Land+Rights+through+Organising

Land+Rights+through+Organising

The above site gives our entry for a competition titled 'Property Rights: Identity, dignity and opportunity for all' in changemakers.com It is based on our experiences on land rights in Chandrapur and Gadchiroli districts. We really look forward to your feedback and comments. So please do visit the site.
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Land Acquisition for Manikgarh Cement Factory - a Victory for Farmers

Manikgarh Cement Factory in Rajura block of Chandrapur district wanted to acquire a strip of land - around 5 acres - to build a conveyor belt. The land belonged to forest department but was being cultivated by eleven tribals as well as nontribal farmers. The acquisition process began around 5 years ago - at least that is when the forest department and the company started to approach the farmers to hand over possession. Shramik Elgar helped the farmers to continue farming and not give in to any threats. Several times the forest department and the company came with machinery to initiate work but the farmers were firm and united in their opposition. This situation continued till August 2010. The company offered to negotiate with the farmers. The farmers said that they were ready to hand over the land at market rates i.e. Rs.4 lakhs per acre. The company was not ready to give any price because the farmers were not titleholders and mere encroachers according to them. They had procured the required clearances from the Ministry of Environment and Forests and also deposited the 'net present value' with the department. The farmers negotiated on the strength of their entitlements under the Forest Rights Act. Finally it was decided that the farmers would give land at the market rates, and additionally the company would give jobs to one family member, that none of the farmers would be rendered landless and that the standing crops of cotton and pulses would not be harmed. The company agreed to all these conditions and made payments of around Rs.22 lakhs accordingly. The land will be handed over in November after the crops are harvested.
The issues that were discussed during the process was whether land should be given to the company at all. The main reason for the farmers agreeing to give the land was that the land was a narrow strip that cut across their fields at an edge. The demand for market prices was also discussed at length. The farmers argued that the company had acquired some land at a nearby village from titleholders and since the Forest Rights Act, 2005 had given potentially the same rights to forestland cultivators they were entitled to the same rate.