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.

Role of people in progress

The masses protesting might seem to be news makers but the real news makers are the parliamentarians who have announced the new era of pro-active government by impeaching a judge and therefore maintaining the balance of power between the executive, legislative and the judiciary. This is a step to counter-check judicial activism. It is like reformation in Indian government and polity. It is like coming out of the middle ages/dark ages; parliament was only “running the government” /resolving petty grievances and not actively taking affairs of the state seriously and is now thinking for the future and is legislating. Positive restructuring of old institutions will make our democracy strong and vibrant. Time cannot be wasted in protests. We are not ready for make revolutions yet, for there are more urgent duties to attend to, issue that need resolving and hurdles to be overcome. We must address to problems of the present by making urgent policy changes. Adopting transparent procedures in running government and inculcating e-tendering in procurement government’s processes are some ways to eradicate corruption. In addition to eliminating off record deals, development must be made very fast, so that peoples’ needs can be fulfilled. Industrialization must proceed at full speed.With partnerships with private sector, this is possible. Transparent means of allocating projects is required and this can be provided by ICT solutions Different resources are available in different states. The idea is to share the resources of different states in such a way to benefit the nation as whole. For that we must refine the administrative machinery to function more effectively to share/collaborate or make joint efforts. If agriculture-dominated states do not want to give any of their land for industrialization, then land can be acquired from different states (non-agricultural land) for making of industries. Some predominantly agricultural states which had undergone green revolution twenty years ago, did not progress any further. Why? The people of that state idealized their rustic way of life there. And they felt that they had “arrived” at a position that they want, they did not think beyond (they did not go for new educational institutions) Where as those states which had moderate prosperity, felt that they need more and more progress, and felt that by increasing the number of educational institutions, they can have more stable way of life for their children and for future their state. Now this worked out well. They are progressing fast and did not stagnate. Thus it’s the people who take the initiative on how they are going to plan for their future and the government only aids them in facilitating to their demands for better educational facilities/industries and so on. People can write to their government, instead of staging fasts and protests; government can ask for the opinion of citizens in different issues. Through referendum all citizens can give opinion on bills to be enacted (electronically like sms or email) rather than react or protest. People have the central role in the democratic process; now that there is technology (sms/email etc) for effective citizen participation. Thus people can creatively take part in development of the nation, and give government innovative ideas for all around progress of the nation. Modern technology has given a new meaning to democracy.

Super intelligent Indians

India(known for Its historical past) overtakes all countries of the world  and moves ahead into future India, because of having  the most intelligent citizens. Thousands of years ago, people who migrated to India settled down upon first agricultural revolution in civilization development—we became farmers. We may have missed the second revolution(industrial revolution), but we have progressed far far ahead and moved to the third revolution, age of electronics. We have brought about the telecom revolution in India. We Indians are super intelligent and progress very very fast.

We know how to integrate latest technology in our lives an we adopt quickly.How India fares in the future depends on policies it makes today and the government is keeping up. DOT has given TRAI the role of telecom infrastructure regulator. TRAI is not totally free to determine its own rules for it is subject to examination and review by committees like Standing Committee on IT, Committee on Subordinate Legislation, and Committee on papers laid and so on.  TRAI determines on rate of the transaction fee, on direct tax code, cost of GST and so on. Subsidies in licenses and tarrifs can encourage the private sector to grow in this field.There is healthy competion amongst private telecom companies when broad band connectivity was brought here.

 We have 81 crore subscribers now. But declining revenue of telecom brings one to view what mobiles are used for. Only 5% of mobiles are used for commerce related activity. Mobile users use their handsets for sms (52%), as a camera (50%) and as a radio(50%). Private firms are exploring digital marketing, on line shopping and e-transactions. Some are exploring tele-medicine too. Service provider should make platform which user can use with ease. Benefits of 3G must be known to mobile users. Video calls should be made known to the users. These are possibilities of lines of future growth in this sector. We like visual contact as it registers deeply into our minds, so visual telephone will score well with the people.

Fundamental reasons for these growth potential are social. As jobs become scarce, young persons are willing to travel far to seek employment. And because their parents are willing to send them far as mobile is available to keep in constant contact.  Physical boundaries have been overcome; Thus social attitudes of the people has helped technological innovations to grow and flourish.

For further development there should be lower rates of tariffs. This will help in keeping up with the times—travelling far far for employment—now new thresholds have been explored. We Indians will move on to face more new exigencies.We have to make mobile technology more affordable to the common people by reducing taxes and tariffs on them, by encouraging making of cheaper handsets, by allowing for longer periods of validity, and by lowering price per second of usage. Mobile network coverage rates could be reduced . For India to progress we need effective governance, proper decision making policies and good regulatory mechanisms. And government has to make sure that there is proper mechanism to control not just how technology grows but also on how technology is taken by the people.(whether it is healthier growth) First government must realize that most urgent need of India at present is that our economy is not in a good condition,and that  we have to recover from the crisis before we can progress any further. We must find strategies for its growth using modern technology as a tool. Why is it that we are having all resources(including human resource) and we are still part of the developing world and not developed world? Western countries had grown on consumer based economy; India need not take that path. Our growth depends how we adopt to modern technology without sacrificing on our cultural  and social identity.

Land use plans

Government of India has proposed Land Acquisition Bill to promote development and compensate for the sellers(farmers) of land. The bill sets limits like for instance if a piece of land was acquired and ten years ago and  it was not used for ten years, then it has to be returned to the original owner. For land already acquired also(lets say 5 years ago) this rule will apply retrospectively also.Resettlement for the dwellers and provision for  their rehabilitation is also kept in mind and is included in the clauses of the bill. For instance if, the cost  to be spent on resettlement  and relief for their rehabilitation would be 40% of the cost of the forest land acquired to be spent for the forest dwellers' development. Different states which are pro-industry have given different rates of appreciation of the land acquired, for instance state of Gujrat would give different prices of land acquired in rural and urban areas. And the state of Orissa gives more stress to resettlement and relief  clause. because the tribal forest dwellers are a big part of the population in that state."Public purpose" could be used to describe land  for railways, ports, irrigation canals, or industries. Some argue that all industries can be classified as public purpose of "employment generation". But when non-government industries take over, it is "exploitation generation" rephrased as public purpose. It is left to interpretation.Low cost housing is not included as "public purpose" and in the future, the greatest need in India would be this and this bill has not made concessions for that. And it has allowed acquisition of prime agricultural land which give several yields per year. As per the new definitions, already some have violated the land bill as POSCO has violated the rights of the forest dwellers. It is proposed that a seven stage process would be used to make "social assessment" of the land acquired before the deal is struck. Some cases are there where solution is not yet found. Yamuna Expressway strip of land was acquired for 850 Rupees for each square meter from the farmer, and government resold it private builders and it is now worth18,000 Rupees for each square meter.It is proposed that the farmer should get 25% of the appreciation. But will this satisfy the farmer? Does he have any say in this? This is legitimizing  real estate dealings as per standards that market forces demands. Once sold away, it would be bought by any one who has power to buy.It is like selling away most valuable part of us-our identity, our culture, our soil, our homeland. There is news today that countries like the Maldives feel that their islands may disappear due to sea level-rise and global warming, they want to buy land in India.Anyone from anywhere can buy part of us. what would the future be like? We might become people without homeland, and our homeland  will be without us,its people. We might not be allowed to move in our own land, we may become second class citizens in our own country(may be servant class). We cannot let that happen. Farmers have to become stakeholders of their lands, and they should only sign on lease to make deals and not sell away their homelands.Only global market forces will prevail and this trend is facilitated by unstructured laws and faulty policies.

Future India: Reforms in mindsets

The Indian psyche is characterised by its influence in boosting its next generation by all means. All Indian parents would pay more than average fees to "pay" colleges to their son’s admission with average marks. Parents of daughters make lifetime savings to "pay" for a big dowry to get them better than ordinary grooms. We do go to extreme situations to secure better position for our children by "paying" extra. We carry this mindset for getting done any job--making ration card, drivers license, registering for gas connection etc. When there are givers, there are takers. This is the Indian psyche. We will profess to be fair citizens and want services done without payment, only for the sake of making good conversation; we want fair politics and that political parties should not acquire money for campaigning and we want transparency in college admission. But in reality, we would pay for betterment of our children’s education, by hook or crook we will buy a seat in the engineering college. We feel God treats all devotees equally, but we will pay little extra to get a special “deal” with God to secure some extra blessings, this is our Indian culture—written in our brains. Such contradictions in what we profess and what we practise defines the Indian outlook, when we come out of this mindset and bring together our theory and practise, then only we can have a fair government and society. The reformation has to come from within. We cannot profess to have reforms superficially.

Politician’s off-record remuneration comes by doing favours to private firms. Private firms should have some degree of autonomy and should not depend on favours from anyone. We want material wealth before we go for education, because how can the mind work if there is poverty? Those who represent us(politicians) we feel should have another set of values.One set for public and one for private lives In public life there has to be good values. If we reduce the scope of the powers of the politicians and bureaucrats, it would be better. Because they use their power and end meritocracy. We must know how they do this. If we can observe the movements of deciding documents of the different departments in the net, and we have an open government; then off-record actions would not be possible.

We can pay taxes only when we know that the money that we give is used constructively. We pay, with our taxes, to government employees very high salaries; these employees take bribes as an addition to their pay without any qualms about the wrong doing they are indulging in. Why? How we think what is right and how we live has vast variations, and that leads the employees to take bribes without hesitancy. If we give incentive—for moving each one of the files, he would get extra bonuses, he will work positively.

When the public is upset about the injustices, it protests. They should be able to express our opinions without protests may be by emails . As governments should, we should take their problems seriously and listen to it. Suppressing demonstration is a violation of our fundamental rights. We are a free country and not ruled by the military or police. Why do the police interfere in civic life unnecessarily? Police need to restore order and not take orders from politicians. It’s a practise for anyone who has failed to make a career, enrol in the police academy, since qualifications required for it are minimal. Without knowledge of their duties, these individuals have an authoritarian outlook and bring bad name for the force they represent. Only highly qualified persons should be chosen for responsible government cadres such as the police force. Commitment to duty to the people is the most important quality and not ability to suppress citizens or loot citizens. It is distressing to watch traffic cop take money instead of giving ticket to violations. It’s painful to see the cops act like highway robbers, taking money from drivers of private buses without rhyme or reason. What are we doing about this? Just watch and go on in life as if we did not see it. We have to survive this unfair India of today. We will be reforming our mindsets. May be future India will be a fairer and more just India.

Making of Infrastructure: the cost for the citizen

In making big plans, we forget that the effect on the ordinary  citizen is important otherwise it would lead to further impoverishment of the average Indian. Many policy decisions have to be made now while keeping in mind the needs of the average Indian. In its eagerness to encourage private industries, government overrides the tremendous burdens transferred to the people.
The department of Economic Affairs has a database of different contracts which are used for construction of roads, hospitals, urban-development projects and so on. There are many forms of contracts that government organizations make with private companies to complete long term projects. For instance if there is a twenty year project, government would hire one private firm for first five years, for initializing, and then it could change to a new firm  and make a new contract for next five years. And so on as per its stages’ requisites. The PPP is operationalized through a contractual relationship between a public body (the conceding authority) and a private company (the concessionaire). This partnership could take many contractual forms, which progressively vary with increasing risk, responsibility, and financing for the private sector.These contracts are usually financed by user fees or tariffs or government subsidies. The public sponsor of the PPP decides the degree of private participation required for the particular project. This decision is usually based on the government’s objectives of undertaking the project, the degree of control it desires, and the ability of the PPP consortium to deliver the required service. It is also influenced by the provisions of the existing legal and regulatory framework, the structuring of the project to attract private resources, and the potential to generate future cash flows
PPP-Private Public Partnership contract can be made when capital is owned by government and maintenance and services are to be provided by a private company which works on profit mode. After the completion of the infrastructure or of a major project government, within a designated time, government retains ownership and the private company which had made it has to hand the project back to government. The contract should have a clause that would make monitoring mandatory and that if there is any faulty execution, it would lead to cancellation of the contract. For instance inferior quality cement is used to make bridges, so while its under construction itself its quality should be monitored. After handing over, we cannot retrace the steps to correct the inadequacies. There should be a clause saying that "if materials are faulty, penalty will be charged or project will be cancelled." In implementation of technology (whether it would work or not) the associated uncertainties are faced by the private firms making success affirmative. With risks the private parties will work hard to make sure that the project would succeed; for if government makes it, construction would get delayed. E-tendering procedure must be adopted. Standardized bidding procedure and a standardized format in agreement and implementation in dealing with PPPs should be adopted, so that there is transparency, and selection should not be based on personal considerations. There should be a policy and regulatory provisions in procurement procedures too. Monopolies should be discouraged. Renegotiating should be done transparently –by redoing  process of e-tendering.  Supply side constraints must be noted, what are the possibilities of something going wrong?  Initializing of contract must be done by bid proposals instead of signing MOU (Memorandum of Understanding) to start with. This will assure transparency when dealing with private partnerships. The process of obtaining approval can lead to omitting of transparency in the upcoming stages of making of deals. The approvals should be fast tracked to avert nontransparent deals: where is the project getting delayed, and why? Files should be tracked in public domain. Selection by nomination should be avoided due to lack of transparency in it.

As development is envisaged, growth of one sector is always made at the cost of loss to another. This trend has to be checked in implementation of policies. To provide resources for some, some one else’s rights are relinquished, for example in the issue of land acquisition. In eagerness to offer concessions, government tries to please the private firm and in the process overrides the interest of the common citizen. Other elements can be written into the contract, but welfare of citizen is unwritten and therefore promptly forgotten. In addressing the issue of land rights--certain stakeholder percentage could be given to the land owners who sold their land for making of the infrastructure. If a farmers land has to be acquired, he could lease his land for long period like for 50 years. In making deals, the private firm makes its profit, government facilitates by making land acquisitions and policies for its growth, then who looks out for the interests of the common citizen? Project outcome as citizen’s requirements should be central instead of maximization of interests of private and government partners.
Transparency and Accountability can be written into Partnership contracts by the process of e-tendering and e-procurement. Already over 750 projects have been commissioned to various private companies in PPP contracts after approvals from various government organizations. Planning Commission is to make provision for setting up 1,500 e-clusters across the country in public private partnership (PPP) model under the twelfth Five Year Plan (2012-17).For fast industrialization effective policies in making well-defined Partnership contracts are most needed today. To protect the needs of citizens and to maintain the nation’s wealth should be central goal in making regulatory policies in constructing of contracts. New strategies for speedy industrial growth and development have to be regulated, defined after analyzing different possibilities in partnership contracts. Which one will benefit whom? What effect will this have and on whom? 
 Delays in timelines-start to finish may affect in a profound way as there is steep rise in making-cost (cement steel, bricks etc.). The rise would come quickly which my affect the execution of the projects. The planned cost would be lower than the actual cost, causing a deficit. Who will bear the difference? Not the government which has signed the contract on how much it is going to invest. Not the private company which operates on profit mode. The average citizen is the one who is going to pay for the infrastructure that government had asked for; that the private firm had constructed. The delays would mean high costs borne by the final users of these costly roads and the occupants of the homes developed by PPPs. There should be a forum for the listening to the side of the actual users of these roads, homes, schools and hospitals who will supposedly benefit from these PPP projects. Many result in impoverishment of the people instead of benefiting them; costlier bus tickets, higher toll tax, costlier flats, very high school fees, costlier medical care etc.As development is envisaged, growth of one sector is always made at the cost of loss to another. This trend has to be checked in implementation of policies. To provide resources for some, some one else’s rights are relinquished, for example in the issue of land acquisition. In eagerness to offer concessions, government tries to please the private firm and in the process overrides the interest of the common citizen. Other elements can be written into the contract, but welfare of citizen is unwritten and therefore promptly forgotten. In addressing the issue of land rights--certain stakeholder percentage could be given to the land owners who sold their land for making of the infrastructure. If a farmers land has to be acquired, he could lease his land for long period like for 50 years. In making deals, the private firm makes its profit, government facilitates by making land acquisitions and policies for its growth, then who looks out for the interests of the common citizen? Project outcome as citizen’s requirements should be central instead of maximization of interests of private and government partners.

In making of any contract or deal the welfare of the citizen is not considered as he is not represented there. If a worker has to travel to a long distance on a highway owned by an infrastructure-making firm and charged an exorbitant road tax, he would have to hand over his whole pay for transport. The worker would be further impoverished and pushed below the poverty line even when he works very hard in his job. Rules of PPP may work-out well in developed countries but not work-out under conditions prevalent here. Impoverishment of the worker may make it difficult for him to earn a living, forcing him to resort to crime for survival. Once crimes are on rise, we cannot retrace our steps to make cheap transport for the common worker to survive. The people’s plight has to be seen and not just feasibility of government and profitability of the private firms in the making of PPP policy. The long term goal should be in mind while making plans. Thus there is third component in the partnership deals, and that is its effect on the average citizen.

Streamlining of processes in the making of partnerships is most important, delays should be avoided.  State-level initiatives in making the PPPs should be encouraged. The state government would be is aware of the need of the infrastructure. States should be capable of executing these projects; states should give a feedback on their capacity-building needs and requirements for assistance from the central government to overcome delays. For example if a state government is not able plan for a project that is urgently needed, it can ask for central government’s expert  advice/assistance; if it needs finance for a dam between two states, it can ask central government for help. This must be done fast by emails for averting delays. By streamlining of the processes involved in the stages of execution (for example getting approvals) through counter checks and constant feedback, the partnerships can be result in big success. For instance, Ministry of Environment and Forests has to approve before commencement of a project. This should be fast tracked and delays averted. Files ahould be visible in public domain. Files could be moved faster with increased computerization in office procedures. Gap between moving from one ministry to another should be reduced. Streamlining of statutory clearances is an absolute necessity and it should be done faster (computerization) so that the construction of infrastructure is not delayed.

In making of projects, private investments can be encouraged. Success can come if it is private led investment instead of government led. Since private firms work on fixed time framework, and make sure risks are averted and that profits are made, they will be a sure success.  Project finance which depends on government policy is like a road-block as most bureaucrats do not understand that projects have to make profit. We need a sound policy in protecting public interest while making infrastructures. These points, if inculcated, will result in faster industrialization, and therefore lead to alleviation of poverty. This will serve to create a more just and equal society in India which is our goal.

Where will the farmer go?

Farming is not profitable and cannot support the average farmers family. Many farmers move to urban places to earn a decent wage, We are industrializing and urbanizing as people are moving to make a living in a town; yields from the land cannot support the standard of living that the average Indian wants, drinking water, decent shelter, school nearby, some medical help and so he moves to a town. He seeks some employment and way to survive. We can give him economic security, some welfare benefits till he gets started. Once he is settled, he will improve his standard of living   and he will be able to pay taxes to the government. If the place he has moved to a city which gives him a small job but charges high transport cost (bus tickets) and he is not able to earn enough, he would move to a small hut, may be a slum. The conditions here are bad; the cost of relocating him would be higher than the cost of lowering transport charges (bus tickets). Life in the city must give him  adequate facilities to sustain himself.

Government has to make long term plans to provide for the new urban Indian or else the rehabilitating cost would be higher. Thus infrastructures has to be made to accommodate the common Indian. The nomadic life in the city can make a an ex-farmer’s life miserable, and he may turn to a life of crime, in which case he would cost the government much more than cost of providing him a simple job. Instead of providing for free food schemes for him, we can give a job, making him self-reliant and an honest citizen.

The people of small towns shift to big cities. People leave small towns when the minerals mined are exhausted completely. Ghost towns are abandoned towns which had once provided jobs for many in making of the mining industry, they leave for towns and cities looking for employment. They can work in factories if employed. We need a large data base to allocate employment to crores of people without work. We have Unique Identity Cards to identify the people.

Their rights as citizen of India is important; for he can demand his right to food and a means of livelihood. Only after he gets a job he can ask for his minimum wages, he can ask for his worker rights.If he is denied any rights and not have a livelihood he will revolt to demand his rights and the situation cannot be managed by the government then. So before that awareness comes, government must make a way for the farmer/worker to exist--a means of livelihood must be provided for.

Minimum housing has to be made. Mass housing should be at an affordable cost. By making urban infrastructure fast, we can provide for this new kind of urban dweller. We can plan new townships or expand existing ones, provided water resources are near. Flatter terrain can be chosen than a mountainous terrain.Accessibility to cities by road can be a decisive factor in urban planning. Satellite towns can be made.Land use can be mapped accurately. With proper land records that government has, it can plan very well.