Proposed law against interests of displaced, say activists
Civil society groups have taken exception to the exemption of Special Economic Zones (SEZs) Act from the proposed National Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement (NLARR) Bill 2011, saying it would deny “whatever little benefits” assured in the Bill to those displaced by these SEZs.
These groups wonder if the move to make the SEZs and 15 other laws inapplicable was deliberate, aimed at favouring the industry. “Section 97 and 98 of the Bill make it clear that the provisions are not applicable to 16 other Acts unless notified for purposes of compensation and rehabilitation by the Government. It means those displaced by SEZs will be left high and dry,” says Usha Seethalakshmi, who has done extensive research on SEZs and their implications on land, agriculture and farmers. The LARR Bill was introduced in Parliament on September 7.
She says while the LARR Bill itself was weak and offered little for the land-losing farmers and other dependent communities, the exemption of SEZ Act raises doubts. As such, the SEZ Act of 2005 was not really a land acquisition related law and it did not touch upon acquiring processes or procedures. It only makes a mention of the kind of land to be acquired or exempted for setting up SEZs and the size of land required for various types of SEZs.
If it were included in a broad-spectrum legislation like LARR, it would have done some good for the displaced persons and brought in some uniformity, activists feel. It would have made at least some difference in a State like Andhra Pradesh boasting the largest number of 114 SEZs but most of which have been courting controversies ranging from misuse of the allotted land for real estate purposes to displaced persons being left in the lurch.
Though some provisions of LARR Bill have come in for sharp for being ‘covertly industry-friendly’, many see certain virtues in other sections.
These include addressing rehabilitation and resettlement issues by providing certain safeguards to landowners and losers of livelihood, a clearer definition of “public purpose” for acquiring the land and compensation for loss of land four times of the original market value in rural areas and twice this value in urban areas.