clause' in the Bill, which limits 'urgency' to national security and natural disasters. He addressed concerns over acquisition of

multicrop irrigated land, and explained that the Centre did not have authority to enact legislation for land acquisition, given the issue is a concurrent subject. "States can improve upon the Act, but can't degrade it," he said. Earlier, MPs sought amendments over remuneration to farmers and the right to appeal. "The Bill has strayed from its central objective of providing right to fair compensation for landowners," BJP president Rajnath Singh said. SP chief Mulayam Singh Yadav said, "What do farmers have except their land? And what will they do if you take it away and do not give fair compensation?" The DMK, CPM and BJD too raised concerns over the Bill. (Indian Express 30/8/13) Tilia villagers pin hope on Land Bill (4) JHARSUGUDA: People of Tilia village in Lakhanpur block of Jharsuguda district are hopeful that after implementation of the new Land Acquisition Bill, they would get adequate compensation and rehabilitation for the land to be acquired by Odisha Power Generation Corporation Limited (OPGC) to set up its power plant. The new Bill that was recently passed in the Lok Sabha seeks to provide just and fair compensation to farmers while ensuring that no land is acquired under duress. Though OPGC is working hard to acquire 277.30 acres of land from the village for setting up the proposed third and fourth units of Ib Thermal Power Station (ITPS) at Banharpali in the block, the villagers are refusing to part with their land as the OPGC is yet to make its intention clear on the compensation package to be paid. Earlier, the villagers drove away government officials from the village and refused to co-operate with the administration in acquisition of land. Villagers displaced by the Hirakud Dam project were not paid adequate compensation. However, the administration is clueless on the compensation package. Former Managing Director of OPGC Venkatachalam K had offered Rs five lakh per acre which was rejected by the villagers. They stated that they already earn Rs four lakh per acre by cultivating ginger. Jharsuguda ADM Bibhuti Bhusan Behera said dialogue on the matter was on with the villagers and he has sought their cooperation for greater interest of the State. However, Convener of OPGC Bistapit Surakhya Manch Yangya Narayan Pradhan said OPGC should stop acquiring land in Tilia till implementation of new land acquisition Bill. “It should not acquire land on the basis of 119-year-old law enacted by the British as they were not paid adequate compensation during the Hirakud project due to the same law.” The Bill aims to provide a number of benefits to farmers whose land is being acquired, he added. (New Indian Express 2/9/13) Rajya Sabha to vote on Land Acquisition Bill today (4) New Delhi: The landmark ‘The Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Bill, 2012’ will be introduced in Rajya Sabha on Wednesday for debate and voting. Last week the Lok Sabha passed the Bill with 216 votes in favour and 19 against it. The Bill is expected to sail through in the Upper House as the Congress-led government at the Centre has agreed to make some amendments suggested by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). According to sources, Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh has agreed to senior BJP leader Arun Jaitley's suggestions that retrospective and social impact assessment clauses should not be applied for the acquisition of land for irrigation projects. Similarly, both the BJP and the government have also inclined to accept to make it specify that either compensation or rehabilitation and resettlement (R&R) will be given to farmers whose land is acquired for irrigation projects. Seeking to correct the wrongs of its predecessor the Land Acquisition Act 1894, it rests on three main pillars: consent (through a well-defined and a comprehensive process), compensation and rehabilitation/ resettlement. The Bill also introduces a number of unprecedented and far reaching safeguards to protect an individual's right to his or her personal property from arbitrary and indiscriminate acquisition. The new Bill proposes that farmers and landowners be paid up to four times the market value for land acquired in rural areas, and two times the market value in urban areas. "The Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Bill, 2012" stipulates mandatory consent of at least 70 percent for acquiring land for Public Private Partnership (PPP) projects and 80 percent for acquiring land for private companies. (Zee News 4/9/13)

Parliament passes land acquisition bill (4) NEW DELHI: Marking a second major political victory for the UPA government, the parliament on Thursday passed the seminal land bill that aims to provide fair compensation to those whose land is taken away, brings transparency to the process of land acquisition to set up factories or buildings and assures generous compensation and rehabilitation of those affected by land takeover. The Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Bill, 2012 aims to replace a law enacted by the British in 1894. The bill was passed by Lok Sabha Aug 29 and the Rajya Sabha Sep 4 but was referred to the lower house again to approve the three new amendments passed by the upper house Wednesday. Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh moved the three new amendments, related to exemptions for irrigation projects, which were passed by the lower house without any discussion. These amendments were incorporated by the government at the behest of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). The bill will now go to President Pranab Mukherjee for his assent before it becomes a law. In both the houses most parties supported the bill but gave their suggestions to make it more farmerfriendly after over seven hours of debate. The passage of this bill comes close on the heels of the food bill that enshrines food rights and promises access to subsidised food to almost 800 millions Indians. Both these legislations have been dubbed "populist" by economists but the Congress, especially its leader, Sonia Gandhi, have made the twin bills their showpiece instruments to improve the lives of India's poor and hope to leverage on them to return to power in the general elections slated for next year. Industry is unhappy with the bill as it makes acquisition of land to set up industries infinitely more difficult as large tracts of land have fragmented ownership but the ruling Congress - as well as other parties - want to show that their heart is with farmers and tribals as no party want to be seen as anti-poor ahead of a general election. "Compensation is not only for land owners and farmers but also for those whose livelihood will be affected," Ramesh said. He said urgency clause will operate only in case of national calamity and security and private companies cannot invoke it. The Congress termed the Rajya Sabha's approval a historic step. "There was national consensus on it. It reflects the vision of the UPA government and the Congress," Congress general secretary Janardan Dwivedi said. Most parties supported the bill but said fertile land should not be acquired for industrial development. Instead, barren land should be used for the purpose, they said. BJP Rajya Sabha member Vinay Katiyar, who initiated the debate, said acquired land, if not used for more than five years, should go back to farmers and not to land banks and suggested fast track courts for speedy disposal of disputes related to land acquisition. Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief Mayawati and Samajwadi Party member Ram Gopal Yadav accused the UPA of rushing through the bill with an eye on upcoming elections.The Trinamool Congress and the Communist Party of India-Marxists also opposed the bill. "This bill is not good for farmers, not good for industry and not good for the country," Trinamool leader Derek O'Brien said. CPI-M leader P. Rajeev called the bill a "political gimmick" and an "eyewash" ahead of the 2014 general elections. "This is not an election bill but a necessary bill," said Ramesh. Parties like the CPI-M, Communist Party of India, Trinamool, Janata DalUnited (JD-U), Biju Janata Dal, Rashtriya Janata Dal, SP and Bahujan Samaj Party also said that the consent of the farmer was key in any land acquisition and suggested that fair compensation should be paid to him. A key feature of the bill is that the consent of 80 percent of land owners concerned is needed for acquiring land for private projects and of 70 percent landowners for public-private projects. The compensation has also been significantly increased under the new law. It suggests compensation for the owners of the acquired land to be four times the market value in case of rural areas and twice in case of urban areas. The bill also defines "public purpose" to include: mining, infrastructure, defence, manufacturing zones, roads, railways, highways, and ports built by government and public sector enterprises, land for project-affected people, planned development and improvement of village or urban sites and residential purposes for the poor and landless and government-administered schemes or institutions, among others. Introduced in 2011, the bill was scrutinised by parliamentary panel that submitted its report in May 2012. (New Indian Express 5/9/13)

Land Acquisition Bill has some flaws, say civil society members (4) Visakapatanam: The Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Bill, 2012 popular as Land Acquisition Bill has sparked off a debate on how fair is the compensation envisaged in the new legislation. The Bill described by many as historic makes it mandatory the obtaining of consent from 70 per cent of affected people for public private partnership (PPP) projects and 80 per cent for private companies. It is applicable for all Special Economic Zones (SEZs) and industrial parks. The Bill is said to have ignored the concerns expressed by certain civil society members. It provides provision for compensation up to two times of the market value of land in urban areas and four times in rural areas. Former bureaucrat and social activist E.A.S. Sarma told The Hindu on Thursday that there were three positive features in this Bill. First, rehabilitation and resettlement is part of the Bill and they should be taken up hand-in-hand with acquisition. Second, the compensation rates are far more attractive. Third, prior consent of the affected families (80 per cent) is mandatory. According to him, the Bill has a few shortcomings. First, the meaning of ‘public purpose’ which had been progressively enlarged in the existing Act to include land for private companies remains as it is. Second, those who are the tillers of the land are often tenants of absentee landlords who usually pocket the compensation. The latest Bill fails to address this. The same is the case with landless cultivators in occupation of government lands, who may not get any compensation. Third, many private companies are circumventing the mandatory ‘prior consent’ clause by deploying brokers to purchase lands in advance. Mr. Sarma said the preamble of the Bill is regressive as it talks of acquisition of land for industry, making it clear that the Bill has come at the instance of the corporates. It ignores the implications of land acquisition for food security. Irrespective of the compensation amount, once displaced, the affected persons go through a trauma that can never be compensated, he pointed out. Samata executive director Rebbapragada Ravi said the Bill was welcome but the compensation envisaged in it would not be a big relief for the land-losers. The actual rate of the land would not necessarily reflect the market value, he stated. Mr. Ravi said the affected people should be given an option for land to land compensation. He also strongly advocated signing memoranda of understanding with project proponents only after getting the consent from land-losers and all the clearances. “We can call it real inclusive development only when the responsibility of rehabilitation and resettlement is fixed on the project proponents and the officers concerned,” he opined. (The Hindu 7/9/13) Jairam raps government firms on forcible land acquisition (4) NEW DELHI: Forcible land acquisition by public sector companies for infrastructure projects has been worse than that by the private sector, directly fuelling the growth of Naxalism in tribal areas, Union Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh said on Sunday. Fresh from the success of getting the Land Acquisition Bill passed in Parliament last week, Ramesh was speaking on its merits to journalists from Hindi and other regional media. “The record of the public sector in displacements is worse than that of the private sector. This is a sad truth... that more displacement have been caused by government and public sector projects than private projects... particularly in Naxal areas,” Ramesh said, adding, “This is why Naxalism has grown in these areas.” With the implementation of the Land Acquisition Bill, Ramesh said the era of “forcible acquisition was over”. “If this (new) land acquisition law is properly implemented, it will defeat Naxalism,” he added. The minister said the Raj-era law had played a “very important role” in encouraging Maoist activities in Odisha, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, parts of tribal Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh. The new law will be notified in three months. Stating that acquisition was at the root of the Maoist problem, he said it was a fact that many displaced tribals have not got proper compensation. Singling out state-run power producer NTPC, Ramesh said companies need to learn to be “sensitive”. He criticised the NTPC for seeking police help to forcibly acquire land in Jharkhand, where a villager had died in firing just two months ago. “NTPC will face a challenge. If there is firing in an NTPC project and people get killed in it, they cannot acquire the land...Indian companies still believe they can use government to

forcibly acquire land. That era is gone. You cannot do forcible acquisition,” said Ramesh. When told that 13 laws, under which bulk of land acquisition takes place, are exempted from the purview of the Bill, he said, “Within one year, all compensation, rehabilitation and resettlement... all these Acts will come under the newly enacted legislation.” (New Indian Express; 9/9/2013) Adivasis Need Not Fear Land bill, Says Balmuchu (4) Jamshedpur: Senior Jharkhand Congress leader Pradip Kumar Balmuchu today allayed apprehension that the Land Acquisition Bill would deprive people, particularly the adivasis and moolvasis living in mining areas, of their benefits. Adequate benefits have been assured in the bill, he said when asked about JMM's apprehension that the bill would deprive people living in mining areas of the state. Congress is a major ally in JMM's Hemant Soren-led coalition government. It would not have much impact on the agriculture sector as well, the Rajya Sabha member said adding the bill was passed to inculcate confidence among landowners that they would be compensated adequately on parting their land. The bill was also industry friendly as industrialists were assured that they could procure required lands for their projects, said the former state president of the Congress. The Congress had promised food security to the masses in its 2009 election manifesto and succeeded in its efforts, Balmuchu told reporters on the sideline of a blood donation camp organized by journalists of Jamshedpur in association with the Red Cross Society here. Asked about the huge fund required to implement the bill, he said it would not be a hindrance and expressed confidence that the government would overcome it, if any. About the performance of the government in Jharkhand, Balmuchu said the government has just began to function and efforts were on to address the aspirations of the people. "We are discussing how to do more work in less time, keeping in view the 2014 general election," he said (Outlook 10/9/13) New land acquisition regime: Govt has to balance changes (4) Investor protection laws are imperative for the economic growth of a nation and most investment activity requires access and ownership to land. As the availability of land is scarce, an equitable and fair regulatory framework is essential to ensure that land owners are not adversely affected. It is equally important that the process of acquisition is prompt, fair and free from road blocks and delays so that the acquirer does not face situations, such as the Tatas did in West Bengal. Expectedly, the Bill had a stormy passage in the Lok Sabha, in balancing interests, but on including certain changes demanded by the Opposition was passed by both the Houses recently. Having achieved the passage, however, there are some glitches. Historically, land acquisition laws in India have been in effect since 1824 and till date the 1894 Land Acquisition Act, the existing law which was a Colonial law by purpose and nature and focused on acquisition of rural segments has been applicable. Given the changing nature in the demand of land, acquisitions for urban infrastructure such as construction of metro rail projects, have not been addressed in this Act, the orientation is essentially rural. The treatment for disparate segments is a lacuna which can create problems in going ahead. Ideally, there should have been two separate laws or the two aspects should have been addressed in separate chapters. The "public purpose" definition seeks to be inclusive but reads in a somewhat inchoate manner nonetheless. The availability of rural land in India is one of the lowest in the world. Therefore, both acquisition and displacement have to be treated as being two sides of the same coin. The rehabilitation of displaced persons is not provided for in the existing law and the legislature in the new Act, in any event, in seeking to address this issue has taken a right step. On the other hand, by raising the compensation to twice the market price in urban and four times in rural areas, and requiring that 25 per cent infrastructural facilities are to be provided in the areas that require resettlement, while it is a factor necessitated by the past agitations and Court orders, but has increased the cost to the acquirer excessively. Further, stakeholders other than the owners have to be compensated. This again leads to increase in compensation amount and provides opportunities to people without proper title to lay claims on the acquirer. And in spite of paying these high costs, the acquirer has no security in the land acquired. One of the reasons why the old Act was criticised is that the land or part

thereof remained unutilised for long periods. To counter this, a provision for return of the land has been envisaged, as well as acquirer refunding one fourth of the compensation amount to the erstwhile owners if the land is sold. Again this is unfair as the earlier owner should not have any surviving interest in the land being duly compensated. The processes envisaged of the governmental actions and approvals are neither fast-track nor single window, there being five stages that every proposal has to undergo, and no timelines are provided. Given this and the inherent delays in government action, the date of utilisation should be calculated from the date on which all approvals for the purpose are obtained rather than from the date of acquisition. What is critical, therefore, is the role of the government, which has to be fair and objective, particularly as the Act takes into account rehabilitation and resettlement, an area fraught with palpable tension. Having said all the above, the new Act is certainly an improvement on the existing one and will hopefully create more transparency in the acquisition process for the acquirer in going forward and once the preliminary formalities are closed. (Business Standard 15/9/13)

Will frame rules on land Bill in 2 months, says Ramesh (4) New Delhi: Rules regarding the land acquisition Bill, which was recently cleared by Parliament, will be notified within two months and would address the concerns of industry and other stakeholders, Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh said Thursday. An advisory committee will be set up to vet the rules in consultations with various stakeholders, Ramesh said during an interaction with industry leaders on the Act, organised by FICCI. When FICCI vice-president Sidharth Birla voiced industry’s concerns over the new Act, Ramesh said, “I take the suggestion made by Mr Birla very seriously. We will immediately notify the Rules Advisory Committee and it should vet the draft rules as well. We will put the draft rules and guidelines in public domain for comments and suggestions and then finalise them. Thereafter, the Act will be notified,” Ramesh said. (The Financial Express 20/9/13) Land Act draft rules by Sept 30, Jairam promises industry (4) New Delhi: The draft rules of the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act would be ready on September 30, Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh said on Thursday. Speaking at an interactive session organised by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (Ficci), Jairam Ramesh, who passionately defended the processes for land acquisition provided in the new law, said these were a response to decades of injustice done to masses in the name of development. He, however, assured industry he would consult it in the making of the rules. Accepting a request from Ficci, he announced the setting up of a rules advisory committee, including members of the industry, to vet the draft rules and guidelines of the Act. He said comments would be invited for a whole month, after which the rules would be finalised. Ramesh agreed with concerns that the procedures outlined in the Act would certainly raise the economic cost of land acquisition. But it is also true that it would lower the social and political cost considerably, he said. He said in two decades, there would be no need for a land acquisition Act as acquisition, he hoped, would by then be replaced by purchase based on bilateral negotiations. The minister said both the private sector and the government should stop acquisition of land by then, as that was the fairest way. He said some of the concerns of industry were valid, that the procedures involved in acquisition would delay the process. But this would happen only if time lines mentioned in the Act were not kept. If time lines were kept, there would be no delays. He also clarified many points raised by industry. He said the retrospective clause in the Act pertained only to compensation and nothing else. The minister also clarified that land could be taken possession of if the R & R (relief & rehabilitation) process is started. It does not have to be completed for land to be taken, he said. R & R might take six to seven years, he said. Industrialists taking part in the interactive session pointed out concerns regarding the consent taking process. They said it would be next to impossible to get the consent of 80 per cent of land owners for a piece of land to be acquired by the government. If consent was there, then it would have been purchased, pointed out a

participant, underlining the irony of the Act which seeks to get land through consent from reluctant owners. Another participant pointed out that payment of compensation that is four times the market value would multiply the price of the land available for purchase, and in turn, trigger higher compensation and lead to a vicious circle. (Business Standard 21/9/13) 'New land law makes affordable homes a mirage' (4) Mumbai: Even as the new land law is aimed at providing fair compensation to those whose land is acquired, besides bringing transparency into the real estate sector, it may not be able to realise the dream of offering cheaper homes, according to an industry analyst. "The new land law intends to settle three main challenges related to land-acquisition, rehabilitation and resettlement. But it is certain that the new law is going to increase the nominal cost of land and projects that may come up on them," a personal finance service provider InvestCare director Ajit Mishra said. With the new land law in place, land acquisitions shall accommodate compensation and entitlements without limit to number of claimants, which is both good and bad, he said. "It is good because with clear compensation model in place, the chances of lemon deal would be less. The bad part is the open-ended provisions for entitlement, which is likely to make even a fair deal struggle without end," he said. The law mandates consent of at least 80% of the project affected families prior to acquisition along with adequate compensation and rehabilitation to such families. "The term affected is an open-ended invitation for anyone to claim benefits during the lifecycle of the project. The need of the hour is to form policies to offer cheaper home to poor. With the new law, the dream perhaps will never be realised," Mishra added. (Business Standard 22/9/13) Mining project: oustees seek postponement of negotiations (4) KHAMMAM: A group of villagers mainly comprising land oustees from Kishtaram, Kommepalli, Rejarla and Lingapalem villages in Sattupalli mandal urged the district administration to put off the proposed negotiation process for acquiring lands for the coal mining projects in the mandal, till the ‘New Land Acquisition Bill’ becomes operational. A group of villagers headed by Sattupalli MLA Sandra Venkata Veeraiah met district Collector I Srinivas Sri Naresh here on Sunday evening and submitted a memorandum to this effect to the latter. Mr Venkata Veeraiah apprised the Collector of the grievances of the land oustees of Kishtaram villages, whose lands were reportedly acquired by the Singareni Collieries Company Limited (SCCL) to an extent of 300 acres under the gram panchayt in 2004. Referring to the latest notification issued by the SCCL for acquisition of around 600 acres in Kommepalli, Rejarlal, Lingapalem and Kishtaram villages, he said the proposed move entails displacement of hundreds of poor families of weaker sections mainly belonging to SC and Minority communities. The villagers of Kishtaram had refused to hand over their lands at the stipulated price, which is much below the prevailing market price, during a meeting convened by the revenue officials on Saturday, he said. The land oustees deserve Rs 15 lakh to Rs 20 lakh compensation per acre, he said urging the Collector to postpone the negotiation process till the “New Land Acquisition Bill” becomes fully operational. He urged the Collector to ensure adequate compensation to the land oustees in accordance with the provisions envisaged in the ‘new Bill’. (The Hindu 23/9/13) No question of forcible land acquisition for Mithivirdi nuclear plant, says Jairam (4) Ahmedabad: Union Minister Jairam Ramesh said here on Tuesday that there was no question of using force to acquire land for the nuclear power plant proposed at Mithivirdi village in coastal Bhavnagar district. Addressing mediapersons here, he said that the consent clause of the new land acquisition law did not apply to Mithivirdi project and neither the Central nor the state governments could forcibly acquire land even for public purpose in this case. "There is no question of bulldozing to acquire land in case people don't want to give it up," he said. According to the provisions of the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Bill passed by the Lok Sabha on August 29, the consent of 80 per cent landholders is required in the case of acquisition for a private

company and 70 per cent owners' consent for a project on public-private partnership basis. However, he said that the land for a project for public purpose, as defined by the new law, could be acquired without the consent of the landowners. People from several villages around Mithivirdi have opposed the acquisition of their land. On Monday, thousands of farmers marched to Bhavnagar district collectorate and submitted a memorandum opposing both the project and land acquisition for it. The Centre had signed a memorandum of understanding with the Gujarat government a couple of years ago in this connection. The nuclear power plant is to be set up by a US firm and the Central government is reported to have diluted certain conditions for it with regard to safety in case of an accident, thus angering people. (Indian Express 25/10/13) Future special economic zones to come under land acquisition Act (4) Mumbai: The new land acquisition Act will apply to all future special economic zones, and the old Act is no longer valid, said Union Minister for Rural Development Jairam Ramesh on Sunday. Addressing a press conference here , Ramesh said that the Act was very comprehensive and transparent. “In future, you will not see the type of ‘hera pheri’ (underhand dealings) which happened while acquiring land for various Special Economic Zone (SEZ) projects across the country,” he said. On Friday, President Pranab Mukherjee gave assent to the new Act, which is now being called The Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act. It replaces the Land Acquisition Act of 1894. The new legislation provides for much higher compensation to the families that are required to sacrifice their land for public projects. Ramesh pointed out that if the land acquisition for a SEZ had happened five years ago then the retrospective provisions in the new Act will apply. If the acquisition has taken place within the last five years, then the retrospective clause will not be applicable. Criticising the SEZ projects in the country, he said that vast tracts of land were acquired under the garb of SEZs by the real estate companies for realty development, he said. “This law deals with the future SEZs and not the past SEZs. In future, SEZ land for real estate purposes would be curbed,” the Minister said. Ramesh added that the new law has not dealt with SEZs that have been de-notified or whose land-use purpose has been changed. He said the rules for the Act would be formed by December. The rules could either be notified by January 1 or April 1 next year, he said. (Business Line 29/9/13) Jairam Ramesh defends Land Acquisition Bill (4) MUMBAI: The Maharashtra government's concern that all economic development will come to a standstill with the new Land Acquisition Bill is "unsubstantiated and baseless", said Union minister for rural development Jairam Ramesh on Sunday. He said that the government was the biggest squatter on land. "Across India, land has been acquired by government and it remains unutilized even after 30-40 years of acquisition," Ramesh said. He said he disagreed with the Maharashtra government's stand as under the new act, the land cost is not more than 5% of the total cost. "While the financial cost will go up, the social cost will come down. Today's compensation is pathetic. We cannot justify it. While the government's concerns are legitimate, they are largely exaggerated," he said. Ramesh said over the decades, over 4 crore tribals had been displaced without rehabilitation and compensation. The act seeks to correct the situation and reduce agitations across the country due to land acquisition. The Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013 will be notified in two months and the rules will also be published simultaneously. Ramesh said it was Union agriculture minister Sharad Pawar who had chaired all the eight meetings of the Group of Ministers on the draft bill. "It was Pawar who had informed that the state government had promised 22.5% of the developed land to be returned to the land owner. Based on this feedback, we made it 20% of developed land in a project to be returned to land owners in the new act," he said. Ramesh reiterated that the new act does not apply to private projects, only to public-private partnership. He said in Maharashtra, vast tracts of land had been purchased by speculators in the hope that they would get enhanced compensation in view of the new act. "We have put in a clause that in case of land purchased after

September 5, 2011, 40% of the awarded compensation be given to the original land owner," he said. He said the Centre is yet to formulate a policy on de-notified SEZs. (Times of India 30/9/13)

Tribals in Narmada to stage protest over govt land acquisition policy on October 2 (4) Vadodara: Thousands of tribals from 70 villages situated around the Sardar Sarovar Dam in Narmada district are planning to stage a protest rally on October 2 against the "high-handedness" of the state government in acquiring land through the Kevadia Area Development Authority (KADA) for tourism purpose. Villagers have alleged that in a letter dated March 6, 2013, KADA had informed village panchayats that 52 villages would be included as part of the government project to develop tourism infrastructure in the area. The state government had first notified the implementation of the project eight years ago, identifying 16 villages for land acquisition. It proposes construction of hotels, golf course, camping grounds, resort, water parks, among others, in the region, with the aim to give boost to tourism. The KADA has now expanded its claim over 70 villages. Sources said the development of the area had intensified in the wake of the proposed Sardar Patel Statue at Sadhu Bet near Bharuch. The protest comes about a month before Chief Minister Narnedra Modi's mega rally at the site of the statue on October 31 to mark the birth anniversary of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel. "The KADA used threatening words in the letters sent to the panchayats. 'If you do not respond on time, we will consider it as consent,' it wrote. This is not a way to treat the authority of a village panchayat, especially for a project that is meant for tourism," said social activist Rohit Prajapati, who is part of the protest rally which is being organised under the banner, KADA Virodhi Manch. The protesters are also expected to be joined in by tribals of six villages whose land was acquired by the Sardar Sarovar Narmada Nigam Limited (SSNNL) in 1962-63 to construct the dam. The villagers are demanding proper compensation for their land, alleging that they were compensated only for the standing crop when the government should have compensated them for the land lost under water. (Indian Express 1/10/13) UN urges Posco to halt Odisha steel plant,… (4) NEW DELHI: A UN panel of experts urged South Korean steel giant Posco on Tuesday to suspend plans for a $12 billion steel plant over concerns the project threatened the rights and livelihoods of tens of thousands in eastern India. The call by the UN experts follows a June report by rights groups saying that illegal land seizures threatened to displace 22,000 people and deprive thousands more of their means of existence in the state of Odisha. "People should not be impoverished in the name of development; their rights must take precedence over potential profits," Magdalena Sepulveda, the UN special rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights, said in the statement. Mineral-rich Odisha has been trying to woo investors, both foreign and Indian, by giving them mining rights, electricity and water at low prices. But the move to acquire farm and forest lands has run into violent protests, with many farmers and forest-dwellers saying the project would leave them without homes, livelihoods and possible access to clean water. The protests have helped to keep the proposed plant, India's largest-ever foreign investment project, mired in legal hurdles for eight years. However, as India's economy has slowed over the past year, the government has reduced some barriers to allowing the company to obtain a license to explore for iron ore. The Odisha project requires about 4,000 acres of land for the plant - expected to produce 13.2 million tons (12 million metric tons) of steel per year - as well as an affiliated power plant, railway line, road, water supply infrastructure and port. Posco was given a five-year environmental clearance in 2007, and agreed to conditions issued by the environment ministry's in 2011 that the company restrict air emissions, spend 2 per cent of its net profits on social welfare, maintain a quarter of the land as green space and reduce its water intake. The ministry's approval lapsed, however, after the National Green Tribunal courts devoted to environmental cases - asked the ministry to review the project again. That process is pending. Posco said in August that the report by the rights groups had used "fallacious criticism, distorted facts and erroneous interpretation." The report, based on a yearlong investigation, was published by the

International Human Rights Clinic at New York University's School of Law and the International Network for Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. In a lengthy reply, Posco said no one had been displaced from private land, and that the government was clearing only "encroached land and giving due compensation" for removing crops and aquaculture ponds. It said 90 percent of the project area was government owned. "There is no question of any forced eviction." In July, Posco pulled out of a proposed $5.3 billion steel plant in the southern state of Karnataka, dealing a blow to government efforts to attract foreign investment. The company said it scrapped the project because of inordinate delays stemming from local opposition to land acquisition for the project. (Times of India 2/10/13) Projects worth Rs 15 lakh crore stalled for want of clearances (4) New Delhi: Industrial projects worth over Rs 15 lakh crore are stalled for want of various clearances and other issues, according to data compiled by the Prime Minister's Project Monitoring Group (PMG). Of this, power is the most troubled sector where 136 projects worth over Rs 7.14 lakh crore are stalled. This is followed by steel, where 25 projects entailing investments of over Rs 3.36 lakh crore are stuck. The other leading sectors where investments are stuck are oil and gas sector (32 projects entailing Rs 2.08 lakh crore investments), special economic zone (Rs 52,271 crore), Roads (Rs 40,155 crore) and Mines (Rs 37,399 crore). In total, 319 projects worth over Rs 15.19 lakh crore stalled investments, have been identified so far by the Prime Minister's Project Monitoring Group (PMG). The list, however, has been increasing almost on a daily basis. The PMG, since its Constitution in June, has so far cleared 78 projects entailing investments of over Rs 2.93 lakh crore, data available on its website showed. The PMG was set up as a facilitating body for resolving specific issues of the projects and fast tracking them. The issues and clearances of the stalled projects depend on their current stage and include environment and forest clearances, land acquisition, lack of co-ordination between various government departments and clearances stuck at the state government level. Indian industry has been raising its concern against on the slow pace of project clearances, saying that this led to a severe decline in country's manufacturing activity, thereby lowering exports and affecting current account deficit (CAD). According to the official figures, India's manufacturing sector had grown by only 1 percent in 2012-13. During the first quarter of the current fiscal, it had reported a growth of 2 percent. The list of stalled projects includes 4000 MW Tilaiya and 3,960 MW Sasan ultra mega power projects (Rs 65,000 crore investments together), Cairn India's Rs 28,000 crore Barmer oil block and Indian Oil's Rs 29,777 crore upcoming refinery in Paradip, Odisha. Five crucial railway lines (worth over Rs 14,705 crore), which were proposed to link NorthEastern states with rest of the country, also feature in the list. Of this, four lines have the status of "National Project" and are supposed to link Imphal, Shillong, Agartala and Sikkim with rest of India. Extension of Kolkata metro (two new lines entailing investment of Rs 5,013 crore), six laning of NH-8 between Gurgaon and Jaipur and three new LNG Terminals, proposed to be set up at Kakinada, Mundra and Gangavaram, for about Rs 15,200 crore are also part of the 319-stalled project list. Two mega steel projects, entailing investments of over Rs 1 lakh crore together, of ArcelorMittal and Posco do not feature in the list. The two projects, announced way back in 2005-06, are still at land acquisition stage. (Zee News 6/10/13) Posco project work may kick off in early 2014 (4) Bhubaneswar: After waiting for more than eight years since the signing of the memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the state government in June 2005, the $12 billion Posco steel project, billed as the country’s single largest FDI, is poised to take off from the ground. “The state government has already acquired land needed for the Posco project. I hope work on the project to start early next year. We would like the Posco project to be inaugurated before our President’s visit to India,” said South Korean ambassador to India Joon-gyu Lee after his meeting with Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik here today. South Korean President Park Geun-hye is slated to be the chief guest of the Republic Day celebration in New Delhi on January 26, 2014. Asked if there was any deadline to inaugurate the Posco

project, Lee said, “There is no deadline. Posco has been waiting for more than eight years. We should do our best to let the project start.” “The Posco project will spell welfare and development for the state. Once the project starts, you will be able to see the big difference that it makes,” he added. On signing of a fresh MoU, he said, “I hope the new MoU will be signed soon since Posco has already agreed on all the points (stipulated by the state government).” The original MoU signed with Posco India lapsed in June 21, 2010. It has been decided to sign a tripartite agreement involving the Odisha government, Posco India and its parent firm- South Korean steel behemoth Posco. The envoy also sounded optimistic on Posco’s mining plan after the Supreme Court verdict in May this year. “The mining project is almost clear. The Supreme Court has held that there is no problem. I don’t see any problem in the mining plan,” Lee told media persons. Though the state government had recommended the Khnadadhar iron ore mines in favour of Posco India in 2006, the matter was locked up in litigations for many years till the apex court gave its ruling. The Supreme Court had set aside the July, 2010, order of the Odisha High Court that had quashed the state government’s recommendation for PL (prospecting licence) in favour of the steel maker. Commenting on the report of UN human rights experts suggesting scrapping of the Posco project, Lee said, “That is not a report. It is only a preliminary press release. I am very disappointed with the release. Their accusations are not correct. They did not visit Bhubaneswar or talk to the state government officials. They only visited Delhi and came in contact with the people who are opposed to the project.” A group of eight human rights experts under the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights on October 1 alleged that the Posco project threatens to displace over 22,000 people in the Jagatsinghpur district and disrupt the livelihoods of thousand others in the surrounding area. (Business Standard 7/10/13) More land to be acquired for raising Almatti dam's height BANGALORE: The height of Almatti Dam built across River Krishna would be raised from 519 to 524 metres under the Upper Krishna Project (UKP). The government would acquire about 1.20 lakh acres of land for the project worth Rs 17,000 crore, Karnataka Water Resources Minister M B Patil told reporters here on Wednesday. The government also has to undertake the huge task of rehabilitating people in over 23 villages, which would be submerged if the height of the dam is increased, he added. More than 70,000 acres of fertile land in Bagalkot and Bijapur districts would also be submerged in the Krishna due to the project. Patil said according to the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Bill, 2013, the government would provide compensation to the land, house and property losers. Patil said the land would be acquired from farmers only after securing their consent. “The cost of land acquisition will be around Rs 3,000 crore,” he said. The state-owned Krishna Bhagya Jala Nigam Limited, which is the nodal agency for implementing the UKP’s third phase, would have to acquire another 10,000 acres of land for rehabilitation. He said this process would commence from January. “It was also decided to recruit as many as 500 assistant and junior engineers directly. A proposal to this effect would be send to the Finance Department,” he added. Patil said there was also a proposal to recruit another 1,000 engineers on contract basis in the state-owned Cauvery Neeravari Nigam Limited and Karnataka Neeravari Nigam Limited. According to him, technical advisory committee of the Central Water Commission has sanctioned works worth over Rs 5,000 crore in the basin. (New Indian Express 10/10/13) Gujarat government initiates talks with tribal representatives (4) Vadodara: The Gujarat government has initiated talks with tribal representatives of 70 villages in Narmada district after they opposed land acquisition for a tourism project near the Sardar Sarovar dam at Kevadiya. "It is a good move by the Gujarat government to negotiate with them after realising the gravity of the issue," Lakhanbhai Musafir of 70 Gam Adivasi Sangthan, an organisation of 70 tribal villages said here today. This move comes in the wake of the Gujarat government deciding to go ahead with the foundation stone laying ceremony of the 182-metre long statue of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel on October

31 by Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi. About 145 tribal representatives held talks with three senior ministers, including Revenue Minister Anandiben Patel, Finance Minister Nitin Patel, as well as Sardar Sarovar Narmada Nigam Ltd's (SSNL) managing director, Musafir said. They demanded removal of 70 villages from the list of the Kevadiya Area Development Authority (KADA) and extension of rehabilitation benefits given to project affected people and irrigation benefits of Sardar Sarovar dam as well as Karjan river dam to the 70 villages. Tribals from 70 villages had organised a huge rally on October 2 where they resolved not to part with their land to the KADA tourist project. Musafir said that 68 village headmen refused to give their consent for acquisition of land saying that the did not want any development at the cost of their livelihood. Tribals told the ministers that people of six villages evicted from the site of the Sardar Sarovar Dam on April 5, 1961, continue to be deprived of rehabilitation benefits. "If the Gujarat government has not resolved problems of people of these six affected villages, how can we trust the government," one of the tribals asked the ministers. (Business Standard 16/10/13) 13 Acts now out of new Land Acquisition Act will be amended (4) CHENNAI: Union Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh on Wednesday said 13 Acts, which were presently not under the purview of the yet to be notified new Land Acquisition Act, would be amended to the effect that the compensation and resettlement and rehabilitation would be at par with the new Act within one year. "... However, what the Act states is that within one year of the new Act coming into place, i.e. by January 1, 2015, those acts, which are kept out of the new act, their compensation and RR (resettlement and rehabilitation) must be brought on par with the new act provision," Jairam Ramesh told reporters here. The new Land Acquisition Act, which he hoped to notify by January 1, 2014, does not have under its purview 13 different acts, which dealt with land acquisition for various government projects including the national highways, power transmission and railways. Replying to a query on whether the new Act would have an effect on the GAIL project, over which the Centre and Tamil Nadu governments are at loggerheads, after farmers opposed land acquisition for it, he said, "Government of India makes Act not for one scheme but for all schemes across the country." Observing that he was aware that there should be one Act ideally for land acquisition, which governed all departments, he said "But, it is not possible. There are multiple ministries, multiple ministers. One ministry cannot have overriding powers on all ministries, then it will become dangerous." (New Indian Express 17/10/13) Ex-MLA warns against giving agri land to MNCs (4) Bangalore: India will become another Somalia, if the government keeps allowing multi-national companies (MNCs) to acquire agricultural lands, former MLA G V Srirama Reddy has warned. He was speaking at the inauguration of a seminar on ‘Land policy - whether for farmers or MNCs,’ organised by the Karnataka Pranta Raita Sangha (KPRS) here on Thursday. “Prices of grains have gone sky high. If agricultural lands are taken over by MNCs, they will operate keeping the international market in mind. This will kill indigenous varieties of crops and farmers will be forced to produce what matches these standards. According to statistics, agriculture is plummeting. The government is thinking of leasing lands to MNCs as a solution for this problem, but this is not farmer friendly,” Reddy said. KPRS president Maruti Manpade said the State’s decision to bring about agriculture marketing reforms was nothing but a plot to support MNCs. (Deccan Herald 18/10/13) NBA opposes raising height of Narmada dam (4) New Delhi: The Narmada Bachao Andolan (NBA) has urged the central government to halt the mega Sardar Sarovar Project at its present height of 122 meters which will bring the requisite benefits without uprooting thousands of rural and tribal population from displacement. During their two-day agitation that concluded at Jantar Mantar here on Thursday, representatives of the displaced families led by Medha Patkar knocked at the doors of Union Ministers Harish Rawat and Jairam Ramesh to get a hearing. Their common refrain was that the UPA government should not succumb to pressure from Gujarat Chief

Minister Narendra Modi into allowing the dam to be raised to its final height, while 2.5 lakh people in 245 villages are still residing in submergence zones and there is no land to rehabilitate them. The Narmada Control Authority (NAC) under the Ministry of Water Resources oversees the compliance of the Narmada Water Disputes Tribunal award by the basin States of Gujarat, Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh. Writer Arundhati Roy, activist Annie Raja and Manoranjan Mohanty were several prominent citizens who visited the dharna site at Jantar Mantar to express solidarity. “If the government is unable to rehabilitate and resettle the thousands of project affected people, then the dam should not be raised any further,” NBA leader Medha Patkar told the authorities. The dam is at a height of 122 meters and Mr. Modi wants the Centre to give permission to raise it to the full height of 138 meters. Resettlement of project affected people and environmental compliances have to be done six months ahead of raising the dam’s level in stages. Ms. Patkar said there should be a comprehensive review of the costs and benefits, environmental procedures and rehabilitation and resettlement of people.The Staus Report of the NAC) of December 2012, says that the irrigation potential created by the dam is about 5 lakh hectares, but, Ms. Patkar said “the actual irrigation is only to the tune of 1.14 lakh hectares mainly because the Modi government has been focusing attention on raising the height of the dam and gaining political benefit without completing the canal network.” “Although the project got the largest Central funding (Rs. 5,736 crore) under the Accelerated Irrigation Benefit Programme), less than 30 per cent of the canal network has only been laid in 30 years. Even so, the Gujarat government has decided to de-notify 4 lakh hectares from the project command area to reserve it for SEZs and other corporates. This is a major change in the master plan and for this alone, besides other non-compliances, the Centre should comprehensively review the project,” she told journalists. Struggling for more than 25 years to get proper rehabilitation as prescribed under the award, the uprooted families ask only one question: “If there is no land with the government to give us after submerging ours, why is it continuing with the mega project? We are being asked to sacrifice our lands, our homes and our lives for whose benefit?’’ Ms. Patkar demanded that the NAC should conduct an independent review of the project. (The Hindu 19/10/13) Metro rail: Rally held against move to acquire church land (4) HYDERABAD: Hundreds of faithful belonging to the St Thomas' Tamil Cathedral, Secunderabad, held a 'peace rally' on Sunday protesting against the acquisition of church property for the Hyderabad metro rail project. They demanded realigning the rail route so that property belonging to the 160-year-old church would not be bulldozed. Nearly 2,000 square yards of the church property, including a portion of its graveyard abutting the old Gandhi Hospital premises, is being acquired for the metro rail project as part of the corridor II from JBS to Falaknuma. The Hyderabad district collector had issued a draft notification for taking over the properties a couple of weeks ago. The church committee claims the acquisition has been proposed without any technical report or expert opinion. "The acquisition hurts the sentiments of the community. The church was built with lime, mortar and mud and it will not withstand heavy construction equipment being used by the metro rail authorities while erecting piers," the church president Samuel Thomas said. Church executive secretary Einstein Samuel said GHMC and HMR should redesign the metro rail route without touching the church land and graveyard. Former DGP Swaranjit Sen and MLA (Nominated) Christine Lazarus addressed the protestors. Incidentally, it is the second religious institution after the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON), Secunderabad, to oppose acquisition of their property for the metro rail project. (Times of India 21/10/13) Bamrauli farmers warn of stir over land acquisition (4) Allahabad: The farmers of 14 villages around Bamrauli airport here have warned of massive protests if the government moved a proposal for land acquisition to develop the civilian terminal. They alleged that the government was "unnecessarily" focusing on fertile land even as tracts of barren land around the airport could be used. The villagers, who have come together under the banner of Doaba Vikas Kisan Sangharsh Samiti, warned they would block the national highway and disrupt rail movement if the

government did not pay heed to their demands. The Bharatiya Kisan Union is also supporting their movement, they claimed. Addressing a press conference here, advocate Mahendra Singh, convenor of the Samiti, said: "The district administration has moved the proposal for land acquisition in Chandrabhanpur and Gauspur Katahula villages adjacent to the airport on September 21. There are plans to acquire nearly 2,000 bighas of land in 14 villages around it. We are opposed to this on the basis of various grounds." "The land acquisition process set in motion with the proposal must be stopped. Either an alternative site or the barren land should be chosen for acquisition. Such a plan will affect around 25,000 people," said Singh. (Indian Express 25/10/13) HC stays land acquisition process for Jindal mines (4) JAIPUR: The Rajasthan high court on Friday stayed the acquisition of 20 sq kilometre area in five villages around Bhilwara city being undertaken by the state government for Jindal Saw Ltd's (JSL) gold and iron ore mines. The order came on a PIL and a number of other writ petitions filed by local villagers of five villages - Suras, Pur, Dhulkhera, Malola and Samodi - where 1258.05 bigha land is being sought to be acquired under the Land Acquisition Act for captive mining by JSL. "It was brought to the notice of the bench that the land is being acquired in violation of the provision contained in Land Revenue Act as also the Mines and Mineral Concession Rules. It was argued that the land belong to farmers and land holders and can be put to mining use only if the consent has been obtained from the land holders. However, the land is being forcibly acquired," said Abhinav Sharma, counsel for the petitioner. Observing that the land cannot be acquired under the prevalent law the single judge bench of Justice R S Rathore said, "The state government is directed not to proceed with the said acquisition till further orders." In the meantime, the Geological Survey of India (GSI) filed the final report stating that the mines do not contain gold but has 72.4% pure iron. The report also raised a serious question mark on the previous surveys conducted in the area which showed excessive availability of copper, lead and zinc in the area. "The samples examined by GSI reveal that the copper cannot be extracted economically and the maximum value of lead and zinc together in the 18 samples examined by GSI is 1.41% only. Gold cannot be extracted economically with the present state of technology," reads the report. The report also revealed that the main mineral in the area is iron from two ore types - hematite and magnetite - and it is only the latter that is being extracted by the Jindal company while the remaining is being thrown as waste material (tailing). The Central government also filed a reply in the case stating that relaxation for allotment of mines has been granted only on the basis of the recommendations made by the state government and the GSI reports from 1969 to 1976. The state government had recommended the lease to JSL on the ground that the company has technical collaboration with JSPL which is owned by Naveen Jindal, the Congress MP from Haryana. However, the GSI inquiry team in its final report filed on Friday raised serious question on its earlier reports based on which the area was opened for calling mining blocks of lead, zinc and copper as these minerals were found in traces in the belt. The petitioners have alleged that the lease has been allotted in a clandestine manner and the same should be cancelled. To the other demand that a CBI inquiry should be ordered into case, the court directed the JSL company; secretary mines (Union government) and the state government to reply by October 30. (Times of India 26/10/13) Posco seeks extension of SEZ approval (4) BHUBANESWAR: After in-principle Special Economic Zone approval accorded for the multi-product project of Posco in Jagatsinghpur lapsed on Thursday last, the State government machinery here swung into action for recommending Posco’s case for extension of SEZ approval by another year. Posco India had sought extension of in-principle SEZ approval by one year citing ‘remarkable progress’ in securing land for the project. Industries department has asked Odisha Industrial Infrastructure Development Corporation (IDCO), the nodal agency for land acquisition, to give its views on the application. According to the application moved by Posco India this month, “Odisha government handed over the physical

possession of 1,704 acres of land to the company. The land is not completely encroachment-free till date. The encroachment removal and compensation disbursement process is still going on in the some areas,” “The land demarcation process is still being carried out by the concerned authorities and the leasing process is also underway. Since all these activities are still going on, the required documents for formal approval are not ready as of now. We expect that these activities would take at least 3 to 5 months of time and cannot be completed within validity of in-principle approval,” the company submitted seeking one-year extension. Posco was first approved SEZ for its project on October 26, 2006 after that six extensions on SEZ had been given to the project which could not take off due to local resistance to land acquisition. (The Hindu 28/10/13) Bengal opposes new Land Acquisition Act (4) KOLKATA: Alleging that the Centre did not discuss various important aspects of the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act 2013, Industries Minister Partha Chatterjee said here on Monday that the West Bengal government did not support the Act by the Centre. “We do not subscribe to the Land Acquisition Act 2013, as there are so many issues which need to be discussed at various levels, which the Centre did not do.” Mr. Chatterjee also claimed that the State government had already cleared 10,504 acres of land for setting up industrial projects. There were more than 20,000 acres of land that belonged to industries, which have now closed down. “Land is not an issue in the State. Let us not acquire land but make use of the land that is already available to us.” Claiming that Union Minister for Rural Development Jairam Ramesh only tried to “satisfy someone” by pushing it through Parliament in a hurry, Mr. Chatterjee said that Mr. Ramesh was “neither able to satisfy the common people nor the industrialists.” “The State government is also opposed to the setting up of Special Economic Zones,” he said. It was trying to convince Infosys to invest in the State. Infosys put its plan to invest in the State on hold as it wanted SEZ facility for the project. Mr. Chatterjee appealed to the members of the chambers of commerce not to move the court against the State government if it tried to take back the land belonging to closed industries and gave it to some other industrial entity. (The Hindu 29/10/13) Tribals say not happy with govt assurance (4) Vadodara: A day after the government assurance that demands made by tribals living in villages near the proposed Statue of Unity will be met, the protesters said that the "verbal" assurance given by Tribal Welfare Minister Ganpat Vasava was not enough to persuade them away from the issue. The protesting villagers have said that they'll hold mass fasting on October 31 against the lack of clarity on government's stand on acquiring land for tourism purpose, which they said was not resolved just by nullifying the Kevadia Area Development Authority (KADA). "People of affected villages will hold a hunger strike in a large number on October 31. Affected villages will also hoist 'Jagruti' flags in their villages and will beat 'Jagruti Thali' in the afternoon to prove that we are still awake on the issues on which they are fighting," a press release stated. Social activist and Narmada dam rehabilitation champion Medha Patkar also visited Savli village in Narmada's Tilakwada taluka on Tuesday to attend the meeting of tribals from Narmada, who were displaced due to the dam. She lashed out at the Modi government for the Statue of Unity, saying that the government should first complete work on the Narmada canal network. "Sardar Patel was the iron man, but his heart was not that of iron. Talks of collection of iron from farmers remind of talks of bringing bricks for construction of temple in Ayodhya," she said, while addressing a gathering of more than 1,000 tribals. She said that the government's silence over persons getting displaced due to Garudeshwar Weir was against the "constitutional and humanitarian rights" of tribals living in the region. The government had on Monday conveyed that most of the demands of the protesting tribals, including that of repelling of KADA and formation of Garudeshwar taluka, as well as "special package" to persons displaced from six villages due to Narmada dam some 52 years ago, will be met. (Indian Express 30/10/13)

3,000 applications with MIDC for land in Chakan and Khed (4) Pune: The apparent slowdown in the manufacturing sector has not deterred small and medium scale enterprises from seeking to set up shop in the industrial areas of Chakan and Khed. As per Ajit Relekar, regional officer of Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation (MIDC), more than 3,000 companies are waiting for land to be allocated to them in the industrial areas. "Good road infrastructure, ready market and other ancillary reasons attract industries," he said. Land is granted to the companies at a huge concessional rate and on a first-come-first-served basis. The recent decision of Bharat Forge to scrap their special economic zone (SEZ) in Khed has put a question mark over the industrial future of the area. The company had applied for SEZ and had plans to develop it as an industrial hub. The phase II of the proposed Khed SEZ, which was to be developed by MIDC and private companies, had also come under the cloud. The proposed second SEZ was to come up over 112 hectares. Dispelling doubts about the project, Relekar said MIDC had decided to go ahead with developing the land itself. At present, the land acquisition process is in its last stage, with talks about amount of compensation going on. Land for more than 20 villages in the region is to be included in the area. Speaking about the proposed development in the area, Relekar said emphasis would be put on building infrastructure. Road connectivity is a major issue with no proper approach road for the site. "Also in order to attract business in the region, six-laning of the Pune-Nashik Road has to be completed. The project is stuck near Talegaon because of land acquisition issues. Once it is cleared, we hope more investment would roll into the area." (Indian Express 1/11/13)

Industrial growth efforts get thumbs up, but policy remains a concern (4) Indore: If one looks at the last decade of the BJP rule, industry in Madhya Pradesh grew at a CAGR (compounded annual growth rate) of 14.49% from 2004 to 2012. The exports at Indore SEZ have crossed Rs. 1,289 crore during the first six months of the current fiscal as compared to `947 crore during the corresponding period of the previous year, thus marking a growth of more than 36%.The total (annual) exports in 2006-07 were Rs. 217 crore. While a lot has been done, concerns remain over proper implementation of the industrial policy and the pace of development of industrial infrastructure. The industrial centres too are mainly concentrated around major cities. While the state government has announced 27 new growth centres, it will take time to develop infrastructure. At present, a weakening rupee and rise in cost of funds due to high interest rates is causing problems for the industry. Except for the last one year, things have been good for the industry in the last five years, Pithampur Audyogik Sangathan president Gautam Kothari said. Now global factors are causing problems for the industry. While the imports have turned costly, the exporters too are not benefitting from a weak rupee. There is also a scope for further improvement in the bureaucracy to streamline the entire investment process, he added. Last year was significant from the industry's point of view because of the global investors meet that took place in Indore. A remarkable feature was that government gave equal importance to micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME) sector and signed 113 MoUs worth about Rs. 670 crore in the sector. However, the global investors f meet was global only in name as very few foreign companies took part and almost all the speeches were in Hindi. If official figures are to be believed, the state has signed MoUs worth about Rs. 4.5 lakh crore in the last two investors meet out of which production has started in projects worth Rs. 1 lakh crore and another Rs. 2 lakh crore worth of projects are in the pipeline. The small-scale industry sector, however, is not too thrilled with the investment climate. gThe BJP government under chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan has made sincere efforts for industrial growth and to make the environment industrial friendly, but has been unsuccessful in this endeavour. The main reason is the failure to implement the industrial policy in its true spirit. The bureaucratic red tape and corruption is still taking its toll on the industry, former president of association of industry Ashok Jaiswal told HT. It will take some more time to create an industrial friendly atmosphere at par with Gujarat, he added. The state government finally finished the construction of Crystal IT Park in October 2012 and gave

it away on lease to the local IT companies. Land has also been allocated to TCS and Infosys in the super corridor for setting up development centres. Land acquisitions for Pithampur-Betma industrial cluster and Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor (DMIC) continued to hog the limelight with farmers opposed to the move and the government determined to acquire the land. The DMIC project has been delayed due to delay in the land acquisition, but some progress can be expected in the coming months. Overall, the industry has had a good run in the past five years, but has been suffering due to falling rupee and high interest rates in the past few months. The industry expects that the new government will carry out tax reforms and agree to introduction of goods and services tax (GST). (Hindustan Times 4/11/13) Parsvnath Infra to surrender IT SEZ in Uttrakhand (4) New Delhi: Parsvnath Infra has approached the government for surrendering its IT/ITeS special economic zone in Uttrakhand in the backdrop of the state government not coming out with its SEZ policy. The request of the developer would be considered by Board of Approval (BoA) headed by Commerce Secretary S R Rao in a meeting on November 8. "Now, the developer has requested for de-notification of the SEZ as in spite of the best efforts Government of Uttarakhand has not yet come out with their SEZ policy due to which the layout plan of the SEZ, even though submitted as early as March 2008, cannot be approved," the agenda of the BoA meeting said. The company has planned to set up the zone in Dehradun. It was to come up in an area of 13.54 hectares and it was notified on September 28, 2007. The development commissioner has recommended the request for de-notification as no activity has been carried out by the developer, it said. Another developer Mayar Infrastructure Development has also requested to denotify its sector specific SEZ for Biotechnology at Gurgaon. "The developer has requested to de-notify complete 25.7177 hectares of his SEZ for the reason that the project is not viable considering the huge cost and expenses," it added. Special Economic Zones (SEZs), which emerged as major export hubs and investment destinations started loosing sheen after the global economic crisis and imposting of minimum alternate tax. Exports from these zones declined by 4.1% during the first quarter of the current fiscal. However, the government is taking steps to revive interest of investors for SEZs. Recently, it had unveiled a package of reforms including easing of land norms to revive investments in SEZs. (Business Standard 6/11/13) Damodar Valley Corporation’s mega power plant may move out of Bengal (4) PURULIA/KOLKATA: Bengal is on the brink of losing Damodar Valley Corporation's 2,520MW mega thermal power project because a section of the landlosers in Purulia's Raghunathpur have stalled work, demanding jobs along with price of the land as compensation. DVC chief engineer and Raghunathpur project head Debashis Mitra has sent a report to his company bosses, saying that it is not possible to continue work on the project site and has suggested shifting it to Jharkhand. Mitra told TOI that DVC has got no response to its repeated pleas for the district administration's support. Industries minister Partha Chatterjee reacted strongly, calling Mitra's remarks "irresponsible".The project has been on for six years and DVC has already invested Rs 5,500 crore, but a 51-acre water corridor is proving to be the bottleneck that could scupper the scheme. Landlosers in this sector have forced a stop-work until they get jobs. The DVC ultimatum has rattled the Bengal administration. Officials are scrambling to prevent a repeat of the 2007 debacle that led to the Tatas pulling out of Singur and taking the Nano project to Sanand, Gujarat. Ironically, it was the same year that the then power minister Sushilkumar Shinde had announced the DVC Purulia project with Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee at his side. The Left Front government succeeded in acquiring 1,534 acres — 926 acres for four plants, 508 acres for setting up an ash pond, 51 acres for the water corridor and 49 acres for a rail corridor. DVC had offered Rs 2.2 lakh per acre of land. Two power plants of 600MW each were to be set up in the first phase and two of 660MW each in the second phase. Trouble broke out while setting up the water corridor in the second phase in 2012. Landlosers in 11 mouzas, including Hatapathar, Sidhpur, Monagram, Ayodhya, Guniara and Ranibandh, accused DVC of reneging on its promise of jobs that was a part of the initial compensation agreement. DVC refutes the

claim. As in Singur, landlosers stand vertically divided in Raghunathpur, with 800 of them accepting compensation cheques and 800 others refusing it until the DVC gives them jobs. They are ranged in two groups, both led by Trinamool Congress — Raghunathpur Thermal Power Landlosers' Association, which wants the power plants, and Raibandh Jamihara Sangram Raksha Committee, which demands jobs. It was the committee, led by Nikhil Mandal, which blocked the main gate of the plant in August and has stalled work on the water corridor. Alarmed by this, DVC chairman Rabindra Nath Sen called on commerce and industries minister Partha Chatterjee who took him to chief minister Mamata Banerjee. "The DVC chairman had a discussion with the CM, who asked him to sort out the problem through dialogue. I wonder how the DVC chief engineer could make such an irresponsible comment without taking the effort to sort out the impasse with landloser families. How is it that work is going on smoothly at the three other locations? I have asked our men in the zilla parishad and colleagues such as Santiram Mahato to look into the matter," Chatterjee said. The industries minister wants DVC to stick to its agreement. "I am not sure if DVC had promised jobs to landlosers. I would only expect them to stand by the agreement," he said. Mandal vowed to continue with the stir till every landloser gets a job. "Most of them come from the poorest families. We want DVC to give them compensation and a job," he said. Bedilal Majhi, who gave a bigha to the project, said: "I come from the Majhi Maora community and have nothing to fall back upon. I want my land back." The committee had raised their demand at the district level meeting on October 9, soon after Mamata Banerjee's Purulia visit. Chinmoy Chatterjee of the propower plant association isn't harping on jobs, though. "We went to the meeting called by additional district magistrate, development, Sabuj Baran Sarkar on October 9. Another group barged in and asked the DVC representative to give their compensation promises on a stamp paper. This shouldn't continue. I will go to DM to seek his intervention," Chatterjee said. District magistrate Tanmoy Chakrabarty wants DVC to make specific complaints if it wants the administration to take steps. "I told them to make complaints against acts of coercion or violence at the project site. They didn't do so," the DM said. (Times of India 7/11/13) Land acquisition fear gives villagers the jitters (4) Udupi: The proposed II phase work of the strategic crude oil reserve at Padur by Indian Strategic Petroleum Reserve Limited (ISPRL) has left the locals sleepless. The project requires 600 acres of land. In the first phase, the Oil Industry Development Board ( OIDB) constructed an underground rock cavern for storage of 2.5 million metric tonnes (MMT) of crude oil to meet the needs in times of disruption in external supply. The other oil reserves of the country are in Vishakapatnam with a storage capacity of 1.33 MMT and in Permude (Mangalore) with storage capacity of 1.5 MMT. The recent statement of Union minister of state for petroleum and natural gas Panabaka Lakshmi that the II phase project by ISPRL will be initiated in Padur has brought a sense fear among villagers. Sources told TOI that a feasibility study report on the II phase of the project has been already sent by a team of engineers to the central government six months ago and once the government gives approval, the land acquisition process will be initiated. Payyaru Shivaram Shetty, advisor to the Padur-Kalatthoor People's Awareness committee, told TOI that villagers forced a team that had come to Padur in 2011 to carry out survey of land in Padur and Kalatthoor villages for the II phase of oil reserve project to go back. About 7,000 villagers protested against the move as they feared that 300 acres land in Padur and another 300 acres land in Kalatthoor, which are fertile, will be acquired for the project. Villagers are all set to protest against the project which aims to store 5 MMT of crude oil, he added. Narayan Tantri, a resident of Kural in Padur village, said he has two acres of paddy field and another half acre of coconut and arecanut plantation which he fears will be acquired for the project. The district administration is keeping the villagers in the dark on the project. Since two years, all residents in Padur village are facing severe drinking water shortage as water aquifers were damaged during the process of blasting of rocks,' he added. Stanly Corda of Shanthigudde in Padur said he fears to lose his jasmine and arecanut crops and said he will not allow his fertile land to be acquired. There is also fear among people in seven villages in Udupi taluk and 17 villages in Mangalore

taluk as fertile land is required for laying pipeline which too has attracted the villagers' ire. (Times of India 12/11/13) Tata wants to retain Singur land, keen on returing to WB (4) New Delhi: Tata Motors today told the Supreme Court that it wanted to keep the leasehold rights over the 997 acre land, allotted by the Left Front government at Singur in West Bengal as it is keen on returning to the state with next phase of expansion of the Nano car project. "I have instructions from the highest level to submit that we are keen to return there (West Bengal)," senior advocate Harish Salve told a bench comprising justices H L Dattu and Ranjana Prakash Desai. The automobile firm's response came in reply to an earlier specific query of the apex court asking it to make its stand clear over the allotted land in the wake of changed scenario as the company had already moved its car plant to Gujarat. "The land was acquired for establishing a car manufacturing plant at Singur. Now the purpose is no more there as you have already moved out. Now you cannot say that you still have interests in the land in question," the bench had said. "The land should move back to the agriculturists and we may ask West Bengal government to file an affidavit on the issue of giving the money back to you which you had paid at the time of land acquisition," it had said. Responding to Tata's stand, the counsel for West Bengal government said it would urge that the land be returned to farmers. Taking note of the submisisons, the bench said since the company wanted to retain the land, it will have to decide on the state's plea on merits and fixed the case for final hearing in April next year. The court was hearing a special leave petition filed by West Bengal government challenging the quashing of the Singur Land Acquisition Act by the Calcutta high court. The state government had moved the apex court against the Calcutta high court order which had struck down the Singur Land Rehabilitation and Development Act 2011 that allowed it to reclaim the 400 acres of land given to Tata Motors. The high court had on June 22, last year, ruled that the legislation enacted by West Bengal government to recover the land leased to Tata Motors in Singur for its Nano small car project was constitutionally invalid as the President's assent had not been taken for the Act. (Hindustan Times 12/11/13) Karnataka HC quashes land acquisition for electronic city-IV phase project (4) BANGALORE: The Karnataka high court has quashed both the preliminary as well as final notifications with regards to acquisition of about eight acres land of the petitioners for Electronics city-phase IV, an industrial area project by Karnataka Industrial Area Development Board (KIADB). Allowing a petition filed by residents Veerasandra area, Justice Anand Byrareddy noted that the area of the project has been 'progressively and liberally' whittled down over the years, reducing it to 48.23 acres from the original 224 odd acres as per the August 2003 preliminary notification and to 138 odd acres as notified in the August 2007 final notification. Even after the final notification, there was further deletion owing to various reasons, including denotification etc. As regards to industries which are situated in the area, the court has given liberty to the government accommodate them. (Times of India 13/11/13) Farmers in Singur want land before Tata's return (4) Kolkata: Tata Motors may be keen on returning to Singur to set-up its Nano factory, but farmers in the hamlet located in Hooghly districts who had faced eviction from their land in 2006 would like to see their land returned first. The farmers are determined to get back the 400 acres from Tata Motors out of the 997 acres which the then Left government acquired on behalf of the corporate, according to Mahadeb Das, a leader from the Krishi Jami Raksha Committee (KJRC), created to save agro land in Singur. “We launched the movement in 2006 after the Left government forcibly acquired the land from us. Mamata Banerjee’s government has taken efforts trying to return the land to us. If the Tatas want to re-start the project here, they will have to return 400 acres to us,” he said. Senior Trinamool Congress leaders pointed out that since Mamata had led the movement against land acquisition at Singur, she would guide the KJRC and the party towards the right direction. Das was categorical that neither did they invite Tata

Motors to Singur nor did they drive them away from the area. “The previous government gave away our farmland to the Tatas without any consultation with the locals and the Tatas left by on their own. We have no issues if the Tatas set up the Nano factory at Singur but they will have to return the land to unwilling farmers before they start any work here again,” the KRJC leader said. (Deccan Herald 14/11/13) HC tells Punjab, Centre to review relief to border farmers (4) Chandigarh: Giving a ray of hope to around 4,000 farmers of Punjab whose cultivable land falls in the area of the border fencing and the international border between India and Pakistan, the Punjab and Haryana high court has directed the state as well as central governments to reconsider compensation to be paid to farmers if their land cannot be acquired. Hearing a public interest litigation filed by The Punjab Border Kisan Welfare Society, the division bench comprising chief justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul and justice Augustine George Masih granted two months’ time to the authorities to take the decision and submit their response. During the hearing of the case, the court was surprised to hear that the Punjab government was paying a compensation of Rs. 3,000 per acre to farmers per year as of now, marginally higher than Rs. 2,500 per acre paid in 1999. The court said, “The price index has gone up and the amount of compensation is not appropriate. Also, both Punjab and the Centre should share the burden of compensation and reconsider the amount to be paid to farmers.” The petitioner society, having members in the border districts of Amritsar, Gurdaspur, Ferozepur and Tarn Taran, had approached the high court, seeking directions to the state government that their land measuring around 34,000 acres should be acquired as per the Land Acquisition Act and they should be adequately compensated. It had been prayed that the barbed-wire fencing of 40-80 ft width installed at about 500-metre distance from the Line of Actual Control throughout the Indo-Pak border area of Punjab in 1985-86 be removed so that they could cultivate their land and have the right to enjoy the benefit of the crops produced. The petitioner society had submitted that a number of representations had been submitted to the state government and parliamentarians from time to time that the farmers were not able to go across the fencing to plough their fields without the entry pass from the security forces and there were restrictions of time on the entry. It was also submitted that the farmers were not allowed to produce crop of more than 4-ft height and the output was always less than 50% for every crop… (Hindustan Times 16/11/13) LDF hartal over Western Ghats report hits normal life in Kerala (4) THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Normal life was affected across Kerala by the dawn-to-dusk hartal called by LDF on Monday to protest the Centre's move to implement key recommendations of the Kasturirangan report on Western Ghats conservation. Local resistance groups in upland areas, where thousands are settled for generations farming small pieces of lands, have extended support to the protest. The opposition LDF has rejected plea of chief minister Oommen Chandy to desist from the shutdown protest since the Centre had clarified that it had only issued a draft notification and a final call on the report is yet to be made. Early reports from different centres said buses, taxis and autorickshaws kept off the roads and shops remained closed. The state-run KSRTC, however, operated its services to Pampa for Sabarimala pilgrims from here and other centres. According to police, no violence has been reported in the initial hours of the protest, which got underway at 6am. In Idukki, the High Range Samrakshna Samiti, which has support from various political parties and the Catholic church, began a 48-hour block last midnight. Pastoral letters had been read out in churches in Idukki and Thamarassery, expressing deep anxiety that implementation of the report might lead to large-scale eviction of farmers. As per the draft notification issued by the ministry of forest and environment, ecologically damaging activities like mining, quarrying and building of thermal power plants and big building complexes would be banned to protect the Western Ghats ranges, running through six states, from further ecological devastation. However, two months' time has been given for the public or groups to air their views and grievances before issuing the final notification. Except BJP, most mainstream political parties, including Congress and its partners in the

UDF have voiced concern over implications of the implementation of the report in the state. (Times of India 18/11/13) Farmers oppose Pune's new airport plan; Ajit Pawar says.. (4) Pune: Days after the Prime Minister Manmohan Singh gave a green signal to the new airport plan for Pune, villagers whose land will be acquired for the purpose are up in arms. Two days back, one of the villages passed a resolution opposing acquisition of land and construction of the airport in their area while another village observed a bandh on Monday. Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, who interacted with farmers of the area on Monday, however promised that land acquisition would be carried out only with the consent of the local farmers. The site for the new airport was finalised -- at Khed Special Economic Zone, 45 kms from Pune city -- during a meeting between Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan held in New Delhi on November 14. The Pune International Airport Project would be managed by the Airports Authority of India. The airport with two runways would need 1,268 hectare land. While 850 hectare land has already been acquired for the SEZ project, the remaining 418 hectares will have to be acquired. Around 180 families are likely to be affected. The airport required a 6 km by 2 km plot, officials said. Addressing the villagers at a function, Pawar said airport would benefit farmers in the area as there would be faster movement of farm products to different parts of the country and even abroad. "But the government will not run bulldozers on your houses. The land acquisition will be done with consent," he said. Pawar said earlier it was thought that Dive Ghat area would be appropriate for an airport site. "Maval and Mulshi area were rejected because of hilly terrain. We finally zeroed in on Khed area due to its vast barren and plain surface," he said. (Indian Express 19/11/13) Rehabilitation in Jharia faces land hurdle (4) SINDRI: The move to acquire 120 acres of land by Jharia Rehabilitation and Development Authority (JRDA), to rehabilitate displaced residents in the area, is hanging fire with a group of farmers in Dhanbad's coal belt opposing land acquisition. Farmers of Nipania village in Baliapur block, led by Marxist Co-ordination Committee (MCC) leader and former Sindri MLA Anand Mahto organized a rally on Thursday to protest against the district administration's move to acquire agricultural land for rehabilitation of families from Jharia fire zone. "Displacing farmers to settle other families is injustice," said Mahto. "We will not allow JRDA to take possession of land acquired by the district administration till the district administration takes suitable action for the employment of farmers whose land has been acquired," said Mahto. When contacted, JRDA chairman Gopalji said nearly 70% farmers have already accepted the compensation. "If farmers had any objection over land acquisition, they should have aired their grievances earlier and not accepted the compensation. The government is fully empowered to acquire land and villagers should not take law into their hands," said Gopalji. Displacement is probably the biggest problem of the state of Jharkhand and the state government is yet to formulate a policy for the employment of displaced farmers, said Mahto while addressing the rally. The very existence of Jharkhand villagers is at stake and people need to launch a massive agitation for their right over Jal, Jungle and Zameen, he added and said that he would not allow acquiring agricultural land for either rehabilitation or industry. The JRDA has already constructed 2,352 flats in nearby Belgarhiya for rehabilitating families displaced from Jharia fire zone and construction of another 2000 flats are under progress. (Times of India 22/11/13) Tewari warns govt against forcible acquisition of land (4) Ludhiana: Union Minister Manish Tewari on Sunday warned the Punjab government against "forcible" acquisition of land in nine villages of Ludhiana district along the Sidhwan canal for setting up an industrial park and a township. Tewari questioned the rationale behind setting up of the industrial park "when the existing industrial areas and industrial focal points were crying for attention, and the industries were running away". "Even if the state government needed to acquire the land, it should acquire it under the

new land acquisition law," he said. Tewari assured a delegation of people from nine villages, led by Ujjagar Singh Gill, that he would "ensure" that the state government was not allowed to forcibly acquire their land and if at all the land was needed to be acquired, it would be only with the consent of the local people and under the provisions of the new Land Acquisition Law. The minister said that the farmers were served the acquisition notices under the old law passed in 1894 when the new farmer-friendly law had already been passed. "This was being clearly done to deny farmers the benefits of the new law," he said. Tewari questioned how "a government claiming itself to be farmer-friendly could deny the benefits under new law to the farmers?" The minister claimed that the state government was planning to acquire 2,100 acres of land in nine villages inLudhiana district along the Sidhwan Canal on the northern bypass. The government, he said, is learnt to be planning to set up an industrial park and a water-front city. "Nobody has any objections if the government's intentions are genuine about development, but this cannot be done by devastating hundreds of farmers," he said while warning against such a move. He said that under the new law, the government was bound to pay compensation to the farmers which should be four times the prevailing market rate of the land in the area as these all fall in the rural areas (compensation for urban areas is double the prevailing market rate). (Indian Express 25/11/13) Farmers protest against land acquisition notices (4) Ludhiana: FARMERS from nine villages of Ludhiana district on Monday lodged a protest against the Punjab government notices seeking to acquire their land under the Land Acquisition Act of 1894. The farmers from nine villages — Jaspal Bangar, Lohara, Garib Nagri, Brahman Majra, Sangowal, Natt, Pawa, Dharaur and Harnampura — gathered at the Greater Ludhiana Development Authority (GLADA) office. They said that they were not interested in giving up their land and under no circumstances under the old and archaic Act of 1894, which had been enacted by the British to snatch the land of people. One of the farmers said that besides mass protests, they would take legal recourse since the Act under which the Punjab government was trying to acquire the land had already been repealed and new act brought in. Taking up their cause, Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting Manish Tewari said that he spoke to the additional administrator (GLADA), telling him that the state government could not issue notices for acquisition under the old Act, which already stands repealed after the enactment of the new Act. Tewari made it clear that he would not allow the farmers' land to be acquired forcibly and under no circumstances under the archaic 1894 Act. He said if at all the state government had to acquire the land, it must be with due consent of the farmers and under the new Act, which is farmer-friendly. (Indian Express 26/11/13) HC sets aside land acquisition for SEZ in Chittoor (4) HYDERABAD: In a judgement with far reaching implications, Justice SV Bhatt of AP High Court on Wednesday set aside the action of the revenue authorities of Chittoor District in resuming land from locals for the Special Economic Zone (SEZ) being promoted by Sri City Private Limited. The judge allowed a writ petition filed by N Sakkubayamma and 29 others questioning the action of the state authorities in resuming their land without taking recourse to the provisions of the Land Acquisition Act. Justice Bhatt, in his order, traced the background of the land owners who were assigned the land in question after they were displaced for establishing the rocket launching station at Sriharikota. With the state once again taking away their lands, Justice Bhatt was critical of how the authorities went about dispossessing the citizens of their property. "If the executive instructions or authority is to deprive property in this objectionable manner, I am afraid that any officer with his insignia and its authority will deprive property in a way not known to law. Such action negate rule of law," the judge said and set up a new calendar of dates for the authorities to follow under the Land Acquisition Act and said that the compensation payable should be determined expeditiously in accordance with the provisions of the Land Acquisition Act. (Times of India 29/11/13)

Farmers Demand Fair Deal in Land Acquisition by Singareni Collieries (4) KHAMMAM: Farmers in the Sattupalli constituency are demanding that the Singareni Collieries Company Limited (SCCL) pay compensation to them as per the new land acquisition law - The Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013, which is expected to come into force from January 1, 2014. The SCCL is planning to acquire about 1,000 acres owned by 200 people, most of whom are farmers belonging to Kistram, Kommanapalli, Jagannadhapuram, Lingapalem and Rejerla in Sattupalli Assembly constituency, for open-cast mining. A draft notification has also been released for acquisition of some of the land. But the farmers are reluctant to lose their lands to the state-owned mining company stating that the compensation offered as per the existing law was too low. While the SCCL is offering Rs 5.23 lakh per acre, the farmers are demanding that the compensation be paid as per the market value. N Kanta Reddy of Rajerla, a land owner, said: “We are demanding that the organisation pay market value but it is trying to acquire our lands at cheaper prices.” However, he said that the farmers had requested the SCCL to wait for the new land acquisition act to come into force in January, 2014. Once the new law took effect, the organisation would have to pay Rs 12 lakh per acre as the government could pay up to four times the market value of the land, he added. “I shall lose my entire land of 25 acres in the second open-cast mine but the market value of the is between Rs 9 lakh and 10 lakh per acre but the organisation has offered only Rs 5.23 lakh per acre,” said a farmer Ch Venkatarami Reddy of Rajerla village. Meanwhile, Sattupalli MLA Sandra Venkata Veeraiah said that the demand of the farmers was genuine and the SCCL should pay at least Rs 15 lakh per acre and added that they would launch an agitation if the SCCL try to acquire land forcibly. SCCL chief general manager, M Mallesham, said they were proceeding as per law and added farmers were refusing to lose their lands to SCCL at the price offered. (New Indian Express 2/12/13) Mopa farmers to approach Supreme Court (4) PANAJI: Farmers affected by the land acquisition for the proposed Mopa airport and further aggrieved by an order of the high court that dismissed their petition, have decided to approach the Supreme Court challenging the government's move to acquire their land. Briefing mediapersons, Sandip Kambli of the Mopa Vimantall Piditt Xetkari Samiti, said that the Land Acquisition Act, 1894, does not apply to the farmers or to the land as they are absolute owners of the land and not by rights granted by the state government. In a press release, Kambli said that their petition before the high court challenged the "use of fraudulently framed and maintained records of right by the state government, when the land is not held under state grant and the notice in terms of Section 4 and 6 of the Land Acquisition Act, 1894, stands issued by making use of such forged documents".Kambli said that the aggrieved farmers will explore all three options before them. One is to urge the high court to review its petition, the second option is to file a new suit and third option is to approach the Supreme Court. He said there are 56 petitioners in the three villages of Chandel, Casarvarnem and Varkhand, and that they will follow the legal process. Kambli said that the farmers will neither vacate their land nor accept the compensation money from the government. (Times of India 3/12/13) SAD govt not passing on benefit of Central laws to people: Tewari (4) Ludhiana: Lashing out at the Akali-BJP government for either not passing on the benefit of various people-friendly laws to the people of Punjab or packaging various welfare schemes as its own, Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting Manish Tewari on Tuesday said the government's intent to deny the benefit of the new land acquisition law to the farmers of nine Ludhiana villages was a classic example of this. The minister warned the Punjab government against circumventing the farmer-friendly Land Acquisition Act by trying to forcibly acquire the farmers' land in nine Ludhiana villages under the archaic 1894 Act, which stands repealed. "I won't let you build your castles after devastating the farmers by forcibly acquiring their land," the minister said. Addressing a series of workers' meetings in the Dakha Assembly segment organised by former MLA Jassi Khangura, Tewari said it was shocking to learn that

the Akali government that claims to be pro-farmer had decided to acquire the land of the farmers under a 120-year-old Act when the new law had been enacted in Parliament recently. "Let us not forget that the 1894 Act was enacted by the British and was aimed at snatching away the farmers' land in India," he added. He said when he spoke to the state government officials in this regard, he was told that the law would come into force in the state from January 2014. He asked even if it was so, why the state government cannot wait for a month. "But the government's intentions are not genuine as it does not want to provide benefit to the farmers as it wants to snatch their land for peanuts," he added. The minister said while the government was denying the farmers the benefit of the new Central law, it was presenting various welfare schemes like the Food Security Act and Pradhanmantri Gram Sadak Yojana as its own. (Indian Express 5/12/13) Children worst affected by displacement: study (4) Mumbai: After getting rehabilitated in the eastern suburb of Mankhurd, Rajan Aiyer’s two sons failed their annual examinations in school last year. The children could never make it in time to school, more than a kilometre away in Chembur. The road connecting their home and the main road was dug up and barely functional. “Life was better in the slum we lived in south Mumbai before being shifted out to make way for an infrastructure project,” he says. The Aiyer family was one of 20,000 people to have been displaced to make way for the Mumbai Urban Transport Project (MUTP). Children have apparently been among the worst and most silent sufferers of the Project, showed a study conducted by the Tate Institute of Social Sciences. The study, authored by researcher Simpreet Singh, was undertaken over a ten-year period from 2003 to 2013 and aimed to see the impact of MUTP of children. The most direct impact has been on children’s education, according to the study, with a vast majority of children (66 per cent) shifting their school after relocation. The distance between their new homes and the original school was anywhere between one and five km on an average. More than half of the children spent over Rs. 500 a month on commute. They were exposed to risks like crossing highways or railway track on their way to school. The MUTP was conceptualised during the period 1994-2002 with a vision to meet the increasing transport demands of Mumbai. Most people were rehabilitated in the eastern suburbs’ most polluted areas and near a dumping ground leading to 73 per cent of them saying cleanliness was worse than before. “It is expected that with the shift from ‘slums’ which have poor environmental conditions to pucca buildings that are more hygienic, there would be a reduction in illnesses and lesser expenditures on health care. But that did not happen,” said Mr. Singh.Sixty seven per cent people spoke of the absence of health facilities near home. Fifty six per cent fell sick at least once since relocation, one-fourth of them due to poor quality of water and 10 per cent due to lack of hygiene in their environment. Another intangible effect of resettlement was that about 57 per cent of the parents felt that they were unable to take care of their children because they spent most of the time travelling to work. While water in most homes came only for half an hour, almost every girl child said that she had to accompany her mother to a far spot to carry water on her head. The study highlighted the importance of safeguarding the rights of children. (The Hindu 7/12/13) Posco to get balance land after lifting of NGT stay order (4) Bhubaneswar: The state government will hand over the required land for the start of first phase work of an integrated steel plant proposed by Posco in Jagatsingpur district after the lifting of the stay order of the National Green Tribunal (NGT) on cutting of trees on the acquired land. “The company has informed us to start construction work for an eight million tonnes capacity steel plant on 2,700 acres of land in the first phase,” said state steel and mines minister Rajanikant Singh in a written reply to the state assembly. The government has already handed over 1,703 acres to the company through the land acquisition agency, Industrial Infrastructure Development Corporation of Odisha (Idco) and the balance land will be given after the lifting of the stay order put by the NGT, he added. In May 2013, the NGT had ordered a status quo on tree felling on the site of Posco's steel plant in Odisha until a decision is taken on its lapsed

environmental clearance. “It is contended before us now that large number of trees are being felled/cut by the Project Proponent without permission of any competent authority. In the facts and circumstance aforesaid, we direct that the status quo in regard of cutting of trees as of today shall be maintained”, NGT said in its order. Meanwhile, Posco-India has started construction of boundary wall at its plant site earlier this week ahead of the visit of South Korean President Park Geun-hye, scheduled in January 2014.The construction work was followed by stone laying ceremony on December 6. As per a MoU signed with the state government in June, 2005, Posco intended to set up a 12 million tonne steel plant at a cost of 12 billion dollar. It required 4004 acres land for the project. But with protracted agitation over land acquisition delaying the project, the company had later proposed to start work on at least 8 million tonne steel capacity in the first phase if it is provided 2,700 acres of land. The company said, it would expand the capacity to the intended 12 mtpa as and when it received the rest of the required 4,004 acres. It may be noted the state government’s MoU with Posco has lapsed in June, 2010. With the state law department opining against renewal of the MoU after expiry of the pact, it is decided to sign a tripartite agreement involving the Odisha government, Posco India and its parent firm- South Korean steel behemoth Posco. (Business Standard 13/12/13) Land Acquisition Act to come into force from January 1 (4) New Delhi: The new Land Acquisition Act to provide just and fair compensation to farmers will come into force from January 1, Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh said today. He said that the rules of historic legislation replacing a 119-year-old act have been approved by the Law Ministry. "They (rules) will be put into the Gazette tomorrow and the Land Bill will be notified as of January 1, 2014," the minister said. The new law, passed during the Monsoon Session of Parliament, received the assent of the President on September 27. The bill was brought as the archaic act of 1894 suffered from various shortcomings including silence on the issue of resettlement and rehabilitation of those displaced by acquisition of land. (Deccan Herald 16/12/13) Villagers protest Posco boundary wall construction (4) Bhubaneswar: Angry villagers of Nuagaon today protested the construction of boundary wall of proposed steel plant of Posco-India in Jagatsinghpur district, along with some project supporters, who took part in the agitation separately demanding early redressal of compensation claims. The villagers of Nuagoan, which lies on the road to Posco site, created barricade at the entry point of the project site to prohibit entry of the construction contractors. However, when the workers of the contracting agency tried to resume construction by forcibly entering the area, irate villagers ransacked the boundary line pillars. Local police expressed its ignorance about the incident saying no complaint was filed from either side. “Police is unaware about today’s incident because no one has yet lodged FIR about the ransacking of boundary line pillars of Posco project”, said Anirudha Routray, Inspector In-charge of Abhyachandpur police station. In a separate agitation, hundreds of pro-Posco activists under the banner of Sidha Gumpha Forest Committee, assembled at the construction site and demolished the boundary line pillars in Nuagaon. Later, they planted aloe vera plants at the spot to create barricade to restrict the entry of the contractors. The boundary wall construction work began there on December 6 this year. “Contractors had started the construction work without taking the consent of the villagers and fulfilling our demands like compensation, rehabilitation, employment and other issues. So we were forced to erect the barricades by ransacking the pillars to protest the Posco related work”, said Dhirendra Pallei, a pro-Posco leader and head of Sidha Gumpha Forest Committee. The villagers of Gadkujang led by former sarpanch Nakul Sahu today met Arabinda Padhee, Revenue Division Commissioner (RDC), Central Range, at Jagastinghpur and sought his intervention to stop the construction work until their demands are fulfilled. In a memorandum submitted to the RDC, they have demanded payment of compensation to 30 villagers of Noliasahi who have been ignored during acquisition of their betel vines, announcement of the rehabilitation packages and construction of colony for displaced families, award of contract to local contractors for the

construction work etc They have threatened to intensify the stir unless their demands are not fulfilled. Padhee assured the agitating villagers to solve their issues through discussion. He also told them that the Rehabilitation and Peripheral Development Advisory Committee (RPDAC) meeting for the project will be held soon to solve their long standing demands. (Business Standard 17/12/13) New bill to give land to Mayem residents: CM (4) PANAJI: Chief minister Manohar Parrikar on Thursday announced that the government will introduce and pass a bill in the forthcoming assembly session that will give residents of Mayem the 'benefits of total liberation'. A draft bill will be placed in public domain within a month for public comments, Parrikar said in his liberation day speech at Campal, prompting the Mayem Nagarik Kruti Samiti ( MNKS) to withdraw its chain hunger strike in Panaji. The new legislation will empower the state to acquire land in Mayem and hand it over to the people with a clear title. Parrikar said most of the land in Mayem stands in the name of the government. He said the problem arises as some people claim ownership over it as it has been in their family even before the Portuguese came to Goa, and the people of Mayem claim that their land was given to the Conde de Mayem. "I am not going into that...land is in the name of government, except some of it, that land which is in the name of government will be acquired," Parrikar said. He said the land acquisition is so as to handover a clear title to the property to the people of Mayem. "Some people may fight cases against those who get that land, so I am clearing the title before the land is given," he said. "Any claim of anyone on that property will be wiped out with the law and the land will become of the government. Then we can allot the land to the people of Mayem as compensation," he said. With this the people of Mayem need not fight cases in court over any counter claim as any claim will have to be made with the government and the government may settle it either directly, through the court or reject the claim. The chief minister said there would be a mechanism in place, such as a tribunal, where Mayem residents will have to stake their claim once the law comes into force. Parrikar said even after 52 years of liberation from Portuguese rule, residents of Mayem are still deprived of their rights as their land comes under the Evacuee Property Act. (Times of India 20/12/13) Property owners cry foul over the misuse of Land Acquisition Act (4) HYDERABAD: Property owners whose land was taken over for various purposes in the city, are crying foul over misuse of powers by officials and intentionally dragging them to courts. They also allege harassment by the authorities against those who had approached courts seeking more compensation under the existing Land Acquisition act. The owners have started demanding their cases be considered under the new Land Acquisition Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013, which will come into effect from January 1, 2013. Consider this, the Hyderabad district administration had acquired an eight acre prime land near ESI hospital at Sanatnagar in 2000 and till date the land owner had not received full compensation amount. He has been fighting against the meager compensation in the court. The owner approached court as the Land Acquisition Officer offered only Rs one lakh per acre as compensation considering the land as agricultural land (change of land use was not done) while the land value was Rs 20,000 per square yard in 2000 in that area. The sad part of the story was no government agency had given requisition for land acquisition. When a land owner feels the compensation was not sufficient and injustice was been done, he/she could take the amount "under protest" and approach court under section 18 of the LA Act. "It is a herculean task for property owners to collect details of prevailing market value in the area and sale deeds registered in that area. It is also a problem to bring the witness to court, who got higher value in the same area," I Nalinikanth, a property owner, said. Under the new Act, preliminary notification for land acquisition should be issued by the authority by giving details like nature of public purpose involved and reasons necessitating the displacement of affected persons and summary of social impact assessment study report. The government agencies have to take over only minimum area of land required for the project. Similarly, property owners claim the land acquisition wing authorities had been depositing compensation amount in court under section 30 of the present Act where there were more

claimants for compensation or title dispute and not submitting documents. "The Hyderabad Metro Rail and Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) have been denying compensation on flimsy grounds like non-submission of certain documents and depositing the amount in courts under section 30. This has been happening in some cases especially where owners refused to give consent to the town planning wing for taking over land for road widening and metro rail project purposes," N Vikram Reddy, a resident of Kukatpally, said. The GHMC acquires land by invoking compulsory acquisition and urgency clause in the Act. Under the new Act, compulsory acquisition provisions should be used for public purpose or public private partnership projects where the public purpose is involved and not for private sector companies for private purposes or commercial purposes. Meanwhile, the GHMC and HMR have speeded up notifying properties and awarding compensation under the existing Act as the new law comes into force from January 1. Sources said both agencies were expected to notify or clear acquisition of 500 properties in the next few days. Once the new law comes into force, the GHMC and other agencies have to cough up more compensation and solatium, but also follow several procedures to complete land acquisition process, the sources said. (Times of India 23/12/13) Moily Allays Displacement Fear in Western Ghats (4) KARWAR: With new Environment Minister M Veerappa Moily ordering a review of the Kasturirangan report on the Western Ghats, which stressed on conserving the bio-diversity rich region, it has brought some relief to the people of Uttara Kannada district who were worried about being displaced. People living in and around 600 villages will be affected if the report was to be implemented. Now with the Minister assuring people living in protected zones of the forest range that they would not be displaced and it would not affect their day-to-day activities including agriculture, village committees have hailed the decision. “We have been living in the forest range for more than two decades. If we are asked to leave, we would find it difficult to survive outside. I hope the district administration and the state government will submit their version soon,” said Elisha Elakapati, an activist fighting for the rights of forest dwellers. The ministry had stated that decisions on the report’s recommendations will be taken after due consideration of the suggestions and objections of the six states - Gujarat, Maharashtra, Goa, Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu. - comprising the Western Ghats region. A group headed by S Kasturirangan, had recommended a ban on mining, quarrying, setting up of thermal power plants, large townships and building projects and polluting industries in the ecologically sensitive zone. The Karnataka government had expressed concern about large-scale displacement in Uttara Kannada, Kodagu and Shimoga districts. Karnataka accounts for 27 per cent of the Western Ghats. Of this, an area of 14,551 sq km has been earmarked in the report as ecologically sensitive. (New Indian Express 26/12/13) Land-losers launch indefinite strike (4) BELLARY: Farmers staging an indefinite dharna at Kuditini seeking enhanced compensation as per the new Land Acquisition Bill. Farmers staging an indefinite dharna at Kuditini seeking enhanced compensation as per the new Land Acquisition Bill. Land-losers from Kuditini, Harginadoni, Timmalapur, Veni Veerapur, Kolagallu and surrounding villages in Bellary taluk, launched an indefinite strike under the banner of Bhoo Santrasthara Horata Samiti demanding compensation as per the Land Acquisition Bill for land acquired for setting-up industries. The agitators, along with Bhajana mandal and Chowdaki artistes, rendered devotional songs to draw the attention of the government towards their plight. “About 10,000 acres of land had been acquired from farmers by the Karnataka Industrial Area Development Board. The compensation fixed was very low,” Ravi Prakash, a land-loser told The Hindu. The samiti urged the Central government to modify a provision in the Bill so as to benefit farmers whose lands have been acquired after 2009. According to Mr. Prakash, the land for steel plants Arcelor Mittal and Brahmani steels were acquired in 2010 and would not be covered under the new Bill. He said the samiti leaders had met Union Minister for Rural Development Jairam Ramesh and would also meet Chief Minister Siddaramaiah to demand enhanced price for the land. (The Hindu 27/12/13)

Nandigram protests: Govt sits on sanction to prosecute police officers (4) Kolkata: The Trinamool Government, which cashed in on the Nandigram protests in state politics, has not yet given CBI the sanction to prosecute five police officers involved in the 2007 police firing which killed 14 villagers. The agency has now filed charge sheets without giving alleged role of these five state police officers. It has filed two charge sheets recently before the Special CBI court here in the Nandigram firing in which 14 people were killed on March 14, 2007. There was no reason forthcoming as to why the state government is still reticent on not giving the sanction, CBI sources said. Agency sources said the then chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, who was also holding the charge of Home Ministry at the time of firing, was not examined by the CBI during its probe as it did not find any evidence against him. In one of the charge sheets, CBI named 132 private persons including some villagers but its request seeking sanction to prosecute two officers sub-inspectors Shambhu Das and Amit Hati and a Doctor, Laxmi Kant Ghosh, all state government officials, CBI sources said. In another charge sheet, CBI has made 37 accused, all private persons, and sought sanction to prosecute Debashis Boral and Satyajit Bandopadhyay, both additional SPs, and Sekhar Roy, sub-inspector Nandigram, sources said. The state government headed by Mamata Banerjee has not given any word to the agency to proceed with charge sheet against officials who were allegedly involved in the firing which killed 14 villagers protesting against acquisition of their land for a proposed special economic zone, they said. The agency has also recommended disciplinary action against then Inspector General Arun Gupta, and then SP G Anil Srinivas, both IPS officers, to the state government. In its charge sheet CBI has booked all those named under Indian Penal Code sections related to rioting (147, 148), unlawful assembly (149), voluntarily causing hurt to deter and public servant from his duty (332) among others. In the absence of sanction of prosecution, CBI cannot charge sheet the accused police officials which are state government officials, CBI sources said. The sources said request seeking the sanction was given to the state government nearly a year back but no decision has been communicated to the agency so far. The Calcutta High Court in June this year had directed the CBI to sort out the issue with the State government so that criminal proceedings could be initiated against the accused police officers, they said. A mob of nearly 5,000 villagers in Nandigram bloc in East Midnapore district had fought a pitched battle with security personnel on 14 March 2007 leading to police firing in which 14 of them were killed and more than 75, including a number of policemen, were injured. The villagers were protesting against a move to acquire their land by the West Bengal government for setting up a special economic zone. The Nandigram firing along with the agitation at Singur in Hooghly district against setting up of a small car plant later pitchforked Mamata Banerjee'sTrinamool Congress to power in the 2011 Assembly election with a massive mandate. A division bench of Calcutta High Court comprising of then Chief Justice SS Nijjar and Justice Pinaki Chandra Ghosh had taken suo moto cognisance of the police firing and had ordered a CBI probe next day of the incident. (Business Standard 29/12/13) Airport Project Hits Air Pocket (4) KOCHI: The 2,000-crore project for the first private airport in the country at Aranmula in Pathanamthitta district was in the cynosure of controversy from its announcement. It all started with the LDF Government led by V S Achuthanandan giving SEZ status to an area just hours before the end of its tenure. Controversies loomed as the locals of the village which is famed for the unique Aranmula mirror and termed as Heritage village, along with environmentalists rose up in arms against the project alleging the blatant flouting of rules, nearly a dozen. However, the Chennai-based company received a conditional environmental clearance from the Ministry of Environment and Forest on November 19. There are too many topics under heated discussion regarding the area of the project, the number of evictees, the environmental impact and the status of legal clearances including the date of mutation. While the Chief Minister claims innocence and affirms there was no illegal activity there during the tenure of this

government, records prove to the contrary. However, the state government which took a 10 per cent stake in the project reiterates that it will move forward with the project. (New Indian Express 30/12/13)