SC order a shot in arms for farmers - Times Of India

SC order a shot in arms for farmers - Times Of India

SC order a shot in arms for farmers

Ashish Tripathi, TNN, Mar 12, 2011, 12.44am IST

LUCKNOW: The recent supreme court (SC) decision to scrap land acquisition by UP government for the construction of jails in four districts has come as a shot in the arm for farmers, tribals and social activists. In fact, the activists have been demanding amendment in the archaic Land Acquisition Act, 1894 for the past several decades.

While quashing a notification issued by Mulayam government to acquire land under Emergency clause without hearing the land-owners -- for constructing jails in four districts viz Shahjahanpur, Azamgarh, Jaunpur and Moradabad -- the bench comprising Justice G S Singhvi and Justice A K Ganguly said that an acquisition by the state that benefits a particular group of people at the cost of the interest of a large section of people defeats the concept of public purpose.

The bench also observed that acquisition should not render a common man homeless and Courts, in such a situation, should not act as mere umpires and quash the acquisition if it does not benefit the larger section of society. The concept of public purpose during acquisition should be consistent with the concept of a welfare state and cannot remain static all the time, it said. Although the right to property is no longer a fundamental right and was never a natural right, and is acquired on a concession by the state, it has to be accepted that without right to some property, other rights become illusory, it remarked.

While entire country is witnessing protests by farmers and tribals against land acquisition done to facilitate special economic zones (SEZs) and set up industries, UP has been constantly in the news in the last one decade for agitations against acquisition of agriculture and forest land by the successive government for various projects. If the Samajwadi Party (SP) regime was under fire for acquisition in Dadri for construction of a power plant, among other projects, the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) government at present is facing protests against land acquisitions made for construction of expressways.