Acquired authority

UP moves again to address anger over land acquisition. The Centre cannot wait too long

Wherever protests against the acquisition of land have flared up across the country,a common theme can be found. It is not,as some fondly believe,a universal fear that their connection to the soil is for ever being severed; many are willing and ready to sell their land,if they receive the right price for it. No,anger swells always against the arbitrary nature of acquisition,and against the fact that there is nowhere to appeal against such arbitrariness. There is thus,in the minds of those who feel hard done by no option but to protest. The sense of feeling exploited is sharpened by the unsettled debate on how much the compensation should be.

Lying beneath protests in various parts of eastern Uttar Pradesh in the past year are similar sentiments,and the UP government would do well if,as reported,it responded by setting up a land compensation authority which would hear disputes and hammer out compromises.

Scant details of such a plan were on offer when Chief Minister Mayawati finally announced a new land acquisition policy in Lucknow on Thursday,but the outlines of the new compensation policy are clear: a choice of a share in the final development with an annuity,or a one-time cash payment; in either case,a job in the final development would be made available,too. Private companies would negotiate directly with farmers,and government would play facilitator,helping area residents pool their land and negotiate with government. These clauses emerged,reportedly,from consultations between representatives of aggrieved farmers and the UP government.

Once again,a state has shown itself more nimble at the alteration of land-related policy than the Central government. As is well known,the Centres land acquisition bill is still pending; the UP CM threatened that if it was not introduced in Parliament for the monsoon session,she would head up to Delhi and agitate outside the building herself. With an eye on the coming assembly elections,she declared it was better than Congress-ruled Haryanas land acquisition policy,also widely considered a model worth following. It is never worthwhile to underestimate the UP CMs political antennae,and she clearly believes that anger over land acquisition runs hot enough for her government to go into overdrive to provide it with structural outlets. The UPA,at the Centre,does not seem to have picked up that message yet. It should,before it is too late.

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