{"id":34189,"date":"2018-10-30T16:14:32","date_gmt":"2018-10-30T10:44:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.forumias.com\/?p=34189"},"modified":"2018-10-30T16:14:32","modified_gmt":"2018-10-30T10:44:32","slug":"rajasthans-nindar-where-farmers-launched-a-desperate-protest-against-land-acquisition","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/rajasthans-nindar-where-farmers-launched-a-desperate-protest-against-land-acquisition\/","title":{"rendered":"Rajasthan\u2019s Nindar, where farmers launched a desperate protest against land acquisition"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thehindu.com\/news\/national\/other-states\/rajasthans-nindar-where-farmers-launched-a-desperate-protest-against-land-acquisition\/article19982535.ece\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Rajasthan\u2019s Nindar, where farmers launched a desperate protest against land acquisition<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<p><b>Context<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">To protest against land acquisition by the Jaipur Development Authority (JDA) for a housing project at Nindar, farmers performed an unusual demonstration by digging pits and trenches and buried themselves waist \u2013 deep in the earth. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Peasants\u2019 plight.<\/b><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The unique protest generated immense public sympathy and forced the government to hold talks with the farmers.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><b>What did landowners object?<\/b><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Rajasthan government had acquired 1,350 bighas of land at Nindar in several stages since 2010 for a lavish housing project, despite the land owners refusing to accept compensation. <\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The farmers are trying to save their land from forcible acquisition.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Farmers are blaming JDA by saying that the JDA\u2019s survey was faulty and the compensation was much below market prices. <\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">After some farmers lost court battle, they surrendered 283 bighas. Nearly 5,000 families would have been affected.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">However, the JDA insisted on getting possession of the entire 1,350 bighas, including 150 bighas of the mandir maafi (exempted for temples) land for which it deposited \u20b960 crore in the court as compensation.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The JDA\u2019s project was touted as its biggest scheme with 6,000 houses and residential plots.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><b>What is the Land Policy?<\/b><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Land acquisition in the State is governed by a policy framed in April 2016 under the Central law, the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> The policy\u2019s emphasis is on conducting negotiations with landowners and reaching consensus on compensation and rehabilitation by the Collector, while taking into consideration the land\u2019s existing market value.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Separately, the State government has enacted a Land Pooling Schemes Act to consolidate small landholdings for the areas declared special investment regions.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> The land acquisition at Nindar was the first instance of forcible takeover of farmland with the payment of inadequate compensation, primarily because the land was acquired in several stages, while compensation was offered at the rates prevailing in 2010.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Farmers have taken the matter to the High Court earlier in 2013, contending that the State Land Revenue Act entitled farmers to negotiations and the best price in lieu of the rights of agricultural land allotted for mining purposes.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><b>Why did farmers bury themselves?<\/b><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">To intensify their agitation when they did not get a response from the government and came up with the novel idea of Zameen Samadhi Satyagraha.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> On October 2, the birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi, the farmers dug pits and buried themselves waist-deep in a \u201cnon-violent method\u201d of showing their anger at the government.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Forty-year-old Nagendra Singh Shekhawat led the agitation as convener of the Nindar Bachao Yuva Kisan Sangharsh Samiti.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><b>What lies ahead?<\/b><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The State government and JDA officers did not respond initially, but with the protesters not budging despite dehydration and skin infection, sympathy among the residents of the nearby Vidyadhar Nagar increased and Congress leaders Sachin Pilot and C.P. Joshi visited them to express solidarity.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">As public pressure mounted, the BJP government invited the farmers for talks. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">After prolonged negotiations, the JDA agreed to a fresh survey, in which all structures, tubewells and fruit-bearing trees would be included.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Sangharsh Samiti called off the agitation on October 31.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The farmers are hopeful that the new survey will reflect the ground situation and ensure better compensation, against the previous assessment which marked several agricultural fields as barren and showed hamlets as vacant land.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The farmers are looking forward to the findings of the survey, for which new teams have been appointed by the JDA<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><b>The Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013.<\/b><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement (Amendment) Bill, 2015 was introduced in the Lok Sabha by the Minister for Rural Development, Mr. Birender Singh on February 24, 2015. \u00a0The Bill amends the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013 (LARR Act, 2013).<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Bill replaces the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement (Amendment) Ordinance, 2014.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><b>In addition, \u00a0the Bill permits the government to exempt projects in these five categories from the following provisions, through a notification:<\/b><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The LARR Act, 2013 requires that a Social Impact Assessment be conducted to identify affected families and calculate the social impact when land is acquired.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The LARR Act, 2013 imposes certain restrictions on the acquisition of irrigated multi-cropped land and other agricultural land. \u00a0For example, irrigated multi-cropped land cannot be acquired beyond the limit specified by the appropriate government.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><b>Return of unutilised land:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> The LARR Act, 2013 required land acquired under it which remained unutilised for five years, to be returned to the original owners or the land bank. <\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><b>The Bill states that the period after which unutilised land will need to be returned will be:<\/b><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">five years, or <\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">any period specified at the time of setting up the project, whichever is later.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><b>Time period for retrospective application:<\/b><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The LARR Act, 2013 states that the Land Acquisition Act, 1894 will continue to apply in certain cases, where an award has been made under the 1894 Act. \u00a0However, if such an award was made five years or more before the enactment of the LARR Act, 2013, and the physical possession of land has not been taken or compensation has not been paid, the LARR Act, 2013 will apply. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><b>The Bill states that in calculating this time period, any period during which the proceedings of acquisition were held up: <\/b><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">due to a stay order of a court, or <\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">a period specified in the award of a Tribunal for taking possession, or <\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">any period where possession has been taken but the compensation is lying deposited in a court or any account, will not be counted.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><b>Other changes:<\/b><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The LARR Act, 2013 excluded the acquisition of land for private hospitals and private educational institutions from its purview. \u00a0The Bill removes this restriction. <\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">While the LARR Act, 2013 was applicable for the acquisition of land for private companies, the Bill changes this to acquisition for \u2018private entities\u2019. \u00a0A private entity is an entity other than a government entity, and could include a proprietorship, partnership, company, corporation, non-profit organisation, or other entity under any other law.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The LARR Act, 2013 stated that if an offence is committed by the government, the head of the department would be deemed guilty unless he could show that the offence was committed without his knowledge, or that he had exercised due diligence to prevent the commission of the offence. \u00a0The Bill replaces this provision and states that if an offence is committed by a government official, he cannot be prosecuted without the prior sanction of the government.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><b>What is Land Pooling?<\/b><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Land Pooling is a concept that where small chunks of land are owned by group of owners who assemble for the development of infrastructure.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">After the development of the land, the Land Pooling agency redistributed the land after deducting some portion as compensation towards infrastructure costs. <\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This is done to develop and bring out the potential of housing and infrastructure to reduce the load on the existing congested and saturated areas.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Rajasthan\u2019s Nindar, where farmers launched a desperate protest against land acquisition Context To protest against land acquisition by the Jaipur Development Authority (JDA) for a housing project at Nindar, farmers performed an unusual demonstration by digging pits and trenches and buried themselves waist \u2013 deep in the earth. Peasants\u2019 plight. The unique protest generated immense&hellip; <a class=\"more-link\" href=\"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/rajasthans-nindar-where-farmers-launched-a-desperate-protest-against-land-acquisition\/\">Continue reading <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Rajasthan\u2019s Nindar, where farmers launched a desperate protest against land acquisition<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":61,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[555],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-34189","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-test-1","entry"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","views":{"total":0,"cached_at":"","cached_date":1704758860},"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34189","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/61"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=34189"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34189\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=34189"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=34189"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=34189"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}