Sonia's NAC digs in on land acquisition

The Sonia Gandhi-led National Advisory Council, which has been contesting the government’s thinking on the food security and forest rights legislations, is to now do so on the proposed Land Acquisition Bill.

The Bill has been waiting to be introduced in Parliament, after passing many blocks, both political and procedural. The details would be discussed in the next NAC meeting, even as there is uncertainty about its being introduced in Parliament in the current Budget session.

NAC has decided to set up a working group to study the issue. Member N C Saxena said whether the Bill was introduced in Parliament or not, the Council would study the Bill and suggest how to improve it. It was for the government to decide what to do on these. He said he had no idea if the Bill would be introduced only after it was studied by the NAC. The NAC had, in the previous term of the UPA government, drafted a Bill on land acquisition and resettlement but this was given a silent burial by the government, which prepared a different one. The NAC is to now examine this. The recommendations of the NAC on food security were contested by a committee headed by C Rangarajan, head of the Prime Minister’s Economic Advisory Council. However, NAC has persisted, rejecting the criticism of the Rangarajan committee in earlier meeings. In the latest one, it said it was awaiting feedback from the public on its draft framework, after which a final draft of the proposed Bill would be published on its website.

The NAC has also censured the tribal affairs ministry and the environment ministry for undermining the Forest Rights Act. It had sent recommendations for changes in the FRA to the former but received strong opposition. Yesterday, it it stuck to its recommendations and suggested drastic changes in rules and procedures. Beside asking the Union environment ministry from leasing out forest produce like bamboo, it asked the tribal affairs ministry to instruct states to remove all deadlines for filing claims on forest land by forest dwellers.

It said states should be asked to recognise evidence other than documentary while deciding on villagers’ claims. Beside convening gram sabhas always at the level of the hamlet, rather than the panchayat level as is being done now. It has also sought new rules to bar eviction, forced relocation or diversion of forest land where the gram sabha has not certified the process to be complete .On the rights of forest dwellers on forest resources, it has asked for providing minimum support price for all forest produce and freedom for people to sell these to state agencies or elsewhere. It has also sought to increase the mandatory tribal membership of Forest Rights Committees, the body that is supposed to inquire into claims, from the present one-third to two-thirds. It also sought a change in the rule to reduce the quorum in gram sabha meetings from two-thirds to half.