In a unanimous resolution passed Indian National overseas Congress, USA (INOC.USA) appeals
to the Prime Minister of India not to tamper with the current law covering the
Land acquisition but rather retain the spirit and letter of the 2013 act that
was passed with consensus by all political parties that include BJP.
The plight of farmers and landowners all over India
has drawn the deep anguish and sympathy of all Indians including those living
abroad and INOC stands in solidarity with the suffering farmers of India in their
rights to protect their prized possessions.
INOC.USA is in full sympathy and in solid support of their concerns and
demands, stands solidly behind the farmers in protesting against the proposed
action by the Modi Government so that their means of livelihood is not tampered
with and remains reasonably assured and protected.This is yet another of the
many activities taken up by the Modi government that causes more damage and
harm than good to the lower working class people and disproportionately benefit
the rich and the powerful.
INOC.USA therefore strongly protests and demands that no action be taken to
amend the existing land acquisition laws so that equity and justice continues
to prevail.
INOC.USA has further delivered a letter to the Consulate-General
of India by a delegation led by George Abraham, Chairman, Juned Qazi, President,
Harbachan Singh, Secretary General and Mohinder Singh Gilzian Sr.
Vice-President, Jasvir Singh Nawanshahr, Executive Committee Member, Haresh
Thakur, Executive Committee Member, U.A. Naseer, Secretary, Kerala Chapter,
T.J.Gill, President, Punjab Chapter, Krishna Chaitanya,
New Jersey Chapter, Mahesh Patel, New Jersey Chapter and several other members.
Resolution:
Request to the Prime Minister Narendra Modi of India by the Indian National Overseas Congress, USA through the Consul General of India, New York to retain the
spirit and letter of the 2013 Land Acquisition Act intact.
Your Excellency,
It is extremely distressing to note that the present
Government is determined to remove all safe guards and fair and equitable
compensatory provisions from the 2013 land acquisition act that was passed by
consensus that currently protects the farmers and livelihoods from any forced
takeover of their land.
Historically, India’s land acquisition process
had been notoriously slow and considered unfair to landowners. The Right to
Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and
Resettlement Act, 2012, replaced the 1894 colonial era law and redressed
the anomaly which had previously allowed the Government to grab any
land it wanted and got away by paying below market compensation.
Sir, it appears that your government wants to reverse the
law back to draconian situation that prevailed at that time. The current law
calls for consensus as well as fair compensation for the people suddenly
displaced and rendered unemployed. It should be noted that the current
law exempts important infrastructure projects like Highways from the consensus
clauses that we consider, critical for developments.
India
still remains mostly an agrarian with 70% of the people engaged in
Agriculture. These new changes your Government is embarked upon making
will be detrimental to the interests of the farmer who depends on it for
sustenance and to supply the nation with necessary food products. These
proposed changes to the law may not only favor the powerful and the wealthy but
also may wreak havoc, misery and devastation of the lives of millions of
farmers in India.
Besides being a bad governing policy, it most likely would lead the poor to the
brink of disaster and ultimately will have the consequence of hurting the
economy of the country - leading to political and social destabilization - a
drastic policy change that stands in stark contrast to extensively deliberated
and better formulated laws that are applied by responsible nations.
We strongly urge that the laws as they stand currently
should therefore not be tampered with as they were strenuously debated and
passed by an overwhelming majority of the parties in unison with each other in
the honest believe that a happy balance had truly been struck in 2013.
When laws are equitable, they also draw foreign investments as opposed to the
contrary.
A responsible government must therefore be very careful not
to do acts or omission which will negatively affect millions of people
personally and the national economy indirectly.
We therefore strongly request that the
Government desists immediately from taking any action on the existing land
acquisition laws which will otherwise jeopardize the livelihood of the
vast majority of working class struggling people.
Accept, Sir, the Assurances of my highest
consideration.
Yours Sincerely,
Juned Qazi, President
