Land Grabbing in India and the Movement for
Land Grabbing in India and the Movement for Food Security Shivani Chaudhry Housing and Land Rights Network & Ekta Parishad, India 1
India: Socio-Economic Indicators Ø One-fifth of world’s poor live in India – the largest for any country. Ø India has one-fourth (208 million) of world’s 800 million under-nourished people. Ø Child malnutrition is the world’s highest. Ø Human Development Index: 119 of 169 countries. Ø GDP growth rate: +7% over 3 years. 2
Land Distribution & Ownership Ø India is 70% rural with high dependence on land: agriculture, fisheries and forests. Ø 83% of farmers are small farmers <2 hectares. Ø Small farmers produce 41% of country’s food grains. Ø 60% of cultivable land owned by 10% of population. 3
Land Distribution & Ownership Ø Ø Ø Unequal ownership of land – root cause of poverty & hunger. Landless and ‘near-landless’ ~ 220 million people. 90% of landless poor are Scheduled Castes (Dalits) & Scheduled Tribes (indigenous peoples). Majority work as agricultural labour and sharecroppers. Access to land is a key determinant of food security and livelihood protection. 4
Women & Land Ø Rural women depend greatly on land for subsistence. Ø Perform > 50% of all agricultural work. Ø 35% of rural households are women-headed, but less than 2% women hold titles to land. Ø Migration of men to urban areas – resulting in ‘feminisation of agriculture. ’ Ø Women largely not recognised as farmers. 5
Land Reform n Post-independence land reform focused on: Ø Abolition of system of feudal landlords (zamindars). Ø Tenancy reforms to transfer ‘land to the tiller. ’ Ø Redistribution of land via ‘ceiling’ on holdings. 6
Failure of Land Reform Ø Land reform not successfully implemented in most states. Ø No focus on gender equity. Ø 2 million acres of land declared surplus but not yet distributed because of litigation /other reasons. Ø Post-1991: pro-liberalisation agenda. Ø Push for removal of land ceiling restrictions. Ø No political will to implement land reform. Ø Draft Twelfth Five Year Plan (2012 -2017): does not mention land reform. 7
What is ‘Land Grabbing’? Ø Phenomenon of takeover of people’s land by both State and non-State actors. Ø Generally forceful / involuntary. Ø Largely unregulated/ illegal/ without due process. Ø Often justified with ‘public purpose’ clause. Ø People generally left with no legal recourse/ access to remedy. Occurring at an unprecedented scale in rural and urban areas. 8
Land Grabbing: Key Factors (1) Ø ‘Development projects’ – dams, mining, natural resource extraction, ports, roads, infrastructure projects, mega-events… Special Economic Zones (1 million face threat of eviction). Ø Slum demolitions/ ‘urban renewal. ’ Ø India is estimated to have the highest number of people displaced annually as a result of ‘development’ projects: since independence (1947) almost 65 million displaced 9
Land Grabbing: Key Factors (2) Ø Ø Ø Industrialization of agriculture. Reduction in agricultural subsidies. High prices of patented /GM seeds & fertilisers. Bio-fuel production (3. 2 million hectares). Creation of carbon stocks for ‘climate mitigation. ’ National Parks/ Eco-tourism. 10
Land Grab Facilitated by : (1) Ø Use of Land Acquisition Act (1894) which allows state takeover of land under guise of ‘public purpose. ’ Ø Neo-liberal economic policies and obsession with ‘GDP growth. ’ Ø Changes in land laws to facilitate conversion of agricultural land to ease land sale. 11
Land Grab Facilitated by: (2) Ø Manipulation of laws and takeover of land by the state for companies (Indian and foreign), often using violence: § State acquiring land foreign investors under leasing arrangements – e. g. Vedanta Aluminium/ Lafarge. § 6, 000 acres land acquired for Yamuna Expressway in Uttar Pradesh (1, 225 villages) – 4 farmers killed in clashes. § POSCO (South Korea) Steel Plant, Odisha: state using police force to suppress resistance / destroy betel vines / threaten villagers. 12
Land Grab Facilitated by: (3) Ø Alienation of tribal lands. Ø Violation of ‘ceiling’ laws in rural areas. Ø Failure to implement progressive laws: § Panchayat (Extension to Scheduled Areas) Act, 1996. § Forest Rights Act, 2008. Ø Failure to implement positive court orders. Ø Lack of human rights-based laws and policies (e. g. Rehabilitation Policy). 13
Urban Land Grab Caused by: Ø Unplanned urbanization. Ø Repeal of Urban Land (Ceiling & Regulation) Act. Ø Inequitable land use policies : lack of space for urban poor in cities/towns. Ø Unchecked real estate speculation. Ø Absence of housing, health, employment schemes for the urban poor. 14
Trade & Investment Agreements: Ø Ø Ø Ø India has signed 21 bilateral investment treaties with 22 of 27 EU states. EU-India FTA: ‘investor protection chapter’ - conflicts with human rights obligations. Risk of takeover of community land for large-scale investment by European companies. Obligation of Fair and Equitable Treatment (FET) – against human rights /no ‘public interest’ exemption. ‘Free and Prior Informed Consent’ not required. Lease of 99 years – could interfere with land reform. Investor-State dispute settlement – gives foreign investors undue rights over Constitution of India & int’l law. 15
Impacts of Land Grabbing (1): Ø Ø Ø Ø Increased forced evictions : 40 -50% of displaced are tribal/ indigenous peoples. Increasing landlessness/ homelessness. Acute agrarian crisis. Growing indebtedness of farmers. Rise in farmer suicides (+ 250, 000 in 15 years). Forced migration to urban areas. Deepening poverty and hunger. 16
Impacts of Land Grabbing (2): Ø Arbitrary arrests /attacks/ detention of human rights defenders. Ø Criminalisation of social movements. Ø Social unrest and violence: rise of insurgency and counter-insurgency movements. Ø Disproportionately severe impacts on women. Ø Violation of multiple human rights. 17
Movement of Small Peasants Ø People uniting to struggle against forceful land acquisition and corporate agriculture. Ø Growth of organic farming & small farmer cooperatives. Ø Women leading movements to occupy village ‘wastelands’ & promote collective farming/ rights. Ø Non-violent social movements like Ekta Parishad are mobilising thousands and spreading awareness on the importance of land reform and redistribution to promote food security, self-governance and dignity. 18
Recommendations for Govt. of India (1) Ø Ø Ø Adopt a strong human rights approach in all laws/policies/programmes. Implement human rights-based agrarian reform => land redistribution + agricultural resources (including seeds), water, information, & access to markets. Adopt urban reform measures + provision of homestead land in urban areas. Provide legal security of tenure & recognise collective rights. Strengthen National Land Reforms Council. Strengthen Public Distribution System (PDS). 19
Recommendations for Govt. of India (2) Ø Accord women equal rights to land other natural resources, property, housing, inheritance. Ø Control real estate speculation. Ø Repeal Land Acquisition Act (1894). Ø Develop a comprehensive National Land Reform Policy. 20
Recommendations for Govt. of India (3) Ø Implement good laws: § Panchayat Act (1996) & 73 rd Amendment Act – devolves powers to local self governing bodies. § Forest Rights Act (2008). § Directives on joint registration of land – names of men & women. § Hindu Succession Amendment Act 2005 - equal inheritance rights for men & women. Ø Enforce: § International human rights law. § Concluding Observations of UN treaty bodies & Special Rapporteurs. 21
Recommendations for EU (1) Ø Ensure strong human rights protection clause is included in the EU-India FTA. Ø Call for Human Rights Impact Assessments to be conducted ex-ante and ex-post – for all trade & investment agreements (requested by European Parliament in November 2010). Ø Call for implementation of guidelines proposed by Special Rapporteur on right to food regarding land acquisitions & the UN Basic Principles and Guidelines on Development-based Evictions and Displacement. 22
Recommendations for EU (2) Ø Issue guidelines for European investors in India that ensure protection of human rights. Ø EU and India should respect rights of urban and rural poor, and protect small farmers and informal workers. Ø Use Universal Periodic Review (UPR) of India at the Human Rights Council (May 2012) to promote the realisation of human rights to food/land in India. 23
Conclusion Guaranteeing rights of people to own, control and manage their land other natural resources is critical to promoting food security and well-being, and to protecting multiple human rights 24
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