Tuesday, 19 July 2011

GREAT LOOT OF FARM LAND AND FOREST LAND IN INDIA!

Sufferings of farmers, poor, tribal, forest under neo-liberal policy:
The OXFORD Dictionary has aptly described the meaning of loot-"goods taken from enemy, spoil, booty, illicit gains made by officials money; plunder, rob, steal-home, houses, goods and left unprotected after violent events".This is exactly happening in India , specially, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Chhatishgarh, Orrisa, Bihar, Haryana, Punjab, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh etc under neo-liberal economic policy of the union government to grab  and loot lands, forest, houses from farmers and tribal in the country to hand over the "looted lands and forest areas and cover" to corporates, industrialists, capitalists, multinationals etc for setting up a chain of industries in the respective areas, obviously without any agriculture cover. The Oxford has rightly meant the word "loot" goods taken from enemies. Landowners and poor tribal have become "enemies" of the state governments and union government in their own country. Another meaning of "loot" is " left unprotected" after violence of loot! All these meaning aptly describe that land looters, grabbers, acquisitioners without any consent of concerned people and adequate compensations have field day in the entire country. Both the state governments and union governments have become villain of the pieces in their nefarious design to uproot the farmers, farm labour, tribal and other poor section of society of their houses, jungles, crop lands etc And we Indians , numbering over 80 percent of population,are tolerating all these atrocities of vested interests in connivance with both union and state governments.
Ugly faces of land grabbing and looting by governments and neo-rich individuals have began in the last 25 to 30 years. Even today in big cities, minority is being forced to sell their houses and lands, located in prime locations. In the last twenty years, at least majority of Bengali population , and to some extend Muslims as well as majority of helpless people and their dependents have left Patna by selling or leaving their lands and houses in prime locations in Patna.Being afraid , they left and or sold their lands in comparatively less price. Now anyone can see palatial houses, multi-stories apartments, offices of multinationals, corporates on these lands in Patna, Bhagalpur, Muzaffarpur, Chapra, Siwan, Gaya etc in Bihar at least. in recent past without any legal validity Nitish government has unauthorised settled big and costly plots of lands of industrial estates to set up multi-flexes, cinemas, small and big units , apartments etc on throwaway prices. Currently, lands of Bihar industrial areas development authorities, located in different towns and cities of the state have been illegally sold without any tenders to vested interests, having close to BJP and JD-U ministers and senior bureaucrats.
Recently Mayawati government had acquired huge portion of agriculture lands in Agra and Noida areas for express highways and surprisingly  sold all those lands to private parties for setting up malls and apartments, violating the very purpose of acquisition of land Aagitations are going on Bhatta-Parsoul and many other places in Uttra Pradesh and the court has also directed Mayawati government to return the lands to farmers as these lands have not been used for public purposes.
All these are under unauthorised possessions of mafias and neo-rich, close to corridors of power in successive governments in Bihar and Uttar Pradesh. In Jharkhand , most of the Bengali population and poor tribal, outnumbered by Biharis during joint Bihar are also leaving for safer places from important town areas! The recent loot of mining and other precious things in Jharkhand since the creation of Jharkhand have made the situation worse in the state. Now there is spree of setting industrial units by Mittal , Tata, Jindal etc by land grabbing of tribal population in jungle areas. Such tales are not only in Bihar , Jharkhand and Uttar Pradesh  -it is almost the same in metropolis and towns of all states in the country that minorities of every sections are leaving the places for safe areas.!
Real enacting of  land grabbing dramas are being enacted in Orissa , Chhatishgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand, West Bengal and also some western states like Maharashtra and Gujarat and  south's mineral rich Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh. Land grabbing and loots are in big speed of course with the connivance with both states and centre. Huge areas of  agriculture and forest and mountain , marine land have been acquired in Maharashtra for setting up  industries in the last 50 years and now nuclear power plants, violatitave of guarantee to human lives and environment in the areas. In Gujarat , there are spree of land gabbing by government to set up corporates and multinational companies! In Karnataka, and Andhra Pradesh a different "tamasha" is being enacted to loot lands for mining purposes by vested interests, uprooting tribal and jungles, violating environment laws.
Sadly , a progressive chief minister like Navin Patnaik has created strange situations by giving huge lands in forest areas to south Korean steel giant-Posco. Forest Act and tribal laws have been kept aside and tribal have become homeless and farm less. Strong protest are there but connivance of government will ultimately prevail! Orissa government has "looted "land, forest and mining and marine lands for big industrial units like Vedant, Tata etc.Over 1000 acres of land for 12-million steel plant of Posco are being acquired under stiff resistance from farmers and local people.  Over 50000 acres of land is required by Orissa government to spread the industrial network and operation is on to grab and loot land. a Madras based fortnightly the Frontline report says, "acquisition of vast tracks of lands for industrial projects has created a real estate boon in Orissa. the poor are losers as corporates houses and real estate developers vie with one another to grab land. such hype has already cost the farmers and poor and tribal population., the report says and added "worse, people's movements, are branded as pro-Maoists and innocent people and activists questioning the land acquisition move are jailed and charged with having links with the extremists."
In chhatishgarh and Madhya Pradesh, land "loot and grabbing" is in jet set-speed. Chhatishgarh  government has alone "grabbed or looted" thousands of acres of lands for setting up industries, mainly power plants by corporates, multinationals, neo-rich Indians industrialist like a newspapers chain of publication-Dainink Bhashkar.. A BBC report has said that present spree of land acquisition in Chhatishgarh is considered biggest in the country, which have uprooted tribal and forest in huge areas. A Centre for Science and Environment report also says that Chhatishgarh government's push is on to install 77 percent of India's thermal power capacity, 51 percent of the country's present cement need capacity and 31 million tonnes  of sponge iron capacity. But the result of the fast track industrialisation will be at the cost of forest, agricultural lands and tribal population. Interestingly , at present an estimated 1.64 lakh ha of forest land has been diverted to mining in Chhatishgarh! Moreover , apart from Raman Singh, chief minister of Chhatishgarh, his ministers and their wards and relatives are playing coercive measures against land holders, particularly tribal in forest areas to hand over their lands or face consequences. a recent report says that son of minister, employed in Videocon is working overtime to coerce poor in handing over lands on small price or face the consequences. Lands are being garbed by corporates and other industrial units and being registered in the name of third parties to ultimately transfer to corporates concerned besides Chhatishgarh government's  illegal pressure to acquire the lands from them.
The Frontline has also written cover stories extensively how the lands garbing are going on in India without any legal sanctions!In Chhatishgarh best quality iron ore  in the forest are being exported to Japan at mere Rs 400per  tonnes from the garbbed lands. In Haryana, although best land deal acquisition has been formulated but there are simmering resentment to acquire agriculture land. Strangely Haryana government is acquiring fertile lands and handing them over to builders  Huge number of people are being displaced in Haryana!.
On and average , same is the stories of seven sisters states in the eastern parts of the country. Huge lands are being acquired in similar fashion in sensitive Arunacha Pradesh to create huge hydro power potential.Installation of  projects will require acquisition of vast track of land belonging to different tribes, thousands will have to be displaced in addition to thousands already been displaced, the Frontline report added. Nagaland, Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura etc also passing through such agonising moments as major industrial players have thrown their lots to set units in eastern states by "grabbing lands in connivance with respective governments in the region".
Such craze of land "loot and grabbing" throughout the country in connivance with the government has created piquant situaion in the entire country Sparingly , in these days of industrial era in the wake of economic liberalisation in the country- industrialists, corporates, multinationals, neo-rich want to first create real estate in the form of lands on cheap price for future shake and if industries run or not ultimately , they will be owners of huge estate, worth crores of rupees in developed areas like Rajas , maharajas, zamindars during British raj -and they may divert the lands for other purpose in the future.No body is cared of food scarcity and to boost agriculture production. If such situation continues India will must be one of most starved nation in the world in near future. Loot and grabbing of lands continuing ***********.

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