A rush job? State Cabinet didn’t wait to enact relevant provision
WEAK GROUND Applicable provision yet to receive Prez’s assent, state govt went ahead with denotification
CHANDIGARH : The decision of the Haryana council of ministers to de-notify 1,019-acre land acquired for the Dadupur-nalvi irrigation scheme seems to be on a weak footing. The government seems to have done a rush job by not invoking the relevant provision for de-notification.
The move has already set off a series of protests by farmers and opposition parties. The cabinet on September 27 ordered de-notification of the land citing rising land cost due to enhancements ordered by the courts.
While the applicable provision is yet to receive the President’s assent, the state government went ahead with the de-notification decision under a different provision, a move which may not withstand legal scrutiny. An amendment Bill for facilitating such de-notification in the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013, is pending with the President for assent.
A-G ADVISED TO GO AHEAD UNDER SEC 101 The de-notification decision was based on the advice of advocate general (AG) who cited section 101 of the Right to fair compensation and transparency in land acquisition, rehabilitation and resettlement Act, 2013 for de-notifying/withdrawing the notification to acquire land under the Land Acquisition Act, 1894.
Section 101 pertaining to return of unutilised land says that when any land acquired under this Act remains unutilised for five years from the date of taking over the possession, the same shall be returned to the original owners or their legal heirs, or to the land bank of the government.
Legal experts say Section 101 will not apply in Dadupur Nalvi case as it’s not unutilised land. “The provision clearly pertained to land acquired under the 2013 land acquisition law. Even if the new law is interpreted for continuity of repealed land acquisition law, five-year period does not apply to canal land since acquisition was partly done in 1987 and after 2005,’’ an expert said.
THE PROVISION
The Haryana assembly had passed an amendment Bill in March to incorporate section 101–A in the Right to fair compensation and transparency in land acquisition, rehabilitation and resettlement Act, 2013. The amendment Bill which is yet get President’s assent had proposed insertion of section 101-A (power to de-notify land).
Principal secretary (irrigation) Anurag Rastogi said the land has been utilised partly. On applicability of Section 101 in the case, Rastogi said the government went by the advocate general’s advice. “It is for the courts to decide whether this provision applies to this case or not.”
Haryana advocate general BR Mahajan said land can be de-notified under Section 101. “The amendment Bill (Section 101-A) is a similar provision proposed by the state government,’’ he said when asked why the government did not wait for the amendment Bill to get President’s assent.
COST OF HARVESTING GOES UP, SAY FARMERS Several farmers said the overall harvesting cost as gone up as labourers have increased their going rate.
“The labourers have increased their rate from ₹5,000 to ₹7,000 for harvesting one-acre land. Even as we offered extra payment to them, nobody is ready to go with us yet,” Ram Pal said. Besides, several farmers were seen offering the labourers tea, snacks and sweets outside the railway stations and making arrangements for their transportation. with combine harvesters, which spreads the paddy straw in the fields. As a result, the demand for manual reaping has shot up.
“We can use combine harvesters but now the government does not allow us to burn the paddy straw,” said Ishwar Singh, a farmer from Yamunanagar.
Also, the farmers avoid harvesting of long-grained varieties of basmati with combine harvesters as they have to face a cut in prices while selling their produce. The crop harvested manually fetches them better price.
From transplantation to harvesting of paddy, farmers in the state depend on migrant labourers from Bihar and Uttar Pradesh.
“More than 90 per cent of labourers come from Bihar. There is no dearth of labourers this time but they are not settling at the wages offered and are looking for a better deal,” said Dharamveer Singh, a farmers’ union leader.