L'acquisition de terres en Inde, un conflit d'intérêts entre l'agriculture et l'industrie

Land purchase in India, a conflict of interest between farming and industry

by Amal K. Ganguli 

Brief Synopsis

Union Internationale Des Avocats (UIA) - India Chapter organised a symposium on Land Acquisition: Balancing Development with Farmers’ Rights' at the Indian Law Institute, New Delhi. 

The Union Internationale Des Avocats (UIA) is the oldest international association of lawyers, which was founded in 1927. UIA-India Chapter has been organising significant events of public importance in various fields of law, viz., Cyberspace Usages- Challenges and Dispute Resolution, Global Business and Human Rights etc.

The amendment to the Land Acquisition Act 2013 has justifiably been the subject matter of larger public debate across the country involving all sections of the society. The debate is significant because India is perceived as having a great prospect of leapfrogging in its economy and its role in the international arena. While development is the fundamental premise to achieve manifold economic progress, the question that is asked is whether the 2013 Land Acquisition Act, which came to be enacted after long debate and discussion amongst Parliamentarians representing all political parties, constitutes hindrance to growth and development, inter alia, by infrastructure developments and increased industrial activities by setting up industrial corridors at the cost of farmers’ well being.        

The event featured Justice (Retd.) AK Patnaik, Former Indian Supreme Court Judge, as the Keynote Speaker and Mr. KK Venugopal, Senior Advocate and President of Honour of UIA and Mr. AK Ganguli, Senior Advocate and President of UIA-India Chapter and Dr. Arghya Sengupta, Research Director of the Vidhi Centre for Legal Policy as panellists. Ms. Mamta Tiwari, Secretary-General of the UIA-India Chapter introduced the panellists and gave the Vote of Thanks. 

Mr. Ganguli, in an insightful overview of land acquisition in India, pointed to the historical injustices during acquisition procedures under the Land Acquisition Act, 1894. He stressed the need to redress such injustices without making acquisition so onerous that they are impossible. Mr. Ganguli emphasised that the Land Acquisition Act 1894 was much abused by invoking the sovereign power of eminent domain that rendered large populations homeless and robbed them of their means of livelihood. By delaying the acquisition proceedings after the preliminary declarations, the owners were not only paid a paltry sum as compensation dating back to the said declaration, their sense of deprivation was aggravated by not being provided with any alternative means of livelihood. This deprived section of the Indian population could never feel that they were made to sacrifice for the larger interest of the country and the rest of the population who remained unaffected due to lack of concern.

The expelled of the Pong dam on the river Beas were litigating in courts until as late as 1996 for failure of the authorities to rehabilitate them after being ousted from their homes, villages and cultivable land on an assured scheme of rehabilitation created in 1960. 

The new Land Acquisition Act 2013 justifiably requires preliminary survey on Social Impact Assessment of resettlement and rehabilitation schemes for those whose projects and lands would be compulsorily required for development purposes. It is true that some exceptional circumstances would justify compulsory acquisition of land without the consent of landowners but that does not justify failure to conduct social impact study on such acquisition and dispense with the process of resettlement and rehabilitation scheme.

A balance must be struck between development and social justice so that the landowners feel that they are partners in the development process.       

 Mr. Venugopal provided his sharp and incisive views on the new land acquisition legislation passed by the UPA government in 2013 saying that the pendulum had swung too far away from development. Injustices, he felt should be addressed through beneficial compensation and implementable rehabilitation and resettlement plans for which government and industries are held accountable.

Following Mr. Venugopal, Dr. Sengupta provided a close analysis of the 2013 Act passed by the UPA and the implications of the change brought forth by the Ordinance introduced by the NDA government. He also pointed out several implementational flaws in the Act, particularly relating to consent of land-losers which has not been addressed by the Ordinance.

Finally Justice Patnaik, provided a detailed account of land acquisition from his long experience as a judge. He spoke at length about his experiences as Chief Justice of the Madhya Pradesh High Court where he presided over the Bench in a petition pertaining to the Sardar Sarovar Project. His keynote speech alerted the audience of the perils of non-implementation and the need to strike a harmonious balance between development and farmers’ rights. This was followed by a lively Q&A. Several members of the audience presented their views on current developments, which made for an engaging and thought-provoking evening of legal discussion and debate. 

The symposium called upon all who were assuring that the current debate on the proposed amendment to the Land Acquisition Act 2013 would be guided by a constructive approach, which would allay all fears of unfairness and unjust acquisition of land. The fact that the exempted categories are governmental institutions like defence, does not debar the Government from acting in consonance with the norm of social justice laid down under the 2013 Act even when the lands are acquired without the consent of landowners.

by Amal K. Ganguli