New Delhi: Members of a parliamentary committee on Tuesday opposed the presence of activist Medha Patkar and actor Prakash Raj during a meeting convened to discuss issues related to fair compensation and transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013.
The meeting was subsequently cancelled, people aware of the developments said.
One of the persons cited above said representatives of the ministries of rural development (Department of Land Resources), environment, forest and climate change, and tribal affairs, non-government organisations, experts and other stakeholders were to speak before the committee on Rural Development and Panchayati Raj.
“When the proceedings were about to begin, some members objected to the presence of Patkar and Raj, pointing out that they had not been informed. Later, 11 MPs, mostly from the National Democratic Alliance, walked out and in the absence of quorum the meeting was cancelled and is likely to be held on July 14,” a person aware of the details said.
The committee, headed by Congress MP Saptagiri Sankar Ulaka from Odisha’s Koraput, has 29 members, including former prime minister HD Deve Gowda, who was present on Tuesday.
The person cited above said some of the NDA members objected to Patkar in particular, given her role in the Narmada Bachao campaign. “They felt she was responsible for trying to block the Narmada project which would have left one-third of Gujarat parched and drought affected…” the person said.
The Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013 regulates land acquisition and lays down the procedure and rules for granting compensation, rehabilitation and resettlement to the persons affected by the acquisition. The Act has provisions to provide fair compensation to those whose land is taken away and assures rehabilitation of those affected.
“We were told the ministries (rural development, environment, forest and climate change and tribal affairs) and some NGOs will put forth their views. There was no explanation on why Patkar and Raj were invited for the meeting, which we eventually boycotted,” Bihar BJP lawmaker Sanjay Jaiswal said.
The person cited above said some of the NDA members objected to Patkar in particular, given her role in the Narmada Bachao campaign. “They felt she was responsible for trying to block the Narmada project which would have left one-third of Gujarat parched and drought affected…” the person said.
The Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013 regulates land acquisition and lays down the procedure and rules for granting compensation, rehabilitation and resettlement to the persons affected by the acquisition. The Act has provisions to provide fair compensation to those whose land is taken away and assures rehabilitation of those affected.
“We were told the ministries (rural development, environment, forest and climate change and tribal affairs) and some NGOs will put forth their views. There was no explanation on why Patkar and Raj were invited for the meeting, which we eventually boycotted,” Bihar BJP lawmaker Sanjay Jaiswal said.
Ulaka defended it and said, “It is a standard practice to hear people from the civil society. We had invited them to share their views on how to strengthen the Act…they would have submitted their views without being privy to the submissions made by the ministry representatives.”
Ulaka said the list of invitees had been shared with the Speaker’s Office in advance as per the protocol.
“What were the NDA MPs scared of? We could have heard the two and the report would eventually be drafted after consensus between the committee members,” he added.
