The “Ordinance Route” In Land Acquisition Act Against The Spirit Of The Constitution Of India
By Sudhir Vombatkere
31 December, 2014
Countercurrents.org
Open Letter to The President and Vice President of India
From:
Maj Gen S.G.Vombatkere, VSM (Retd)
Mysore
E-mail:[email protected]
To:
Shri Pranab Mukherjee <[email protected]>; <[email protected]>;
The President of India
Rashtrapati Bhavan, New Delhi-110011
Shri Hamid Ansari <[email protected]>;
Vice-President of India
New Delhi-110001
Hon'ble Sirs,
Greetings from Mysore, with respectful good wishes for the New Year 2015!
I am writing in the public interest, concerning the Ordinances which are cleared by the union cabinet, with special reference to the Ordinance which seeks to amend the Land Acquisition Act of 2013 or LAA 2013 (Full name: The Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act 2013).
LAA 2013 was enacted after much effort by various people's movements and political parties, to resolve the conflict due to forcible land acquisition, give farmers their due, and also meet the needs of industrial development. The title of the Act shows that the legislation is meant to help people to claim their rights to transparency and fair compensation when their land is acquired. But now the Ordinance seeks to dilute the people-friendly provisions, notably the need for consent and for conducting the Social Impact Assessment when acquiring land, so as to make it convenient for governments to easily force poor and marginalized people to part with their land and lose their livelihoods against their wishes, to facilitate PPP and private projects to establish themselves.
You would surely be aware that the Hon'ble Supreme Court has categorically held that Ordinance-making power “... is in the nature of emergency power to take action when the legislature is not in session” ... and that “... this power is to be used to meet an extraordinary situation and it can not be allowed to be” ... “perverted to serve political ends”. But the proposed Ordinance seeks to byepass due and necessary legislative process, since the matter could and should have been discussed in Parliament, and if that was not possible, by extending the session or by carrying the matter forward to forthcoming session(s). Since there is no emergent or extraordinary situation to justify it, the “Ordinance route” has been held by legally qualified eminent persons, as going against the spirit of the Constitution of India.
You are doubtless aware that there are many on-going, intense struggles in most states across India, concerning issues related to land acquisition, displacement, development plans and various “infrastructure” projects. The LAA 2013 was a progressive legislation which, in spite of certain pro-corporate content, gave farmers and land-losers a measure of control over their lives. If this Ordinance is passed, it will negate or dilute what has been achieved by years of sustained effort of people and pro-people political parties to get LAA 2013 enacted.
As the custodians of our Constitution of India, I urgently appeal to you to reject these Ordinances, and advise your government to table the contemplated amendments to LAA 2013 (and also the amendments to increase the limit of FDI in Insurance from 26% to 49%) in the forthcoming session of Parliament, so that people's representatives will be able to democratically discuss the issues involved.
With respectful regards,
Sudhir Vombatkere
(Maj Gen S.G.Vombatkere (Retd)
S.G.Vombatkere retired as major general after 35 years in the Indian military. He is engaged in voluntary social work, and is member of the National Alliance of People's Movements (NAPM) and People's Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL). As Adjunct Associate Professor of the University of Iowa, USA, he coordinates and lectures a course on Science, Technology and Sustainable Development for under-graduate students from USA and Canada. He holds a master of engineering degree in structural engineering from the University of Poona and a PhD in civil structural dynamics from I.I.T, Madras.
E-mail:[email protected]
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