Judgment slams land acquisition which it says has no thought for food availability in a country where many find it "difficult to survive"
NEW DELHI (AlertNet) – The acquisition of agricultural land by authorities in India over the last two decades is adversely affecting food security there and driving the poor farmer to suicide, the Indian Express cited the Supreme Court as saying on Monday.
According to the report India’s top court last week issued a 25-page judgment on the issue of land acquisition in the country, saying that in the “name of development or industrial growth”, a 1894 law had become the statutory route for “massive land acquisition” of prime farmlands by the government.
The judgment slammed the acquisition of agricultural land which it said had no thought for the availability of food for the future in a country where “60 per cent of the population still depend on agriculture and where people living below poverty line are finding it difficult to survive,” the report said.
India has in recent years faced numerous protests by poor farmers throughout the country over government efforts to acquire land for industry or infrastructure.
Protests have stalled plans for power utilities, roads and steel mills in Asia's third-largest economy where poor infrastructure is a long-standing obstacle to growth and have delayed foreign investment in these sectors.
But activists say the acquisitions leave impoverished farmers with no means of livelihood and compensation and rehabilitation packages are often inadequate. They warn that such acquisitions will impact India’s ability to feed itself in years to come.
(Editing by Rebekah Curtis)
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