A group of farmers on Friday met Revenue Minister Krishna Byre Gowda urging the government to roll back the amendments brought by the previous BJP government to the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement (R&R) Act, 2013, and the Karnataka Land Reforms Act.
In a memorandum submitted to the Minister, the farmers under the banner Nammoora Bhooomi Namagirali, Anyarigalla (Let the land in our village be with us, not others), said the previous government removed Section 79 of the Karnataka Land Reforms Act to enable anyone to buy agricultural land and also use it for non-agricultural purpose, and the amendment to Section 63 enhanced the holding limit from 20 units to 40 units. Since the changes to the Act were brought with retrospective effect, 12,231 cases that had been filed for illegality in purchase also became legal, it said.
The farmers said that due to the removal of the restriction, there has been enormous pressure on farmers to sell their land, and the number of landless in villages was increasing. Besides, small farmers and the landless were unable to purchase land due to high costs. “The Congress had opposed the amendments when they were moved. Now, the government should undo the changes that have been brought in,” argued the farmers.
Listing out changes brought to the R&R Act, 2013, the farmers said that the BJP government State diluted the provisions of the Act in 2019 through an Ordinance. “Among many provisions that have been removed, the mandated socio and environmental impact assessment has been removed, the power of gram panchayat has been diluted, the meaning of public interest redefined, rehabilitation and resettlement have given way to compensation and fixing of four times of the land value as compensation has been removed.” They said that despite protests across the State, farmers have not been able to safeguard their land, and the government should withdraw these amendments too.
