Swaminathan Aiyar wrote a great article recently on the Land Acquisition Bill.He called it a ” Luddite proposal that threatens all economic development.” But there was one aspect he missed in the article- this Bill is likely to be a vote getter and could be a game changer for the UPA Government in rural India.
Why?Because the draconian clauses of the Bill ensure that it would be very difficult to acquire land of any significant size for any industrial/developmental activity.
This will necessarily boost the bargaining power of farmers and hence farmland prices will be headed one way-UP
For some reason, this bill reminds me of this great excerpt from Yes Minister
“There are times in a politician’s life when he is obliged to take the wrong decision.Wrong economically,wrong industrially , wrong by any standards-except one.It is a curious fact that something which is wrong from every other point of view can be right politically.”
2 replies on “What Swaminathan Aiyar missed about the Land Acquisition Bill”
Not only the LAND ACQUISITON BILL but every action of the govt. is an attempt to protect their power rather than protect the public right from natual calamities to economic crisis. What happened to supreme court decision barring people with criminal records/in jail to participate in election? They amended the law to suit them. What is happening to the good officers in various ministries? What is happening in various deals including the very sensitive deals of security equipments? What is happening in the education sector? You name it and you will find that the decisions are tilted towards the interests of the political class or certain class of the society.
Ways to overcome this law : 1) Lease Dead 2) Verticle Growth of buildings 3) Wherever possible, work from home 4) Three shift working 5) Use of technology to improve space utilisation