Land Alienation and Local Communities

CED documentation is for educative purposes-for your reference and study only

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ECONOMIC & POLITICAL WEEKLY MAGAZINE, 04 AUG 2007

Land Alienation and Local Communities Case Studies in Hyderabad-Secunderabad Poorly designed compensation policies, inadequate planning, the entry of land sharks and the weak power of rural communities are resulting in a deterioration of the living conditions of those displaced by land alienation from the fringes of cities. Field surveys on the fringes of Hyderabad-Secunderabad, where a vast number of infrastructure projects, special economic zones and institutions are planned, show the adverse impact of involuntary displacement. A major correction of land acquisition and compensatory policies is called for, lest the simmering resentment expresses itself in open conflict. V RATNA REDDY, B SURESH REDDY

T

he expansion and growth of urban areas is unavoidable as well as a sign of growth in developing countries. Urban expansion in a normal course results in conversion of agricultural lands in the fringe areas to non-agricultural purposes. Such expansion is often associated with both positive and negative impacts on the population in the fringe areas. The literature on urban development indicates that the spread of urban centres to peripheral rural areas results in economic gains in terms of diversified livelihoods, higher wages and incomes, but the rural communities suffer in terms of degradation of micro environment such as basic amenities, pollution, etc [Bentinck 2000]. While such observations are valid in a normal process of urbanisation, they may not hold good in the context of land acquisition by the government in the name of development as well as by private enterprise for speculation. In the absence of any regulation, land alienation from agriculture is taking place much before (with a lag of a decade and more) real urban development takes place. The result is that the primary stakeholders (the original farmers and landowners) are ignored, as they lose their livelihoods and are pushed into menial jobs as they lack skills to get into white- or blue-collar jobs. They become mere spectators, as their own lands are up for grabs at a very high premium (10 times and more).1 Recent years have seen conversion of large tracts of agricultural land for commercial and real estate purposes. Though these conversions are yet to be recorded in the official statistics, the issue of declining net sown area (NSA) has recently been highlighted as a major concern of Indian agriculture [Alagh 2006]. Though NSA fluctuates along with rainfall, it is argued that the decline of about one million hectares during 2003-04 was unprecedented. Even severe droughts during the 1980s have not caused such a decline. Agrarian distress could be one of the reasons for poor sowing operations in a year of sub-normal rainfall. When agriculture becomes unviable even during normal rainfall years, farmers may be shying away from high-risk enterprises in below normal rainfall years. Another reason is the conversion of land for more remunerative purposes like urban housing, development activities, special economic zones (SEZs), speculative real estate, etc. We intend to explore possible explanations for the trends in land use in the recent years. We argue, based on the primary data collected from the fringe areas of Hyderabad-Secunderabad and selected case studies of farmers, that the trends in the

unrecorded decline in net sown area are more alarming than the decline recorded in the official statistics of sown area. The unrecorded decline adversely affects the livelihoods of the farmers permanently. After discussing the rationale for the changes in land acquisition for non-agricultural purposes and the need for proper compensation, an attempt is made to understand and assess the impact of land acquisition and alienation on local communities. The assessment is based on the case studies and focus group discussions in selected villages on the fringes of the twin cities of Hyderabad and Secunderabad.

I Rationale for Land Acquisition and Compensation Trends in land use over the last 50 years in India indicate that the NSA stabilised around 140 million hectares from 1980s onwards. The decline in NSA in 2002-03 is not unique as a similar decline was experienced in 1988 as well (Figure 1). This decline may be attributed to a poor monsoon, as both years recorded below normal rainfall. On the other hand, the area under nonagriculture use was on the rise especially during the 1990s. Incidentally, this was accompanied by the decline in uncultivable lands, but that does not necessarily mean a shift of uncultivated land under cultivation. On the contrary, the decline in NSA is associated with an increase in fallows, especially current, in both the years. This clearly indicates the weather-induced changes in land use. The extent of current fallows is directly dependent on fluctuations in year-to-year rainfall [Reddy 1991].

Urbanisation The Indian economy is expected to move on to a sustained high growth trajectory in the coming years. This is expected to bring in changes in the structure of the economy that would transform the land use pattern. The share of secondary or manufacturing sector in gross domestic product (GDP) is very low at 25 per cent in India [Papola 2005]. This is much lower when compared to other (important) Asian countries. Despite higher growth between 1960 and 2002, the share of secondary sector in the Indian economy (GDP) is half that of China. Though India has higher share of service sector (51 per cent) than that

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Figure 2: Projected Growth in Urbanisation In India

160000 140000 ‘000 Hectares

120000 100000 80000 60000 40000 0

1951 1953 1955 1957 1959 1961 1963 1965 1967 1969 1971 1973 1975 1977 1979 1981 1983 1985 1987 1989 1991 1993 1995 1997 1999 2001 2003

20000

Non-agricultural use Uncultivated

Non-cultivated —x— NSA

Percentage of Urban Population

Figure 1: Trends in Land Use in India

45 40 35 30 25 20 15 10 5 0 1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 2010 2020 2025 2030 Year Percentage of Urban Population

Source: Statistical Abstract of India, 2005.

Source: www.un.org/population/publications.

of China (34 per cent), it has not prompted high growth urbanisation due to its low labour intensity. As a result, India has the lowest level of urbanisation (percentage of urban population) among all the comparable countries in the world. By the year 2000, the extent of urbanisation in India was 27.7 per cent as against 37.5 per cent in Asia [Papola op cit]. The India-China differences in urbanisation are likely to widen by 2020, i e, 34.7 per cent in India as against 53.4 per cent in China. It is projected that urbanisation in India would reach 40.1 per cent by 2030 (Figure 2). Growth of urbanisation would be much faster during the next two decades when compared to the last five decades, if India continues to be a service economy. The pace could be faster if the share of manufacturing in the GDP increases substantially. All the indicators point towards a fast-paced urbanisation and increased demand for land for non-agricultural purposes. This is already evident from the happenings across the country where both state and private enterprises are active in land acquisition in and around important urban centres. This, in turn, is triggering competition for land between agriculture and nonagriculture uses and a trade-off between food security and high growth sectors. While it is argued that food security need not be a prime concern at the state level [Sarkar 2007], the cumulative effect could snowball into a national crisis, if every state adopts the same strategy. The conflict of interests between sectors is reflected in the controversy in Singur and Nandigram, West Bengal. These conflicts are bound to increase in the absence of appropriate land acquisition and compensation policies.

have been initiated around the twin cities. Along with the projects, the Municipal Corporation of Hyderabad proposed a massive (eight-line) ring road around the twin cities to ease traffic congestion. All these activities fuelled a real estate boom. As a result all the land in the surrounding villages has been either acquired or notified by the government for various activities. The real estate speculators had acquired most of the land much before the projects were made public. As a result, agriculture ceased to be the main activity in all the 25 mandals in and around Hyderabad. The total sown area that has gone out of cultivation in these mandals is estimated at more than 90,000 hectares. As per the official estimates in Ranga Reddy district (20 mandals) itself the decline in NSA is above 63,000 hectares over the period of 10 years. Besides, the area under forests, culturable waste and miscellaneous tree crops has also declined. The decline in culturable waste and miscellaneous tree crops is also a permanent loss to NSA in the long run, as they are part of cultivable land. It can be noted that the decline has taken place mainly between 199596 and 2004-05. Our observations in the field, however, indicated that only 10 per cent of the total sown area (2,38,000 hectares) is being cultivated presently. Considering developments across Andhra Pradesh, the loss of cultivable land could be around half a million hectares even by a conservative estimate. These trends could adversely affect agricultural production and livelihoods of the local communities. The negative externality is the transfer of vocation to the non-agricultural sector, without any adequate skill development, and the resultant stress on the local communities. Often such changes are unfavourable to the communities on the periphery of urban areas. Added to this is the new SEZ Act of 2005, for which rules were notified in February 2006. This has triggered a sort of gold rush for land. While the need and rationale for SEZs in their present form at this juncture in India is a moot point. The SEZs or export promotion zones (EPZs) were initiated during 1980s mainly to bypass the regulations existing in the economy. China established five large-sized SEZs (as big as 234 sq km in Shantou) in order to attract foreign direct investment between 1978 and 1991 by creating propitious environment for investment. The government owns all these SEZs. In India, the first EPZ was set up during 1965 at Kandla, Gujarat, though the EPZ policy was deficient in several aspects [CII 2006]. The main rationale for SEZs is to attract foreign direct investment by overcoming the restrictive labour laws and through export promotion. In the given economic conditions (i e, when the entire country has become a SEZ in recent years) the need for getting foreign direct

Land Acquisition for Development Activities The unprecedented growth and economic boom in recent years has had a multiplier effect on development activities such as infrastructure like roads, ports, airports, housing, etc. Acquiring land for these activities has an externality, i e, an increased speculative demand for land surrounding these activities. The speculative demand for land goes up as soon as the location for the new activity is identified. While the actual requirement of land for development activities is not substantial, the speculative demand is often phenomenal. Though we do not have information on this at the national level, the happenings in and around Hyderabad-Secunderabad provide a flavour of what is going on and what is in store in the future. During the last five years, a number of major projects like international airport, Fab city, etc,


investment through SEZs is rather misplaced, especially in the IT sector. India has already attracted major multinationals and has become the outsourcing hub of the world. As for the labour market, most of the companies (IT and BPOs) are facing the problem of retaining rather than restrictions on hire and fire. The performance of SEZs in export promotion is not in any way significant, i e, between 2000-01 and 2004-05 exports from SEZs in India grew by 16.1 per cent as against 12.1 per cent in total exports [CII op cit]. Moreover, two-thirds of SEZ’s earnings are used up for imports in all the six Asian countries, including India, leaving little trade surplus [Aiyar 2006]. As evident from the experience of Andhra Pradesh, most of the SEZs are created for acquiring land for the purpose of real estate promotion. Some even term SEZs as sepecial exploitative zones or special real estate zones [Bidwai 2006; Reddy 2006]. Given its weak rationale and widespread misuse of the act calls for a rethinking of the SEZ approach. The SEZs should be used to develop infrastructure in the remote and backward areas by restricting them to such areas. A part of the tax benefits provided to the entrepreneurs should be used for infrastructure development. Restricting their location to degraded lands and backward areas would be more appropriate and help in developing these areas without adversely affecting agricultural production. In the absence of such restrictions, fertile lands will be up for grabs in the areas surrounding SEZs, which would be much higher than the actual land required for establishing the SEZ. Further, if SEZs are located in remote areas of backward districts, they will have a growth centre effect on the periphery.

Displacement and Compensation Development-linked land acquisition and displacement of people is not new in developing countries like China and India. There is growing awareness across the world that the experience of development-related displacement has often pushed populations into marginal conditions. One of the main reasons for this is flawed compensation and rehabilitation policies [Cernea 2007]. For instance, monetary compensation has replaced physical compensation in most of the countries. There is need for serious rethinking in this regard for two reasons: (i) the pace of development-induced displacement has increased many fold during the last decade,4 and (ii) more and more activities are brought under the purview of development, i e, acquisition and allocation of land by government to profit-making private companies and SEZs are considered as a development activity. While it makes perfect sense to transform the agriculture-based economy into a non-agricultural one, historically the transformation had taken place in a systematic manner in most of the present developed countries. But this does not seem to be the case in India. Displacement in India is mostly forced, caused by push factors rather than pull factors. That is the extent of labour absorption, especially the unskilled, outside agriculture is rather marginal due to low growth of manufacturing sector. Since land is converted into high-productive and profit-making ventures, the owners of land are entitled to a share for their land – an important factor of production.5 Hence, displaced landowners are entitled to an appropriate share in the future profits from the new ventures taken up on their lands. Policies should take this into account while designing compensation policies. A number of countries have designed policies in these lines, especially in the case of hydel and irrigation projects [Cernea op cit].

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II Impact on Local Communities One needs to understand the process of land acquisition and alienation in order to realise the inappropriateness of policies towards forced displacement caused by the development activities. For, these policies appear to be benefiting the local communities with higher prices for their lands. It is true that in a number of instances it is observed that poor farmers are becoming millionaires overnight due to the increase in their land values. As long as these benefits directly go to the primary stakeholders or the original farmers, it may be considered as a benefit to the community. Even if the benefits are accruing to the primary stakeholders, will they sustain themselves in the absence of reinvestments in productive assets like land, business, etc? Often local communities lack such skills, especially, when the developments take place overnight. Communities are observed to be well-prepared in the urban periphery of Delhi, where urban expansion has resulted in the shift of local communities to urban jobs (white- as well as blue-collar). For the development has taken place over a period of time, which helped improving the awareness of rural communities in terms of investing in education and a smooth integration with urban culture [Bentinck 2000]. On the other hand, the recent (past two years) avalanche of developments has caught rural communities unaware in the peri-urban areas. Case studies of four villages, viz, Kondapur, Shameerpet, Maheswaram and Gopanapalle located in different ‘mandals’ of Rangareddy district surrounding Hyderabad city provide a vivid account of the impact of fast-paced development (Table 1). The sample villages differ in terms of their size (area and population) and distance from the twin cities (Table 1). These villages are located in different directions. The process of urbanisation and land alienation has started at different time points in these villages over the last 20 years. Kondapur was the first village to experience the externalities of urbanisation and development. Kondapur came into the limelight during the 1990s with the expansion of IT parks and is now a prime place with important commercial, industrial and educational institutions. Maheswaram is famous for the establishment of a World Bankfunded watershed during the 1980s. Though watershed development could not transform the village, presently it is one of the hotspots for the real estate in the state due to its location advantage. In the case of Gopanapalle, an IT park and an SEZ are expected soon. Shameerpet is an old village with an area of 2,600 acres under tank irrigation. Shameerpet and Maheswaram have the highest proportion of SC/ST population. Proportion of landless households is marginal in all the sample villages. Land values and wage rates in these villages are linked to their location and the vibrancy in the economic activities within and outside the villages. However, the wage differentials across the villages are not much due to their vicinity to the city.

Land Use and Livelihoods All the four villages are basically agrarian in nature. Cereals (including paddy) and vegetables are the main crops grown in these villages though NSA has declined substantially in the recent years (Table 2). Paddy is grown under tank and well irrigation. The NSA is less than 10 per cent of the geographical area in all the villages. Despite the availability of irrigation (Shameerpet) and the introduction of watershed programme (Maheswaram),

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the extent of NSA is marginal in some villages. Most of the arable land is now recorded under cultivable waste and fallow lands. Though most of the land has been marked out for residential purposes, transactions are carried out under the disguise of agriculture to avoid higher registration charges.6 As a result, area under non-agriculture uses remained small in most of the villages. Livelihoods of the households have undergone a transformation during the last two decades. Earlier the main livelihood activities in these villages were predominantly agriculture. Cultivation decreased gradually with the onset of urbanisation (Table 1). In Kondapur, only 40 acres of land is being cultivated presently. Out of this 25 acres are with SCs, which was given by government and they do not have proper pattas and hence cannot sell them. The remaining 15 acres are owned by the wellto-do in the village and waiting to sell at premium prices. About 500 acres are being cultivated in Maheswaram. Livestock farming continues to be one of the main livelihood activities in Shameerpet and Maheswaram, while livestock is more or less disappearing in the other villages (Table 1). Hardly a few families keep one or two buffaloes for their livelihood in Kondapur. Dairy though important is declining in Gopanapalle. Maheswaram and Shameerpet have substantial number of livestock, including poultry. A number of families supply milk to the city. Urbanisation has brought in diversity in livelihood activities away from agriculture. A majority have shifted to lower end non-farm activities like construction labour, petty business, etc (Table 3). Some have become real estate brokers and contractors. Only in Kondapur a few could manage to get into higher-end jobs, which could be due to the fact that urbanisation process was initiated much earlier here.

Land Values Land values have gone up manifold in all the villages, though each village has a different time frame due to its location and the initiation of developmental works. And the recent years have seen the sharpest rise in land prices in all the villages (Table 4). Kondapur experienced an early boom in land values due to its vicinity to the Hi-Tech City, and later, it became a part of Cyberabad, where most of the software outfits are located. Land prices have gone up three to four times in Kondapur during the last year. The price rise is mainly due to software employee’s preference to stay nearer to their workplace (Hi-Tech City) so that they can get back home quickly even at midnight. Despite this, Kondapur lacks basic amenities like household water connections, underground sewerage, health facilities, etc. One has to fetch water from the only community tap. Demand coupled with the affluence of the few has pushed the cost of living upwards. In Maheswaram, the real estate boom was seen mostly in last two years, which is mainly due to its vicinity to the proposed international airport and Fab city. The activity of plotting the lands for the residential purposes has increased in a big way from the year 2005. Now the rate per sq yard is Rs 9,000-10,000 in well-developed ventures with all facilities and on the main roads. In the interior ventures, it is Rs 5,000-6,000 per sq yard. We were informed that a few people (both local and others) made enormous amounts of money in the last one year by acting as middle men, paying the advance for the agreement and before it is registered in their names they are selling it to somebody

at a phenomenal profit. There are nearly 150 people who are acting as middlemen/brokers/realtors in the village itself. An incident narrated by the villagers tells us how the real estate business is flourishing in the village. In 2005 an outside person had purchased five acres of land from a villager for Rs 4 lakh/ acre. He had sold it in 2006 (September) to a realtor for Rs 1.1 crore/acre. The realtor, in turn, is selling the same by plotting it for Rs 9,000/yard – 16 plots of 200 sq yds/acre and selling it at Rs 3 crore per acre. Table 1: Basic Characteristics of the Study Villages Details/Village Distance from city (kms) Mandal

Kondapur

Shameerpet

Maheswaram

21 Seri Lingampalli* 1472 5985 320 60

27 Shameerpet 1280 7769 1428 64

28 Maheswaram 3500 25000 520 5346

Gopanapalle 20 Lingampalli 615 3145 – –

No of households Total population (a) SC (b) ST No of landless Households (HH) 5 – 10 2 Major existing Hi-tech city, Biotech park, BITS, International Central institutions/ National Academy NALSAR College airport, University, coming up of Construction, of Law, Apparel FAB proposed IIIT, NIFT, Park and ICICI city, etc IT Park etc Indian School of Knowledge Business, etc. park, etc Land value/ acre (prime location) Rs 15 crore Rs 1.3 crore Rs 1.3 crore Rs1.36 crore Year of active land transactions started 1985 1995 2005 2001 Wage rates (a) Agriculture labour Rs 120-130/day Rs 35-50 Rs 50-60 Rs 70 (1) Women (2) Men Rs 150/day Rs 80 Rs 80 Rs 100 (b) Skilled workers Rs 250/day Rs 130-150 Rs 150-180 Rs 200 (c) Wage labour (1) Women Rs 120-130/day 70 Rs 100 Rs 80 (2) Men Rs 150/day 100 Rs 120 100 (d) Housemaids Rs 700-800/ Rs 330-400/ Rs 300-400/ – month month month

Note: * Seri Lingampalli is now a municipality. Source: Field Survey.

Table 2: Land Use Pattern (Acres) Details/Village Geographical area Forests Barren and uncultivated lands Non-agriculture land use Pastures and grazing land Miscellaneous tree crops Cultivable waste Fallow lands Net area sown Crops grown

Kondapur

Shameerpet Maheswaram

Gopanapalle

1942 –

5770 –

5001 300

2475 –

–

1900

1600

40

1083

364

500

412

–

200.11

196

–

– 863 27 40 Jowar, vegetables, paddy, etc

2.00 2249 572 529 Paddy, vegetables, jowar, chickpea, etc 2230

– 2000 200 500 Paddy, vegetables, maize, floriculture, etc 6172

– 126.39 773.30 112 Paddy

Total livestock (nos)

Source: Field Survey.

30

270

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In Shameerpet, land prices have started moving faster after 1995, while major jumps were experienced only after 2000 due to various activities in the private sector. During the last six years land prices have increased five to six times on the main roads (Table 4). People feel that compared to other parts, the increase has been gradual and stable. In 2006, housing plots were sold at Rs 4,000-5,000 per sq yard on the main road and Rs 2,0003,000 in the interiors of the village. On the other hand, Gopanapalle had experienced a steep rise in land prices only after 2002 following the announcement of establishing a software park (Table 4). The announcement of establishment of an SEZ in the vicinity in 2006 further pushed the land prices up.

Land Alienation Most of the villagers sold their major portion of land when the prices started to rise. In all the villages land prices had crossed Rs 1 crore per acre by the end of 2006. More than 90 per cent of the farmers sold their lands at below Rs 10 lakh per acre in all the villages (Table 5). Except in Shameerpet, which had experienced a gradual increase in land values, very little land remains in the hands of farmers. Further, the leftover land is mostly assigned land7 that cannot be sold, especially in Kondapur. Except in Shameerpet and Maheswaram, no small and medium farmer had sold his land at high prices (Rs 1 crore and above). Same is the case with SC and ST farmers, who cultivate mostly the assigned lands. The revenue system, which maintains the land records is not farmer-friendly, especially for the poor. If there is any genuine problem with the land records, it would be a nightmare, as the mandal revenue office (MRO) unnecessarily gives the concerned farmer memos. Earlier big farmers transferred lands to the other farmers with a fear of losing the land due to the land ceiling act. These land transfers were called 38E lands, where the landlord will hold a right of 40 per cent and the cultivator 60 per cent. The cultivator will obtain 60 per cent rights only after continuous cultivation for 16 years. But generally the village secretaries under the influence of village elite and politicians do not write this record properly.8 In all the villages, people, especially the vulnerable, criticise the role of village assistants. People complain that they have manipulated the land records in favour of the elite and those who could manipulate the records. As a result, poor farmers are paying a heavy price. For, all those lands with complicated titles could Table 3: Changes in Livelihoods Village Kondapur

1985 Farming, vegetable cultivation, dairy, provisional stores, agriculture labour, potters, traditional services.

Shameerpet Farming, dairy, agricultural labour, petty business, traditional services, etc. Maheswaram Farming, dairy, traditional services, wage labour, etc.

Gopanapalle

Farming, dairying, agriculture labour, stone-cutting, traditional services, etc.


not be sold easily. People also allege that lands which they have been cultivating since three generations have been entered as assigned lands in the basic documents. In fact, nine lakh acres out of the total 55 lakh acres of assigned lands are stated to be in the possession of ineligible persons. The state governor had promulgated an ordinance on November 5, 2006 to amend the AP Assigned Lands (Prohibition of Transfers) Act 1977, providing for the resumption of illegally-occupied assigned lands and restoring them to the original allotter or their heirs. A separate law is also proposed for specifying a deadline for surrender of such lands and setting up the required enforcement mechanism for prosecution. Apart from the assigned and surplus lands, large extents of ‘Bhoodan’, ‘Inam’, endowments and evacuee lands are in illegal possession of influential persons under ‘benami’ names. There is need for a comprehensive survey of all types of lands under the illegal occupation and announce a scheme for resumption or regularisation of such lands in a time-bound manner.

Beneficiaries of Development While more than 90 per cent of the farmers (primary stakeholders) sold their lands at very low prices, some, especially the poor, lost their meagre lands in the name of development (Box 1). The realtors buy the land in the disguise of agriculture purpose, which means low registration charges. After converting the land to plots they transfer them to individuals who would bear the heavy registration charges. According to a reliable source, nearly 20-30 acres of government land were also plotted in various places in Kondapur by realtors. In spite of many agitations with the support of local politicians, not much could be done as there was a strong nexus between revenue officials, politicians and realtors. The people who were fighting for the cause had to give up after some time. Realtors have bribed and lured some people Table 4: Change in Land Values (Rs per acre) Year

Kondapur

1985

50,000

1995

250,000350,000 10,000,0016,000,00

2000

2001

33,000,00

2002

60,000,0080,000,00

2003

100,000,00

2004

130,000,00

2005

160,000,00230,000,00 600,000,001500,000,00

2006 Construction contractors, realtors, business, petty business, labour, software employees, real estate brokers, autodrivers, etc. Farming, agricultural labour, dairying, petty business, masonry works, etc, Agriculture labour, wage labour, dairy, petty business, real estate business, real estate brokering, etc. Petty business, dairy, masonry, services, farming (only three people), etc.

2006

Note:

Shameerpet

Maheswaram

Up to this period 40,000-50,000

100,000-200,000 25,000on main roads, 50,000 80,000-100,000 for paddy fields 20,000,00 on main roads. For the paddy fields: 1,50,000-2,50,000 30-35 lakhs on main roads. For the paddy fields it was still 1.5 lakh to 2.5 lakh 30,000,0035,000,00 60,000,0050,00070,000,00 100,000 70,000,00- Second-half of 80,000,00 2005: 50,000,00 1,10,000,00100,000,001,30,000,00 130,000,00.

Gopanapalle 5000-10,000

15,000

20,000

Rs 25,000

15,000,0030,000,00 Rs12-15 lakh 20,000,0024,000,00 50,000,00136,000,00

As Kondapur has been transformed into residential area, hardly few acres (10-15) of agricultural land are left. Source: Field Survey.

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to weaken the agitations. People leading the agitations were harassed by the filing of false cases against them, sending them to jail in some cases, making roads through their lands deliberately, etc (Box 2). When the villagers were asked about the reason for selling the entire land, they replied that “no proper electricity, no water, got fed up with farming”. “Had the farming been a bit profitable, we would not have sold our land so early”, says Kishan, a resident of Maheswaram. The daily wages in the village are Rs 150-180 for skilled labour and for ordinary work Rs 120 for men and Rs 100 for women. Earlier, it used to be Rs 80 for men and Rs 50-60 for women. In the whole of Maheswaram village there are nearly 10 landless families, who have become much poorer in a relative sense in the new scenario. In Gopanapalle, the government has proposed a SEZ near the village. For this the government is acquiring land. The government has identified the land belonging to tribal people who are cultivating paddy, vegetables, etc. The government

Box 1: Loss of Houses Dalits of Kondapur (20 families) were assigned land as a part of a housing scheme. Unfortunately there was road widening in the early 2000s and a majority of them lost their houses. They were given Rs 10,000-15,000 of cash and a plot of 60 sq yards near their assigned lands. Given the location where land price is Rs 30,000-40,000/sq yard, the compensation was meagre. On the other hand, three-four families who did not lose their house in road widening were cornered by the realestate brokers. All sorts of tactics were employed to create fear. The poor illiterate and powerless dalits were not sure of what was going to happen in the future. Comparing the compensation given by the government to families who have already lost their houses, they had sold their houses to realtors at a price of Rs 15-20,000 per sq yard. Presently the value is Rs 40,000 per sq yard. One is not sure whether the second road widening will ever take place in the near future. Mallesha, 48 years, was one of the persons who sold his land to realtors with a fear of future road widening. He got Rs12 lakh for 60 sq yds. Out of this, he has spent Rs 8 lakh to purchase a 120 sq yard house, near the other people who were relocated. As it was not in good shape, he has demolished and reconstructed it spending Rs 2.75 lakh. Despite spending almost all the money on the new house he is not happy with the amenities in the new location. In the new colony there is no drinking water, drainage and electricity. Recently, the dalits have pooled some money to get electricity to their colony.

issued a notice asking them to hand over the land or approach the court. But some families sold their lands at a cheaper rate (Rs 20,00,000 per acre) after getting the notice. According to them the real estate people are asking them to sell the remaining land and offering Rs 1.5-3.0 crore per acre. Five years back the land rate was less than Rs 10 lakh per acre. But due to the outer ring road and SEZ the real estate people are hiking the rates continuously. People are trying to hold on to the land as they feel that the land belongs to their forefathers. A pertinent question people raise is why the government is taking their lands. Instead, it can ask the industry to buy it in the open market. For example, the government recently allotted land to a software firm at the rate of Rs 40 lakh per acre, whereas for the same land another company offered Rs 1.10 crore per acre. People are questioning the rationale behind land acquisition by the government though 1,070 acres of government lands are available at the same location.9 Similarly, about 4,000 acres of wasteland belonging to a few people are available in a nearby village. These wastelands are not suitable for cultivation. The government is neither interested in taking/acquiring the wastelands nor using its own land for allocating to the SEZ. Instead, it is bent on acquiring the tribal lands with D-pattas, which is being cultivated and most of the families are dependent on that land.

III Strategies for Displaced The decline in net sown area, as reflected in the official statistics, is not as serious as the decline yet to be noticed in the statistical calculations. That is the loss of agriculture land in favour of so-called developmental activities. While the government acquires the land in the name of development, the real estate business people are buying land from the farmers either by offering attractive prices or creating a fear psychosis of government acquisition in future. As the realtors enter the market Table 5: Process of Land Alienation by Economic and Social Categories (Percentage of Farmers) Village

Price (Rs/Acre) Small

Maheswaram

Box 2: Punished for Fighting the Realtors Nagesh Goud’s father had 10 acres of assigned land situated three kms away from Kondapur. He sold the entire land in 1982-84 for Rs 1.5 lakh. The agreement period was for six months. The person who purchased the land did not get it registered in the stipulated time. Seven years after the date of agreement, Goud has filed a case in the court in order to take the land into his possession. When the matter was in the court, an MLA, DSP and circle inspector facilitated an amicable solution between the two parties and an agreement was reached that both would share five acres of land each. After a few months, though it was assigned land, five acres of land was registered in the name of the person who purchased it in 1982 and Goud’s five acres was still under assigned land patta and cannot be sold. Later on, to punish him further, a 150 feet road was planned right across the middle of his five acres of land. Due to this, he lost three acres of land. Now only two acres is under his control and still the case is in the court. He had to file 22 cases at various levels like at MRO, RDO, district and high courts. In spite of being a strong local leader, he has not been able to withstand the pressure of realtors.

Category of Farmers (Per Cent) Medium Large SC

2-3 lakh 5 15 2 25 5- 6 lakh 90-92 80 88-90 75 Above 1 crore 2 5 10 – Nearly 300 acres of land is still left with more than 200 households Kondapur 1-1.5 lakh 85 75 75 90 8- 10 lakh 10 20 15 10 20-25 lakh 5 5 8 – 3-5 crore – – 1 – 10-12 crore – – – 1 Only 10-15 acres of land is left with local villagers Shameerpet 40,000- 50,000 2-4 3 5 – 3-5 lakh 95 75 70 60 70-100 lakh 1 12 25 – Nearly 60-70 per cent of the households of the village, still own a minimum of one-two acres of lands Gopanapalle 1.5-3 lakh 90 75 75 75 12-15 lakh 10 25 24 25 1-1.36 crore – – 1 – Only three to five households have land with them. Interestingly, one is SC household.


ST – 25 75 – – – – – – – –

75 25 –


much before the real development activity takes shape, the price offered to the farmers is often a fraction of the market price or its potential future value, as the land goes through three to four transactions before its price stabilises. In the process, middlemen/ realtors make more money than the real owners of the land, in a short span of one to two years. This, of late, is resulting in frustration and social unrest. As evident from the case studies at different locations that are experiencing different stages of development process, there are significant material gains for the farming communities. This is more so in the context of agriculture becoming increasingly unviable. But in all the cases the primary stakeholders are not the main gainers. For them land alienation took place much before the land prices started peaking. Compared to the margins of the middlemen, the earnings of the farmers are meagre. Only the big and well-to-do farmers could either hold on to their lands or reinvest the money productively. Most of the poor and vulnerable sections appear to be the main victims. These people are either displaced from their actual locations with little or no compensation. In fact, while the so-called development activities like SEZs have targeted the weaker and vulnerable groups for land acquisition, other communities, especially the realtors benefited from such activities in terms of increase in land prices. Of late, all the government activities ranging from road widening to establishing SEZs to allocating land to private companies as incentive are termed as development. In the real sense development activities are those that benefit the communities at large, such as public hospitals, schools, roads and other infrastructure like irrigation projects. Supporting or establishing profit-making ventures, though they create employment, do not come under development activities.10 Of late, even the irrigation projects are facing serious hurdles in getting the approval in the absence of proper rehabilitation and resettlement policies. On the contrary, the displacement of rural communities in the name of development is going largely unnoticed in the absence of proper land acquisition policies. While the rich farmers are able to protect themselves from this onslaught due to their awareness and resource strength, the poor and weaker sections are losing out, as they are not capable of reinvesting their limited gains in a sustainable manner. In fact, in the absence of proper pattas some of them were deprived of their lands. They are not even in a position to get a foothold in the urban job market due to a lack of education and skills. These sections of the population need to be protected in order to avoid the creation of displaced urban refugees. These groups are becoming increasingly articulate and moving towards conflict. The conflict appears to be imminent in the light of growing disparities between the primary stakeholders (more in numbers) and the remaining stakeholders (few in numbers). Moreover, the primary stakeholders are entitled to a fair deal in the process of urbanising their environments. The recent happenings in and around Hyderabad are pointers in this direction. In fact, the state government at one time was toying with the idea of introducing new proposals for land acquisition, but ended up giving higher monetary compensation. The state government still follows the outdated Land Acquisition Act of 1894 with some modifications. The proposed new act11 at the national level should address the following concerns in order to facilitate a better deal for the displaced rural communities: – Need for clarity on development activities for the purpose of

K02a

land acquisition. No profit-making activity should be termed as development activity, and hence, do not deserve land allocation on priority basis or confessional rates. – Land acquisition policies should be prioritised in such a way that wastelands will be acquired first and lands of poor, irrespective of its quality, should be acquired last. – The policy should make the primary stakeholders partners rather than one-time beneficiaries or spectators of development. A number of innovative approaches are being adopted across the world [Cernea 2007]. These include different valuation methods, benefit-sharing in the long run. One way is that farmers should be given a share corresponding to the expected value addition to their land in the long run. – While we argue against the need for SEZs at this juncture, the SEZ Act should come out with a clear and appropriate land acquisition policy so that it would not become special real estate zone act. The centre should formulate guidelines for the states to follow. – Establishment of vocational training centres, water, sanitation and health facilities should precede the actual developmental activities in the vicinity of the villages. The responsibility should be given to the institutions that is created specifically for the development activity, viz, the AP Industrial Infrastructure Corporation, Hyderabad Airport Development Authority, Outer Ring Road Project Authority in Hyderabad, etc. -29

Land Alienation and Local Communities V Ratna Reddy, B Suresh Reddy TS1-H LR1 Economic and Political Weekly 04/08/2007 Poorly designed compensation policies inadequate planning the entry of land sharksandthe weak power of rural communities are resulting in a deterioration of the livingconditions of those displaced by land alienation from the fringes of cities. Fieldsurveys onthe fringes of Hyderabad Secunderabad, where a vast number of infrastructure projects specialeconomic zones and institutions are planned show the adverse impact of involuntary displacement. A major correction of land acquisition and compensatory policies iscalledfor lest the simmering resentment expresses itself in open conflict. K02a 14/08/2007 GG