LAND ACQUISITION BILL: MORE THAN JUST THE BILL

Abstract [English]

Land acquisition in India refers to the process by which the union or a state government in India acquires private land for the purpose of industrialization, development of infrastructural facilities or urbanization of the private land, and provides compensation to the affected land owners and their rehabilitation and resettlement Farmers are anxious about the Land Acquisition Bill, this does not seem to be their biggest worry, especially those who want money to get their sons educated or daughters married they, buy and sell land. While the question of farmers’ consent in land acquisition by the government is an important issue, there is little focus today on the very state of agriculture. It is therefore imperative to seek the opinions of farmers on this. Most conversations with farmers reveal how income returns are very low, irrigation facilities are inadequate and supporting infrastructure is largely absent or of poor quality. The scarcity of financial resources for farming is another major issue. Unsurprisingly. For non-farming purposes, most of them had to depend on either friends or moneylenders. What might benefit the farmers and what goes against their interests — it is also important for the government to pay attention to the bigger problems that Indian farmers face.