'Auction land instead of compensating farmers'
Last updated on: July 26, 2012 11:33 IST
 |
Top-down approach in determining compensation is very problematic, and the new bill hasn't changed it fundamentally, say two academics.
Parikshit Ghosh, Associate Professor at Delhi School of Economics, and Maitreesh Ghatak, Professor of Economics at London School of Economics, say the auction method they have suggested will give the farmer significant benefits that the new land bill doesn't.
The farmers themselves should decide how much compensation is enough for them, not the government, they tell Faisal Kidwai in an emailed interview.
Here are the excerpts:
You have said that there's not much of a difference between the new land acquisition bill and Land Acquisition Act of 1894. So, in your view, which are the major problem areas in the new bill?
We have to be careful here. Take the issue of compensation amount. The 1894 Act says compensation should be at market price, the new bill says four times the market price. Obviously they are quite different in this aspect.
However, both impose the amount of compensation from above, and deny the landowners any say in the matter. In this, they are very similar.
The top-down approach in determining compensation is very problematic, and the new bill hasn't changed it fundamentally (though it is more generous with amounts).
In many areas, the current market price is already several times what it was three years ago. How do we know four times (calculated on the basis of transactions in the last three years) will be enough? How do we know officials won't be bribed into fudging land records and under-reporting the market price? What do you do about the problem that in India, "official" land prices are much lower than actual prices because of all the black money involved?
The auction method we have suggested will give the farmer two significant benefits that the new land bill doesn't - he can be compensated with land, not money, and if he gets compensation in cash, the amount will be at least as much as his own asking price.
Click NEXT to read more...
Image: Maitreesh Ghatak, left, and Parikshit Ghosh.
'via Blog this'
No comments:
Post a Comment