Please find the english and hindi press release from today’s SANGARSH Janmorcha at Jantar Mantar opposing the land bill being introduced by the government in the parliament. 

Press Release                                                                                            21st August 2012

 
Sangharsh demands UPA not to proceed with the undemocratic
Land Acquisition Bill in Parliament
 
Thousands gather in Delhi for three days (21-23 August) in Jan Morcha against land grab and the anti-people ‘Right to Fair Compensation, R&R Bill 2012’
 
Jantar Mantar, New Delhi – “The UPA Government is trying to fool both the parliament and the people of India, by bringing on the “Right to fair compensation, R&R and transparency in Land Acquisition Bill, 2012”, stated Dr. Sunilam of Kisan Sangharsh Samiti, Madhya Pradesh. Dr. Sunilam was speaking at the opening of the three day Jan Morcha in Delhi, organised by Sangharsh collective, against land grab, corporate exploitation and corruption. 
 
“The government not only has betrayed the Aam Admi’s will, but also has effectively rejected the consultations and recommendations of the two Parliamentary Standing Committees on the subject”, added Roma of National Forum of Forest People and Forest Workers (NFFPFW, Kaimur region, UP).
 
The public meeting and dharna organised at Jantar Mantar on the occasion of the Monsoon session of the Parliament challenged the government to try and pass the Bill in the current form. “The bill will face the same fate as that of the LAA Amendments Bill that UPA-1 tried to pass in Rajya Sabha in 2009”, remarked Madhuresh Kumar, National Organiser of National Alliance of People’s Movements (NAPM). “The Ministry of Rural Development is ridiculing the lives and struggles of people of this country whose fight has been to protect their precious land and resources and not for ‘better compensation’, he added.
 
Martyrs from several anti-displacement struggles, from Assam to Gujarat and Punjab to Muthanga, in Kerala were remembered by the Jan Morcha. At the event at Jantar Mantar, tombstones were erected with the names of valiant fighters who lost their lives to the brutal violence of the state police or corporate goons. Families of some of the Martyrs were present at the Dharna at Sansad Marg.  “We demand that the government has to first declare about the land already acquired, used and the fate of those who lost their livelihood. There can be no talk about new land acquisitions unless we talk of the historical injustices” (poorana hisaf saaf karo phir naye kee baat karo), added Shanta Bhattacharya, of Kaimur Kshetra Mahila Mazdoor Kisan Morcha.
 
The new draft bill, in its current form has gone against many reccommendations of people’s movements as well as the Parliamentary Standing Committee (PSC). Some of the key issues raised by the dharna are as following:
The centralised planning process for development projects must give way to participatory and consent based planning, whereby the Gram Sabhas and Basti Sabhas should have the primary say in deciding what kind of development is required for the area and what constitutes public purpose The current bill legitimises land acquisition of most kinds and by anyone even for private profit, and is only trying to play with language of transparency and fair compensation Agricultural lands of all kinds need to be excluded from acquisition. It is not a question of multi-crop or single-crop, nor is it an issue of amount of compensation The government should not use the ‘principle of eminent domain’ and land acquisition powers to acquire land for Private projects of all kinds and Public Private Partnership projects (PPP) All the 16 central acts, as suggested by the PSC, should be brought under the purview of the new comprehensive legislation The present Bill is strictly a rural displacement related bill, since it completely overlooks the millions of urban working people impacted by urban projects and displacement. This needs to be urgently rectified before the Bill is placed in Parliament.  
“It needs to be noted that nearly 100 million people have been displaced since independence and with a dismal 17-20 percent rate of rehabilitation, we had suggested that not only the retrospective application of the provisions of the new act but a National Resettlement & Rehabilitation Commission be established to deal with the claims of the projected affected people from various projects, stated Vimalbhai of MATU Jan Sanghattan, Uttarakhand.
 
The leaders and representatives of mass organisations who spoke at the Janmorcha included: Shanta Bhatacharjee (NFFPFW, UP), Jagdish Purohit, (Mansi Vakal Band Vistapith Sangarsh Samithi, Rajasthan), Mansaram Bhai (Narmada Bachao Andolan), Kalu Bhai (Chittorgarh, KKMS, Rajasthan), Bhupendra Singh Rawat (Jan Sangharsh Vahini, Delhi & NCR), Aradhana Bhargava (Kisan Sangharsh Samiti, MP), Vijay Sharma, National Hawkers’ Federation, Kolkatta), Devjit Dutt (NAPM, West Bengal), Ganesh (Mansiwakad Dam, Rajasthan), Ranjan Singh (Sita Marhi, Bihar), Ghasi Bhai (Adivasi Kranti Sangattan, Odisha), Rajnish Gambhir (NFFPFW, Khiri, UP), Hansraj Pradhan (Fatehabad anti-nuclear struggle, Haryana), Maharaja Sangram Singh (Kisan Sangharsh Samiti & NAPM), Mangu Singh (Kisan Sangharsh Samiti), Raj Singh Dawas (Bhoomi Bachao Andolan), Rajpal Sewali (Sonipat), Babu Singh Patel (Kisan Sangharsh Samiti, UP), Mohan (Odisha Chas Parivesh Suraksha Parishad) and many Delhi based intellectuals and supporters.
 
Vijoo Krishnan of All India Kisan Sabha spoke at the gathering in support of demand for a comprehensive bill. The Janmorcha also witnessed a powerful cultural performance by the Delhi based theatre group, Asmita.
 
For details contact Sangharsh Media team:
Sanjeev – 99958797409 | Shweta – 9911528696 |Vijayan – 9582862682
 
 
कंपनियों की ज़ागीर नहीं, ये देश हमारा है !
जंतर मंतर, दिल्ली में संघर्ष का जनमोर्चा
प्रेस विज्ञप्ति
ज़मीन की लूट और जन –विरोधी  विधेयक नुकसान की उचित भरपाई, विधेयक 2011 के खिलाफ जन मोर्चा (21-23 अगस्त) को आयोजित धरने में जन्तर –मंतर पर हज़ारों लोग जुटे.
जंतर मंतर, नई दिल्ली  – “ संप्रग सरकार, उचित मुआवज़े, पुनर्वास और पुनर्स्थापन का अधिकार, अधिनियम 2011  लाकर  देश की संसद और लोगों को वेबकूफ बनाने की कोशिश कर रही है. यह वक्तव्य किसान संघर्ष  समिति के डॉ. सुनीलम ने, ज़मीन की लूट और कार्पोरेट्स के भ्रटाचार व शोषण के खिलाफ संघर्ष द्वारा आयोजित तीन दिवसीय धरने ‘जन मोर्चा’ की शुरुआत में दिया.
राष्ट्रीय वन श्रम जीवी मंच, उ.प्र से रोमा मालिक ने कहा कि  ‘इस सरकार ने न केवल आम जनता की इच्छाओं को नज़रंदाज़ किया है बल्कि संसदीय स्थायी समिति के सुझावो
ं व सिफारिशों को भी धता बताया है’.
एनएपीएम के संयोजक मधुरेश ने सरकार को चुनौती देते हुए कहा कि “अगर इस मानसून सत्र में इस विधेयक को इसी रूप में पेश करने की कोशिश करती है तब उसी तरह का हश्र होगा जैसा संप्रग -1के दौरान जिस तरह से भूमि-अधिग्रहण संशोधन विधेयक का राज्य सभा में हुआ था.” ग्रामीण विकास मंत्रालय लोगों के जीवन और जीविका के साथ खिलवाड़ कर रहा है है वर्षों से अपनी ज़मीन और आजीविका को बचाने के लिए संघर्ष कर रहे हैं और जो अपने इन   अमूल्य संसाधनों के लिए कोई मुआवजा नहीं चाहते. मधुरेश ने कहा –  कि आजादी के बाद भूमि-अधिग्रहण के मामलों आज तक सरकार ने विस्थापितों की कोई सुध नहीं ली है अब इस अधिनियम के माध्यम से वही इतिहास दोहराने की कोशिश हो रही है. ग्राम सभा जैसी स्थानीय संस्था की कोई विशिष्ट भूमिका इस कानून में नहीं देना इसे दमन का कानून बनाता है. इसके अलावा ग्रामीण विकास के लिए बने मंत्रालय को शहरों और उद्योगों की ही चिंता है और सरकार जन आकांक्षाओं को पूरी तरह नज़रंदाज़ कर रही है. दुबारा यह इतिहास न दोहराया जाए इसके लिए एक नारा दिया गया- पुराण हिसाब साफ करो, फिर आगे की बात करो…
    आसाम से लेकर गुजरात और पंजाब से लेकर केरल में मुथंगा में विभिन्न विस्थापन-विरोधी संघर्षों में जो लोग सरकार और कार्पोरेट के गुंडों के दमन का शिकार हुए हैं और जिन्होंने अपनी शहादत दी है, जन मोर्चा ने उनकी शहादत को याद किया और धरना स्थल पर उनकी प्रतीकात्मक समाधियाँ भी बनाईं गयीं. शहीदों के परिवार भी इस धरने में शामिल होने आये हैं.