There were severe protests by the Opposition, including the Congress, the BJP and the TDP when a special sitting of the Telangana Legislative Assembly on Sunday passed amendments to the Land Acquisition Act as per the suggestions made by the Union law ministry.
While the state government is insisting on getting this Act ratified, it has faced problems from the word go. Earlier this year a division bench of the Hyderabad High Court ordered that the state government should not purchase lands under GO 123 dated July 30, 2015 for irrigation projects “as it violates the statutory rights of affected marginalised families, who included agriculture labourers, artisans and others.”
This was after the state government went right ahead and adopted the “Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement (Telangana Amendment) Bill, 2016 with a voice vote, in spite of the Opposition putting up a fight against the bill.
But the Telangana government is not waiting on anyone and has a mind of its own. Thus the amendments to the Telangana Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement (Telangana Amendment Act, 2016) were passed within 10 minutes of the House being assembled for the day.
Deputy Chief Minister Mohammed Mahmood Ali, who handles revenue and related portfolios, moved the Amendment Bill, even though the Congress members demanded a debate on the problems of chilli farmers. But the Speaker Madhusudhana Chary ruled that the sitting was being held with the sole agenda of passing the amendments and no other issue would be taken up. The amendments were then passed by voice vote without any debate.
The state legislature had passed the bill two months ago and sent it to the Centre for the President's assent, but the Union law ministry last week sent it back to the state to make 'suitable amendments to the Land Act'.
Though the Speaker adjourned the House sine die, the Congress MLAs refused to leave their seats to register their protest.
The BJP also put up a protest near the assembly building to condemn the government's attitude. Both the BJP and Telugu Desam Party (TDP) members were not invited to the meeting of the Business Advisory Committee (BAC) of the assembly on Saturday since they had been suspended earlier during the budget session.
The Congress MLA and state unit president N. Uttam Kumar Reddy said his party would meet President Pranab Mukherjee to urge him not to accept the amended bill. He wanted a social impact assessment in the process of land acquisition.
The farmers organisations and the Opposition have always strongly opposed the new Land Acquisition Bill passed by the Telangana Assembly last year. In the new bill, the TRS government tried to tweak the Central Land Acquisition Act 2013, whereas the TRS was one of the signatories of this Act when the UPA was in power. But they had to make some arrangements after facing stiff opposition in acquiring land for several irrigation projects.
The Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement (Telangana Amend) Act 2016 wrests the right to acquire land for public good and in the “national interest”. The state feels that the Act brings in amendments to the Central Act which was obstructing its developmental plans. This Act, in fact, gives the state government all kinds of power to acquire land for projects of national importance, infrastructure projects (electrification and irrigation), affordable housing and housing for the poor, industrial corridors and for infrastructure projects taken up by the government and through public-private partnerships.
Chief Minister K.Chandrasekhar Rao has always been claiming that the GO No. 123, introduced by the state government offered better compensation than what the 2013 Act proposed. But both the farmers and the Opposition do not believe it. While a gram sabha is de rigueur before such Acts are implemented, no such step was taken by the state government.
