Overview of Land Rights in Inda - The Greens | European Free
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Transcript Overview of Land Rights in Inda - The Greens | European Free
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
One-fifth of world’s poor live in India – the
largest for any country.
India has one-fourth (208 million) of world’s 800
million under-nourished people.
Child malnutrition is the world’s highest.
Human Development Index: 119 of 169 countries.
GDP growth rate: +7% over 3 years.
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Land Distribution & Ownership
India is 70% rural with high dependence on land:
agriculture, fisheries and forests.
83% of farmers are small farmers <2 hectares.
Small farmers produce 41% of country’s food grains.
60% of cultivable land owned by 10% of population.
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Land Distribution & Ownership
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.
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Women & Land
Rural women depend greatly on land for
subsistence.
Perform > 50% of all agricultural work.
35% of rural households are women-headed, but
less than 2% women hold titles to land.
Migration of men to urban areas – resulting in
‘feminisation of agriculture.’
Women largely not recognised as farmers.
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Land Reform
Post-independence land reform focused on:
Abolition
of system of feudal landlords
(zamindars).
Tenancy
reforms to transfer ‘land to the tiller.’
Redistribution
of land via ‘ceiling’ on holdings.
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Failure of Land Reform
Land reform not successfully implemented in most
states.
No focus on gender equity.
2 million acres of land declared surplus but not yet
distributed because of litigation /other reasons.
Post-1991: pro-liberalisation agenda.
Push for removal of land ceiling restrictions.
No political will to implement land reform.
Draft Twelfth Five Year Plan (2012-2017): does not
mention land reform.
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What is ‘Land Grabbing’?
Phenomenon of takeover of people’s land by both
State and non-State actors.
Generally forceful / involuntary.
Largely unregulated/ illegal/ without due process.
Often justified with ‘public purpose’ clause.
People generally left with no legal recourse/
access to remedy.
Occurring at an unprecedented scale in
rural and urban areas.
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Land Grabbing: Key Factors (1)
‘Development projects’ – dams, mining, natural
resource extraction, ports, roads, infrastructure
projects, mega-events…
Special Economic Zones (1 million face threat of
eviction).
Slum demolitions/ ‘urban renewal.’
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
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Land Grabbing: Key Factors (2)
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.
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Land Grab Facilitated by : (1)
Use of Land Acquisition Act (1894) which allows
state takeover of land under guise of ‘public
purpose.’
Neo-liberal economic policies and obsession with
‘GDP growth.’
Changes in land laws to facilitate conversion of
agricultural land and to ease land sale.
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Land Grab Facilitated by: (2)
Manipulation of laws and takeover of land by the
state for companies (Indian and foreign), often
using violence:
State acquiring land for 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.
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Land Grab Facilitated by: (3)
Alienation of tribal lands.
Violation of ‘ceiling’ laws in rural areas.
Failure to implement progressive laws:
Panchayat (Extension to Scheduled Areas) Act, 1996.
Forest Rights Act, 2008.
Failure to implement positive court orders.
Lack of human rights-based laws and policies (e.g.
Rehabilitation Policy).
13
Urban Land Grab Caused by:
Unplanned urbanization.
Repeal of Urban Land (Ceiling & Regulation) Act.
Inequitable land use policies : lack of space for
urban poor in cities/towns.
Unchecked real estate speculation.
Absence of housing, health, employment schemes
for the urban poor.
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Trade & Investment Agreements:
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.
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Impacts of Land Grabbing (1):
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.
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Impacts of Land Grabbing (2):
Arbitrary arrests /attacks/ detention of human
rights defenders.
Criminalisation of social movements .
Social unrest and violence: rise of insurgency and
counter-insurgency movements.
Disproportionately severe impacts on women.
Violation of multiple human rights.
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Movement of Small Peasants
People uniting to struggle against forceful land
acquisition and corporate agriculture.
Growth of organic farming & small farmer
cooperatives.
Women leading movements to occupy village
‘wastelands’ & promote collective farming/ rights.
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.
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Recommendations for Govt. of India (1)
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).
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Recommendations for Govt. of India (2)
Accord women equal rights to land and other
natural resources, property, housing, inheritance.
Control real estate speculation.
Repeal Land Acquisition Act (1894).
Develop a comprehensive National Land Reform
Policy.
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Recommendations for Govt. of India (3)
Implement good laws:
Panchayat Act (1996) & 73rd 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.
Enforce:
International human rights law.
Concluding Observations of UN treaty bodies &
Special Rapporteurs.
21
Recommendations for EU (1)
Ensure strong human rights protection clause is
included in the EU-India FTA.
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).
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)
Issue guidelines for European investors in India
that ensure protection of human rights.
EU and India should respect rights of urban and
rural poor, and protect small farmers and
informal workers.
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.
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Conclusion
Guaranteeing rights of people to own,
control and manage their land and other
natural resources is critical to promoting
food security and well-being, and to
protecting multiple human rights
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