community development and empowerment

A day long consultation on the “Proposed Land Bill: Development or Investment?” was organized by SRUTI on 30th August 2012 at the Constitution Club, New Delhi. The event was a follow-up to the Janmorcha and meetings co-ordinated by SANGHARSH (an alliance of various grass-root based organizations) on the land issue.

Several crucial aspects of the Land Bill such as commoditization of resources; impact on agriculture and livelihood; control over resources; food security & sovereignty; decentralized democracy & effective PRI, and the socio-economic-political impact were discussed as part of four focused sessions. The event saw the participation of distinguished guests speakers such as Dileep Singh Bhuria (Ex-Central Minister & Chairman Bhuria Committee) P.L.Punia (INC– Parliamentary Standing Committee Member & Chairman-National Commission for Scheduled Castes) and parliamentarians P.Rajeeve (CPM- PSC Member); SP Singh Baghel (BSP) and A.V.Swamy (Independent – Member of Rajya Sabha).

The speakers also saw representation from various peoples groups and movements from across the country including Ulka Mahajan (Sarvahara Jan Andolan – Maharashtra), Anand Mishra (Chhattisgarh Bachao Andolan), Kavita Krishnan (CPI-ML), Ashok Chowdhary (NFFPFW), Lingaraj (Samajwadi Jan Parishad), Jayashree (Adharshila – Maharashtra), Jang Sai (Bharat Jan Andolan), Arvind Anjum  (Visthapit Mukti Vahini – Jharkhand), MJ Vijayan (Programme for Social Action), Anil Chaudhry (PEACE – Delhi), Shankar Gopalakrishnan (Campaign for Survival and Dignity), Devendra (Hum Kisan Sangathan – Rajasthan) and Vilas Bhongade (Ghosikhurd Prakalpgrast Sangharsh Samiti – Maharashtra). Many other sangathans from across the country were represented among the attendees and moderators.

Summary and key points that emerged from the event are attached below.

More images here.

Land Bill Consultation Summary

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