Farmers' body slams land acquisition process in UP

Federation of Indian Farmers Organisations (FIFO) today slammed the process of land acquisition in Uttar Pradesh (UP) claiming farmers were being forced to part with their land at non-remunerative prices.

FIFO said the land acquisition process in UP compared unfavourably with neighbouring states of Haryana and Rajasthan considering the interests of farmers.

“Although the state government had announced no land would be acquired without the consent of farmers, it is not being practised, while the land owners are being given a pittance,” Kesari Singh Gujjar, the president of Dehat Morcha, which is a constituent of FIFO, said.

“Even now, the land is being acquired forcefully in UP, while farmers’ grievances are not being addressed,” he said and claimed almost 100,000 farmers’ families had been displaced in Noida alone, due to land acquisition.

 

FIFO was recently constituted with 24 member organisations to create a national-level platform for advocating farmers’ and agriculture issues.

Stressing the government should not act as ‘property dealers’ and brokers during land acquisition, FIFO has demanded the farmers be paid 80 per cent of the market price of their land.

Interestingly, the UP government had announced a new rehabilitation policy in September following farmers’ protest in Aligarh and other places over land acquisition for Yamuna Expressway. The policy promised better than existing remuneration to farmers for their land and incremental annuity payment over 33 years.

According to the state industrial development department, fresh land acquisition notifications were issued only after the entire amount required under the new policy had been deposited with the respective collector. The government claimed land acquisition was being done after negotiations with farmers under the UP Karar Niyamavali provisions and that the new policy had been working quite well.

For effective disbursement of annuity under the scheme, UP is in the process of engaging the services of a professional service provider like an insurance company, bank or a consortium.

FIFO convener M J Khan said the budgetary allocation for agriculture had been declining in successive plans, while the growth rate of the sector was also low around four per cent compared to the country’s gross domestic product progressing at eight per cent.

“We demand that the recommendations of the National Commission on Farmers be implemented — which would be to provide 50 per cent return on farm input. Besides, the Commission for Agriculture Costs and Prices be given statutory powers and not just an advisory role,” he added.

Khan alleged some national level non-governmental organisations (NGOs) were playing in the hands of multinationals for vested interests, while working against the welfare of the country’s agriculture sector and farmers.