The consensus was arrived at the end of the two-day conference on " Land Acquisition (Amendment) Act and Rehabilitation Policy" organised jointly by National Alliance of People's Movement (NAPM) and Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS), Mumbai on February 28 and March 1, 1999. Over a hundred participants of 25 organisations including some students and teachers of TISS participated in this workshop. Number of activists involved in the struggles against the displacement were present. Activists like Ganesh Khetale ( Konkan Sangharsha Samiti), Vilas Bhongade (Gosi Khurd Visthapit Sangharsha Samiti) of Vidarbha, Sunil (Kisan Adivasi Sangthan) working among the oustees of Tawa project in M.P., Rajesh Tiwari, Munnalal Burman and Babloo Patwa of Bargi Bandh Visthapit Sangharsha Samiti, M.P., Kusum Karnik working with the people affected by Kanha National Park in M.P., Arvind Anjum (Visthapit Mukti Vahini) organising the oustees of Subarnarekha Project in Bihar, Anand (Paryavaran Suraksha Samiti) campaigning against pollution and displacement due to unmindful industrialisation in Gujarat, Ulka Mahajan (Sarvahara Jan Andolan), R.V. Bhuskute ( Shramjivi Sangathan), Brian Lobo ( Kashtakari Sangathan) and Dilip Kadam (Samajwadi Jan Parishad) all from Konkan, Vitthal Lad ( Adivasi Sanghathan, Mumbai), Shrinivas Kulkarni (Rachanatmak Sangharsha Samiti) from Marathwada, Avinash B.J. of Koyana Jeevan Hakk Samrakshan Sangathana, Vimal from NAPM , Delhi working with the urban oustees and Noorji Padvi of Narmada Bachao Andolan presented the reality of the displacement, the consequent violations of basic democratic and human rights and the people's struggles, their achievements. Noted lawyer from Mumbai Adv. Colin Gonsalves of Indian Peoples' Tribunal, Monisha Coelho and the expert on displacement and resettlement policies Prof. Walter Fernandes explained the provisions and implications of the proposed legislations and policies regarding the land acquisition.
" At present, let alone the people and their organisations, but even the Ministries like Environment and Forest, Social Justice and Rural Development in the Central government are being sidelined and dominated by the Ministries of Power, Railways, Industries and Urban development which are more interested in usurping the people's resources - the land, forest and water," said Medha Patkar in her opening remarks at the conference. Explaining the direct-indirect ways of displacement she suggested that the struggle against the dispossession and destitution must be multi-pronged and multi-layered. The displacement issue is intrinsically linked with the kind of development pattern we have been pursuing and now due to the globalisation and liberalisation policies, with the onslaught of national-multinational capital under the garb of WTO and World Bank funding, this challenge would become more formidable. Linking these struggles, the organisations must assert village community's right over the resources of that village, insist on the right to information at all levels and right to give/not to give consent to their displacement, she suggested.
During the presentations, it became clear that, those who have been displaced hitherto due to the large dams and other projects have not been resettled fully. It was the unanimous demand of the organisations, as was reflected by Sunil that " the movements must demand that unless all the oustees displaced previously are resettled fully, there should be no talk about the any more displacement". The meeting decided on certain non-negotiable principles, as was expounded by Mr. Walter Fernandes. Accordingly, there should be non-displacing or the least displacing alternatives and there exist such alternatives for the present kind of development. The development projects must be planned at the decentralised level with the informed participation of the people. Also, there should be the inbuilt principle of people's right to object and demand review of the project at all levels. The definition of the displaced people must include not only the landholders or property owners but all those whose livelihood is affected by the projects - including peasants, landless and other manual labourers, fisherpeople, boatspeople , backward and nomadic castes and tribes. Participants made it clear that the right of the village over resources must include the rights of the Dalits, landless, nomadic and other deprived groups. After such conditioned and minute scrutiny, if there is some minimum displacement, it must be dealt with utmost care, they insisted. They emphasised "replacement value" of the resettlement package for what is lost, it should never be mere cash compensation alone.
Apart from unitedly opposing the proposed amendments and changes the organisations also deliberated about the alternative people's bill in place of the present amendment and the proposed rehabilitation policy. Instead of separate Land Acquisition law and rehabilitation policy the organisations made it clear that they aim at a comprehensive policy on " Development projects, Displacement and resettlement".
Moreover, it was decided to establish a legal documentation centre where all the petitions, judgements, acts regarding the displacement and rehabilitation would be collected. Prof. Ms. Padma Velaskar of TISS accepted the suggestion that the institution should house a comprehensive documentation centre about all aspects of displacement. She suggested that an in depth exploration regarding the vision of development be undertaken by the organisations. The organisation decided to convince the members of Legislatures, Parliament to take up the people's cause. Number of meetings, workshops in Gujarat, Marathwada, Western Maharashtra and Vidarbha were planned at the end of the two day conference. A group of TISS students has taken initiative in studying the ongoing Mumbai-Pune expressway and campaign to protect the rights of the people. They organised a short trip to the affected villages by the express highway.
PROF. SANJAY M.G
PROF. PADMA VELASKAR
MAHENDRA