THE LAND BILL OF MODI GOVERNMENT
At last the BJP government has withdrawn its controversial Land bill. The Central government has decided that it will no more place the land bill in the parliament for approval. So, the Land bill which was kept in force by successive ordinances will no longer be effective. To put it succinctly, the controversial Land bill will not become a Central act.
Naturally, this brings up the question as to why the BJP government backed out of such an important step of their 'reform programme'. To say that the Government retreated due to the pressure of massive peasant movement will not be true, as there was no such big or even a moderately large movement which could have forced the BJP to beat a retreat. Was it due to pressure of parliamentary opposition parties, in which even some NGOs also participated? Though, it is true that the opposition parties took this step to pave their way to power, but, one cannot deny that the peasants and landowners of various states had supported the protests of these parties. So, though there may not have been a peasant revolt, there was fair amount of discontent among peasants. But, if BJP had the majority in Rajya Sabha, then certainly they would not have backed off. Their actions have proved it beyond doubt.
Whatever that may be, for the time being it will be considered by general people as true that the land bill had been withdrawn due to the struggle of opposition parties, especially of the Congress party. Congress party also has started campaigning vigorously to reap the benefits of the decision of Central government. They are demanding vociferously that the bill had been withdrawn only due their pressure. Other opposition parties are also not ready to miss this opportunity. All opposition parties are trying to project themselves as the savior of peasants. CPI (M) and the parties of Left Front are also trying to recover their lost ground by projecting their 'achievement'. Time will only say to what extent the people will be influenced by their campaign.
However, already some intellectuals and even some people who claim themselves to be revolutionaries, are trying to convince how much necessary and important is the parliamentary struggle. They are also trying to convince that if the opposition parties can continue their united struggle against the policies of government, then it will be possible to resist the policies and programmes of the government, taken in interest of the Indian big bourgeoisie and imperialist capital. Why? They argue that as the BJP Government has been forced to withdraw the land bill, which they introduced in the interest of the big bourgeoisie as a whole, it proves beyond doubt that it is possible to resist other policies by the 'struggle' inside the parliament. To them it is preferable more so because struggle outside the parliamentary arena leads to bloodshed and anarchy and creates various social problems for the bourgeoisie. So, they argue, the people should take proper lessons and depend on the struggle inside the parliamentary arena.
We may discuss on this subject, that is, among these two forms of struggles which form is important, later in some future article. However, at present, we should try to understand the real consequence of the decision of the government. Does it really mean that the all roads for forcible acquisition of land has been closed for the big bourgeoisie? Or this is a game plan of the BJP to wriggle out of the tangle of land bill and pave the way for land acquisition for the big bourgeoisie through some other method. Because we should never forget that the big bourgeoisie was hell bent for the withdrawal of the land act of 2013 and it is not possible that the big bourgeoisie will allow the parties to back off from such a step due to the power politics of the opposition parties, especially when these parties also serve their interest.
In fact, the game plan of the BJP is more dangerous. The central land bill has been withdrawn. According to their plan, now the State Governments will enact their own legislations to acquire land for industrialization and infrastructure development. These acts will bypass the provisions of Land acquisition act of 2013, which the BJP government tried to amend by the land bill. BJP will gain in two ways by this game plan. Firstly, they have been able to stop the hue and cry which was raging for quite a some time over the land bill. The second consequence is dangerous. Their decision will start competition among the states. The big bourgeoisie will be benefitted most. They will be able to obtain necessary benefits by influencing the state governments.
The capitalists in this country are following a policy that they will invest in that state, where they will get maximum benefits from the state government. Not only in terms of benefits from governments, but also in terms of unbridled right for exploitation of workers, whenever they are getting less favours or opportunities from the state government, they threaten them with withdrawing their investments from the state. The state governments also try to keep them in good humour and allow them unrestrained right to exploit the workers and also the natural resources of the state.
So, we can safely predict that all states will enact their own versions of land acquisition to attract the capitalists winning over them from other states. It is also clear that the governments will sacrifice the interests of the peasants and other landowners. They will do these by the campaign that if they do not take such steps then the state will lag in the development and for the advancement of the state the people should sacrifice themselves in the altar development. So, in future we may see enactment of land acquisition acts by the state governments which may be far more dangerous than the land bill of the state government. But, the hue and cry regarding those acts will be limited to the concerned state and countrywide hullabaloo over land act will be stopped.
Within a short period, the people will learn from their bitter experience about the game plan of the big bourgeoisie lurking in the victory celebrations of the opposition parties. Already, the intellectuals and the political parties in government in various states including West Bengal are trying to convince people that development is impossible without a land acquisition act. They are saying that if the states like Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, etc can promulgate land acts to make land acquisition easy, then why others will not able to emulate them. So, the states will get more and more entangled in this competition to attract investments, whose consequences will have to borne by the people. So, even though the central government has withdrawn the land bill, similar land acquisition will remain in force in other ways. Land acquisition for the capitalists will continue. So, we must understand the actual aim and consequences of the land bill of the BJP government, even though it has been withdrawn. Because, from this land bill we shall be able to clearly understand the desire and the interest of the big bourgeoisie behind such land bills. We shall also be able to understand the consequences of such acts in the lives of people. It will help us to understand the aim and consequences of the future state acts. Because, all these state legislations will be modeled in the central land bill. The aims of both acts are same, only difference being it would have been carried out through central government in the case of central land bill and now it will be done by the state governments with the help of state land legislations.
The law relating to Land Acquisition in our country first started under British rule in the year 1894.Thenceforth, even after the British left our country, our Government kept that law of 1894 in force. In this law there was no clause of taking the consent of displaced peasants, just as there was no clause for providing adequate compensation or alternative employment to the displaced people. Using this law different Governments have acquired thousands of acres of land utilising the power of the Government. Such acquisitions have been done both for building/infrastructures like construction of roads, bridges, hospitals, dams etc., as well as for industries set up by the capitalists. In the latter cases the acquired land has been distributed to the capitalists at very cheap rates.
From the phase of globalization this process of land acquisition gathered momentum. This momentum increased even further after the passing of the SEZ Act in 2005. From that time, large amounts of land in different states have been started to be acquired. Opposing this spate of acquisitions, a widespread and intense struggle built up in Singur, Nandigram, Jagatsingpur and other parts of India. Under pressure of these movements the Congress Government passed a new law on land acquisition named \93Land Acquisition Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act 2013" or LARR Act 2013.
This Act made two important changes to the previously prevailing Act. Firstly, the amount of compensation to be paid to landowners was fixed. That quantum of compensation was fixed at four times of the prevailing market rate in rural areas and two times the prevailing market rate in urban areas. Secondly, a clause was added requiring consent of the owners of land. If the land was being acquired solely for capitalists then at least 80% of the landowners' consent was required. And if the land was required for any joint venture between capitalists and the Government then at least 70% of the landowners' consent was required.
The big bourgeoisie of India opposed the enactment of this Act right from the very beginning. One of the major demands amongst the many demands they had raised with the Government during the past few years was the repeal of this Act. The present BJP Government started enacting a number of Bills right after assuming power at the Centre. A host of Bills including Mines Bill, Land Bill, and Insurance Bill were placed in the Parliament to be enacted as Law. The intent of every Bill was to appease the Indian and imperialist big capital, to pave the way for the further heightened plunder and exploitation by them. As a part of this overall move the BJP government tabled the Land Bill.
What changes had been made in the Land Bill tabled by the BJP? The Act of 2013 added a clause regarding consent of the landowners, but also there was a list where some exceptions were named to be kept out of this clause. The Bill brought by the BJP has so far extended this list of exclusions as to virtually render this clause ineffective.
So there is no doubt that the Land Bill that was tabled by the BJP and now withdrawn, had been created in the interest of the capitalists. It had been tabled for the sole reason of making land acquisition for the capitalists easier. The land acquisition that is under way in the name of industrialisation and development will cause the most harm to small and middle peasants, the owners of small landholdings and most of all the agricultural labourers. It will make them homeless and unemployed. This has been the case with the land acquired in the past, also would have been the result had land been acquisitioned by this land act.
One thing needs to be discussed at the very beginning. The political parties both in support of or in opposition to that Bill had shouted hoarse. But they were all agreed on one point. That was that land would have been acquired from the peasants through that Bill. The question, however, is --- is the actual ownership of lands in India mainly with the peasants? By peasants we mean those who directly put in the labour of themselves and their families in agriculture. Is it true that the majority of the land is owned by such real peasants? Government statistics itself shows that there still exists ownership of land above 5 to 10 hectares. Are the owners of such large tracts of land actually peasants, or are they non peasant landowners? Government statistics further show that only 1.6% of the families own 17.3% of the total land in our country. On the other hand 60% of the families own only 15.1 % of the total land. It is evident that a very small fraction of the families own the majority of the land and the vast majority own a very small fraction of the total land of our country. The National Sample Survey has brought to the fore these facts. In other words, the major portion of land in our country is in the hands of non-peasant landowners. It is to be remembered that this section is the most powerful class of agrarian society. They have other means of income in addition to land. In reality it has been observed that this section has not participated in the major movements opposing land acquisition, but rather have parted with their land in exchange for large sums of money which they have invested in banks or other businesses. This section is not harmed much by the land acquisitions. Rather, they generally demand a higher price for their land. The worst affected section in land acquisition is the small and middle peasantry and the agricultural labourers. That is those who depend on the income from the land or on income from working on other's land. Land acquisition not only dispossesses them of their land but also dispossesses them of their only means of livelihood. So it is this section that is harmed the most. And it is this section that stands in the forefront of any anti-acquisition movement and tries to put up desperate resistance.
To whom will the land grabbed from these poor, small and middle peasants be given? Obviously, to the owners of huge capital, those Indian and foreign big capitalists, so that they can set up industries and become owners of even more capital.
Secondly, those who were opposing the land Bill---what was their role when they were in Government? Is there any account of the thousands of acres of land acquired during the Congress rule, by virtue of the Land Acquisition Act of 1894? Or of the vast population that had been evicted from their homes and lands at that time? The CPI(M) was opposing the Central Bill. Shall we forget their role in Singur and Nandigram? And what else could be expected of them? The only logic of all of these parties was that if we have to industrialise and develop, there was no other way than land acquisition. They sang the same tune that BJP was singing to defend their land bill----Does the son of a peasant have to remain a peasant and spend their lives in misery? Should they not get the chance of employment in an advanced industry? etc. etc.
In fact, the bourgeois parties believe that this is the only way to industrialisation and development in this country. Not only do they believe this but all of them are committed to follow this path. And they have just shown this commitment while in power at the Centre or State. So they believe that industrialisation can happen only led by the capitalists, and that industrialisation will breathe new life into the economy of the country, and lead to a flood of countrywide development. The question is--- is this truly the way of overall development of the country?
Firstly, is it a fact that if land is given to the capitalists, then there will be a spate of new industries being set up? It is already on record that a very small fraction of the capitalists who have acquired land have actually thought of setting up industries. Most of them have either left the land idle, or have used it for hotels or real estate business. In 2005 the central government passed the SEZ Act. We know this too, that capitalists in SEZ areas have been given almost unlimited advantages and benefits -- starting from tax holidays, to bending of labour laws to the extent of virtually transforming the workers in these areas to slaves deprived of all rights and benefits. But even after getting such enormous incentives have the capitalists in the SEZ areas built up industries? Let us look at the facts. The Comptroller and Auditor General of India has published a report which says, the unutilised land in SEZ areas by State is as follows : 96.34% in West Bengal, 96.58% in Orissa, 70.05% in Maharashtra, 56.72% in Karnataka, 49.02% in TamilNadu, 48.29% in Andhra Pradesh, 47.45% in Gujarat.(Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General of India For the year 2012-2013, Performance of Special Economic Zones(SEZs). Figure 7, page 37,
http://www.saiindia.gov.in/english/home/Our_Products/Audit_Report/Government_Wise/union_audit/recent_reports/union_performance/2014/INDT/Report_21/21of2014.pdf).If this is the scenario in the SEZ areas then it is easy to estimate the situation in other areas where land has been acquired. So the issue is not so simple that given land and other incentives the industrialists will let loose a wave of industrialization. Even amongst those who have set up industries, a large fraction is being shut down, or in a critical situation due to dearth of orders.
The reason for this state of affairs is that the market for industrial goods is still very squeezed in our country. The vast majority of our population lives in villages and has agriculture as their only source of income. The vast majority of agricultural labourers are forced to remain unemployed for the bigger part of the year. Their income is so low that they can buy very little of industrial goods, just that much which is necessary to somehow carry on their lives. The condition of the poor and middle peasants is similar. We get a glimpse of this back breaking poverty through the news of the deaths due to hunger and malnutrition.
Even the income of a large section of the landowners is constantly decreasing. We know that Punjab and Haryana are listed amongst the States which are advanced in agriculture. These two States have reaped the most benefits from the Green Revolution. The monthly income of landowners in these two states comes as a surprising revelation. Both rice and wheat farming are more developed in these two States and the crop yield of both these crops is higher there than the other States of India. But the monthly income from cultivating these two crops in one hectare of land in these two states is only Rs. 3029. Obviously the corresponding income per hectare in other states must be less than this. A large section of landowners in our country have about 2 hectares of land. Then their monthly income will be about Rs. 6000. How much industrial goods can they buy with this sort of monthly income? So, the crores of villagers in rural India are not able to buy any significant amount of industrial goods. Is it possible to have large scale industrialisation based on such limited purchasing power of the crores of rural inhabitants of India?
The current industrialisation policy of the Indian ruling class has been taken on the basis of the purchasing power of a small well-to-do, upper middle class and rich section of society. Not only that, this demand was artificially bolstered by Government through infrastructural projects and bank credit. So the industrialisation that is happening is just as much as can happen under these restricted demand circumstances. Even this policy of industrialisation has faltered in the last few years. Recession is plaguing the automobile industry. The same situation is prevailing in the iron, steel and cement industries. So it is a faulty logic to think that industrialists will set up industries if they are just given land. If they do not get a market for industrial goods why will industrialists set up industries?
Secondly, if a large section gained employment in the industries being setup and had the opportunity to earn substantial salaries then the market for industrial goods would have gained a boost. But even that is not happening. In the highly mechanized modern industries being setup, there is very little requirement for workmen and the capitalists are being able to make these handful workmen work for meagre wages.
Even if we consider the infrastructural projects of the Governments, we find that the highways, flyovers and bridges are being built mainly for the capitalists and the upper strata of society. Some big cities have seen development but vast rural areas are virtually undeveloped. The inhabitants of these areas have no facilities for medical treatment nor do they have adequate facilities for education. There are no avenues for employment. Even though the majority of the rural population is being evicted from their villages due to this industrialisation or due to mechanization in agriculture but they are not getting job opportunities elsewhere. The light of civilization is yet to reach vast areas. In other words the little development that is happening is extremely unevenly distributed and only a small section of society is reaping its benefits.
So however much the Government may show us such dreams, it is a blatant lie that those who are being evicted or losing their livelihood due to land acquisition will get jobs in industry and a taste of a better life.
The so called industrialisation and development in India is pauperising the already poor toiling people, and helping the capitalists to amass riches based on the blood and toil of these poor people. This development is happening falteringly, in an uneven manner and is increasing inequality widely in society. It is only through real industrialisation or real development that everyone will be able to share its benefits and all unemployed will get work.
The obstacle to thoroughgoing development and industrialisation in India lies in the very root of society. Substantial remnants of feudal production relations still exist in the villages. The vast majority of people are impoverished and so the market for industrial goods is extremely restricted. Agricultural production is backward too, which in turn hinders the development of industry. As medieval production methods still remain in agriculture so the market for machinery for agricultural production remains narrow.
Secondly, a large part of this restricted market is in the clutches of the imperialists. Imperialism is hindering the unfettered industrialisation of India in many ways----- by plundering the country's natural resources, by siphoning off vast amounts of interest on loans (having embroiled the country in debt), by siphoning off vast amounts of profit on foreign investments, by selling foreign goods here at monopoly prices. Similarly the Indian monopoly capitalists are also hindering unfettered growth of capitalism in India by way of their monopolistic practices.
So real industrialisation and development is not possible unless feudal remnants, imperialism and the monopoly capitalists of India dependent on them, are expropriated. The path of industrialization adopted by the ruling class through land acquisition will only falteringly create a small section of industries but it will be based on the blood and toil of the millions of poor people\97workers, agricultural labour and poor peasants--- and it will benefit only the capitalists and a small upper section. The role of the Congress party, BJP, CPI(M), Trinamool or any other Governmental party is identical in this regard. The apparent differences centred around the Land Bill is only an eyewash-----there is no fundamental difference between these parties.
1st October, 2015
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