Scrap outdated land acquisition Act, resettlement policies: Ramadoss
Special Correspondent
New laws sought to render justice to people displaced by projects
— Photo: T. Singaravelou
TAKING UP THEIR CAUSE : PMK Founder S. Ramadoss addressing partymen and villagers, who staged an agitation in front of the NLC in Neyveli on Tuesday.
NEYVELI: Pattali Makkal Katchi founder S. Ramadoss on Tuesday asked the State Government to scrap the antiquated Land Acquisition Act and the Rehabilitation and Resettlement Policy, and pass new laws to render justice to persons displaced by development projects.
He was addressing PMK workers who, along with villagers, staged a demonstration in front of the corporate office of the Neyveli Lignite Corporation here.
He said the villagers were getting a raw deal from successive State Governments and the NLC management. Their demands for fair compensation, one job for a family and 10-cent house sites remained unfulfilled.
He cited the recent Central Cabinet decision that favoured “land for land” offer to the evacuees. In Neyveli, in 1953 the compensation was fixed at Rs.250 an acre. It was Rs.58,000 an acre now. The compensation had not taken into account the lignite bearing capacity, underground water potential and crop prospects of the land.
He said NLC chairman-cum-managing director S. Jayaraman had stated in a letter that the land was being acquired through the State Government, which was also deciding the compensation.
Haryana model
The Tamil Nadu Government should emulate the Haryana model that provided for a lease amount of Rs.10,000 to each of the displaced families for 33 years.
Would the NLC management, which was making an annual profit of over Rs.1,000 crore, come forward to offer 20 per cent of its shares to the employees, he asked.
“Make policy public”
He called upon the NLC management to make public the R & R policy implementation and make provision for returning the reclaimed lands to original owners.
They would intensify the stir if the management remained indifferent to their demands.
PMK president G.K. Mani called for a probe into land acquisition by some NLC officials.
E. Ponnuswami, MP; T. Velmurugan, MLA, and R. Govindasamy, secretary, PMK property protection committee, participated.
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