Farmers’ protest on Sept 13 against land acquisition

Prabhjot Singh
Tribune News Service,
Friday, September 8, 2006,
Chandigarh

To demonstrate growing support for their slogan “Punjab is not for sale”, nine organisations of farmers will hold a demonstration here on September 13, a day before the Vidhan Sabha holds its two-day session.

“We want to remind the state government that its role is to work for the welfare of people and not act as a realtor for multinational companies and big industrial houses,” asserts Bhupinder Sambhar of the Punjab Kisan Sabha and member of the Kisan Action Committee spearheading the agitation.

He said the idea of holding the demonstration one day ahead of the Assembly session was to give a copy of draft resolution, which they plan to adopt at the rally, to all members of the state legislature.

This draft resolution, if approved by the Assembly, will help in pulling farmers out of the suicide and debt trap.

Challenging the government’s move to acquire fertile and cultivable land, leaders of the organisations, including the Kisan Sangarsh Samiti, the Punjab Kisan Sabha, the Bharti Kisan Union Ekta and the Democratic Kisan Sabha, maintain that they would not allow the government to succeed in its endeavour.

Mr Sambhar said the Punjab Government had recently issued a notification to acquire 1,218 acres of fertile agricultural land of seven villages of Amritsar district to hand it over to the Delhi Lease and Finance (DLF) Company for developing a special economic zone (SEZ).

“The state must make public as to what use the land acquired in previous years has been put to. Hundreds of acres of agricultural land acquired in Goindwal Sahib, to develop an industrial township, was now being planned to be sold as residential plots. A couple of industrial units that came there in early 80s have closed down.

“Similarly, huge pieces of land allotted to industrial units in Amritsar at nominal rates earlier are now being disposed of at exorbitant rates. Same is true for other parts of the state where industrial units were making huge profits by selling or commercialising their land holdings. Industry in the state was on a brink of closure. Sixty per cent the of industrial units in Amritsar have closed down. Batala is no different, with most of the industrial units having turned into commercial complex, marriage palaces and even residential areas,” said Mr Sambhar.

“We are not opposed to industrialisation. What about reviving the existing industry? What steps has the state government taken to check the flight of industry from Punjab to neighbouring states of Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and Uttaranchal,” asked Satnam Singh Pannu and Rattan Singh Randhawa, other members of the Action Committee.

They ridiculed the government claims that the new SEZ policy would revive the state economy. Quoting the Union Finance Minister, they said, the country had lost around 34,000 crore in revenue because of SEZs.

They also blasted the government claims that the SEZ policy would create new jobs.

“When the present government came to power five years ago, there were 16 lakh unemployed youth. Now the number was 40 lakh. And if they take away agricultural land, they would only add to unemployment and make the country dependent for food grains.

The leaders added that an action committee was being formed in each district of the state to fight government’s move.

Some members of the Kisan Ujjaraa Roku Committee — Ranjit Singh Jheete, Sarbjit Singh Rampura, Sarbarinder Singh Nikke Jheete — accompanied by members of the Action Committee met the Land Acquisition Officer of the Industries Department and submitted objections filed on behalf of 1,500 land owners of seven villagers of Amritsar here today.

Farmer ‘dies of shock’

Gurmukh Singh, a farmer of Pandori Mahima, one of the seven villages in Amritsar where fertile land is being acquired by the Punjab Government for SEZ, died of shock on August 28, claimed members of the Kisan Ujjaara Roku Committee.

He died after he learned that his land was being notified for acquisition, claimed Ranjit Singh Jheete, Sarabjit Singh Rampura, Sarbarinder Singh Nikke Jheete and Gurdial Singh of the committee.

The committee has demanded an ex gratia of Rs 10 lakh for the next of kin of the deceased, job for one member of the bereaved family and waiver of loan of Rs 2.5 lakh on the deceased from the state government.