Am not anti-development, but land ordinance isn't pro-people, says Medha Patkar

Medha Patkar, a well-known social activist and the founding member of the Narmada Bachao Andolan and former convenor of National Alliance of People’s Movements (NAPM), firmly believes that the land ordinance of the NDA government will badly affect the farmers, farm workers and the poor, both rural and urban. In an interview with the Firstpost, she expressed her apprehension about the changes to the Act of 2013. Q. What makes you lend support to the farmers’ padyatra from Palwal to New Delhi? We are opposing the ordinance brought by the Narendra Modi government amending the Land Acquisition Act 2013 because it is anti-people. It is against the farmers, workers, and rural and urban poor people of the country. It will help land grabbers to take away lands of the farmers. It will destroy agriculture, horticulture, rivers, forests, tree cover and mangroves in the name of extracting minerals and as well as ground water. There will be no replenishment which will damage the environment. This will affect the country’s natural wealth and developmental activities and the national priorities. [caption id=“attachment_2116095” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Founding member of the Narmada Bachao Andolan Medha Patkar. AFP[/caption] We are against the ordinance because it is not beneficial to the country and the majority of its people. It is certainly not in the interest of the weaker sections of the society. It does not protect the rights of the farmers and tribals over ‘jal, jungle, jameen’. Instead, it is an infringement upon the right to life and livelihood of a large sections of people including farmers and workers. There is no doubt that the development criteria in this country has been flawed and undemocratic. Unfortunately, the basic rights of the people who belong to the lower strata of society and who survive on natural resources have been denied. Sadly, the private sector has always been the beneficiary of such amendments. Q. The industry has supported the ordinance because it feels the Act of 2013 made it difficult for them to operate. Acquiring land under the Act has become too cumbersome and time consuming. Besides it brings no real benefits to the farmers either. Do you agree with these arguments? I don’t agree. First of all I should tell you that the Land Acquisition Act of 2013, brought by the UPA government, has not even been implemented in the country. How can anyone then claim they have faced difficulties? The 2013 Act had sought to change the old Land Acquisition Act of 1894 in favour of the tribals and the farmers. The 2013 Act itself had been diluted. The industry, however, wants easy access to huge chunks of land for their benefit without any hindrance in their path. The BJP government has taken the extra-parliamentary route to avoid even a debate on the issue and amended the Land Acquisition Act 2013. This is not only against the spirit of the Constitution under Article 123, but also the tenets of democracy. Industry and corporate houses have their own vested interest in supporting the ordinance. Organisations like the Ekta Parishad of P V Rajagopalan, our own National Alliance for People’s Movement (NAPM) and social activists like Anna Hazare are fighting for the just rights of the people. Q. When in the opposition, the BJP had supported the UPA government’s Land Acquisition Act, but now it has gone for big changes. Your view on it. The BJP’s somersault is not too difficult to understand. The stand no doubt is undemocratic. The party had a different stand when it was not in power. But now that the ‘corporate house party’ is in power, business lobbies feel it is just the right time to push for their issues, agendas and interests. It is a total corporatisation in the name of national interest. No wonder the priorities have changed now. The BJP even claimed that the Congress was in favour of certain changes in the 2013 Land Acquisition Act, which the Congress has denied. Q. Is this a people’s movement or the NGOs are simply trying to grab attention? A large number of farmers, workers, general public and social activists are involved in the present campaign against the ordinance. Such protests may turn into a larger national movement if the government and the corporate bodies and their lobbies do not mend their ways. Q. What if the government ignores the protest? We are going to continue our agitation peacefully in a democractic manner. We are not going to be cowed down. We are here to fight for the right of the farmers, the landless labourers, the poor people who have been deprived of their lands and their homes. Q. You and your movements were often labeled anti-development by the governments. How do you react? Even Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley called me that without naming me. It is the propaganda of the vested interests actually to name a person anti-development when the person works in the interest of the deprived people. It is a tragedy that if you take up the cause of the landless and weaker sections of the society in this country you are labeled as as anti-development. On the other hand if you are siding with the corporate lobbies to serve for them and their profit motive you become pro-development. Q. Do other countries have similar land acquisition laws for private projects? There is hardly any country in the world which has such land acquisition laws for the benefit of the private sector and corporate houses. Land acquisition laws exist even in Palestine and the US, but not for the benefit of a certain section of people like in India. We have no choice but to oppose such laws. Q: What then is your vision of sustainable development in the country? Sustainable development is necessary for the people and the country. We are not against development in any way. We are working for development of the deprived people. People, whether they live in the urban or the rural areas, should be partners in all the developmental work that takes place in the region. Our framework is not an individualist one. It is the framework of the Indian constitution, values of equity and justice. Sustainability means giving justice to the population beyond the existing generation. But we must ensure that our priorities are right and the programmes and policies are not lopsided. Equitable and sustainable development means that the natural resources will be used for the benefit of all. Of course, preference must be given to the deprived sections of society.