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Social activists to meet Sonia Gandhi on land redistribution legislation

NEW DELHI: Led by Magsaysay Award winner Aruna Roy, a delegation of social activists will meet United Progressive Alliance chairperson Sonia Gandhi on land-for-landless issue.

In this regard, they will remind her on Monday about the importance of land redistribution legislation as pledged for in the National Common Minimum Programme.

Working on the premise that the country will not achieve a structural end to rural poverty without land reforms, including redistributive measures, and security of tenure and ownership, the delegation will also submit a draft National Land Reform Policy prepared by the Ekta Parishad for the government’s perusal.

A copy of the draft policy has already been submitted to the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO). The meeting with Ms. Gandhi takes place in the backdrop of a people’s march to Delhi that began from Gwalior on Gandhi Jayanti. Landless people and tribals from a dozen States are scheduled to reach the Capital by October 28 after walking 350 km to up the demand for land redistribution legislation.

The draft policy submitted to the PMO envisages a scenario where land reforms become central to public policy measures of all state governments.

Some salient features of the policy suggested by the Ekta Parishad include reduced statutory ceilings on agricultural land holdings in the light of enhanced land productivity, particularly where assured irrigation is available; strict enforcement of ceiling laws by plugging all loopholes, including benami transactions; and an end to exemptions on land given to religious, charitable, educational and industrial organisations/units.

Also, according to the social activists, government revenue land should be allotted to the landless poor with highest priority to those belonging to the Scheduled Castes/Scheduled Tribes (SCs/STs) who constitute the largest number of landless agricultural labour; and women’s rights of inheritance to agricultural and homestead lands ensured.

Besides, single woman-headed households and SCs/STs should be given “tree pattas” (rights to usufruct and harvest both timber and non-timber forest produce) over non-cultivable and forest wastelands. All rural and urban households should be ensured rights to house sites. While rural households should be guaranteed a minimum of five decimals of homestead land, the suggested size of holding for their urban counterparts is 300 sq. metres; the latter on interest-free instalments with no down payment.

Further, they have demanded a legally enforceable National Rehabilitation Policy that supersedes the Land Acquisition Act, 1894, with provision for informed challenge by affected people of the public purpose of acquisition, social cost-benefit analysis, and compulsory allocation of irrigated land to displaced households, and compensation and rehabilitation for loss of shelter.

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