Let them live

At present, an issue that once again yearns to garner popular support is the plight of farmers in reference to the new amendment in the Land Acquisition Act 1894. The bill was incepted with an intention of acquiring land for public purposes like building educational institutions, housing, removing slum and rural developments. The spirit of the bill was to emancipate an all round development, then why is such a hue and cry about the current bill? The farmers from all over the country are rallying in the capital for peaceful demonstrations against the nature of the bill. Survival and compensation are the key drawbacks of the bill. We know that India is an agricultural country but what we fail to understand is that we do subsistence farming where the farmers focus on growing enough food to feed themselves and their families. Under such situation how far is it right to deprive them of their sole source of survival.

As far as compensation is concerned the price at which land is to be bought is decided by the government. Imagine we want to sell some of our goods and the buyer dictates the terms of purchase. In addition, the payment is not made at the time of purchase but in the later years. Who would like to strike such a deal?  But being the government it can practise such unconstitutional bullying. Unconstitutional because it deprives people of their Right to life. Government wants to prove the inevitability of the bill for the development by providing them the basic amenities and employment through land acquisition. But what about the utilisation of funds allocated to the MP, MLA, and other elected members for the development of their respective areas? Who will be held accountable for the money usurping dysfunctional development schemes? India is struggling on the development front only because of the incompetence and corruption.

So, first the government should stop fooling with the idea of development because every new scheme launched is a scam pushed down the throat of taxpayers. If it wants to acquire land then strike a fair deal and make the payment instantly. If government can grant crores of subsidies to the industrialists then it can surely pay the rightful to the poor farmers who are a responsibility of the government. Please do not forget the employment that the government promises to these poor is doing labour, which will reduce them from landowner to the daily wage labourer, thus forcing them to migrate in search of work. Does government aims at structural development only?