Land Acquisition Bill- its faults and flaws

Bill for making of 'new policies regarding land acquisition by government' has been proposed in the Indian parliament. The new policies may favor the industrialists more and make it easier to acquire land. These policies may appear as if they give advantage to the farmer, but on the long run, they will  bring relief to neither to the nation nor to the farmer.

The "urgency" clause for land acquisition by government applies to land acquired for "defense and security" reasons. This clause can be used to acquire and the actual usage may be changed.

And central government offers only guidelines, while state governments can make their own policies and the intentions can be misinterpreted. Uniform policy is needed for us to grow as a nation. Important laws have to be same for all.

Previously, multi-crop land (land which is very fertile and gives several yields per year) could not be acquired for its prime agricultural land. But now the new bill allows for acquiring this land also. This will affect the productivity of the nation and directly reduce the growth of the economy.

People of India have an exquisite culture which had evolved with the land that they live in. Ponds and rivers have temples in their banks adjacent to the fields. Before stepping into their fields farmers worship their ancestral gods and invoke their blessings. Their reverence for their gods and feelings for their culture cannot be replaced by any sort of monetary compensations. Some say their ancestors' spirit lives in their lands and blesses them with good crops. Harvest festivals are celebrated to invoke their  blessings from these gods and spirits and land is worshiped.In India, people, their culture and their land have been interwoven in their way of life.

Such feelings must be acknowledged by the government in framing of land acquisition policies, and faith of the people should be respected. People have deep reverence for their land and worship  daily when they rise in the morning and make a daily prayer to the sun(surya vandana) and the mother earth . Before building their homes, people make 'Bhoomi puja' as a humble prayer to the land they live in.Their land and culture cannot be made into a commodity. Once it is given up for sale, the people will loose their faiths, their culture and their way of life. Cooperative farms(single ones merged together) could bring profits for the farmer.

Before making sweeping land acquisition bills, people's deep seated feelings must be respected by the government. This will show how much we value our people's culture and civilization. And great civilizations like ours should not lose its deep traditions  in a single stroke. As we modernize, we must most definitely keep our culture in tact  as it is our very soul. We cannot sell our soul at any cost.The bill should be amended so that the land of the farmer is leased out(if needed for long periods) and not sold. And if infrastructure or industries are developed in his land, he should be the chief stakeholder.