Land Acquisition: People's land stays with the people
Dhrutikam Mohanty revisits the villages where the Vedanta varsity was going to come up till the High Court stepped in
Nearly 50,000 inhabitants of 22 odd villages near Puri in Orissa
are now assured that they will not be evicted from their ancestral homes and agricultural lands anymore. The once tense populace is today joyous. The check gate, which had been restricting outsiders from entering the villages for years, was open and no volunteer of the Vedanta Vishwavidyalaya Sangram Samity (VVSS) was on vigil. The Orissa High Court’s recent verdict has come as a lifeline for these villagers as the court quashed the process of land acquisition for the proposed Vedanta University which was to be come up on 6,298 acres, belonging to the villagers and the Jagannath Temple of Puri. This judgment came at a time when the Anil Agarwal Foundation had already acquired about 4,500 acres of land allotted to it.
“We had faith on the judiciary and it was not misplaced,” said Uma Charan Pradhan of Beladal village. Pradhan and a few other villagers were sitting in a pan shop at Beladal bazaar on the Puri-Konark marine drive, just five km away from Puri. VVSS activists took us to a small hall in the first floor of a cyclone shelter centre where we met a few office bearers.
“The last time when you had been to our village, your magazine had published a bold report in English,” one of the office bearers recognised me and photographer Arabinda. Our sister publication Business & Economy had carried a cover story on this issue in June, 2010. Managing editor Sutanu Guru had travelled to the proposed Vedanta University area and unearthed the reality behind Anil Agarwal’s 'biggest act of philanthropy'. The report had also highlighted how a 95-year-old villager, Benudhar Pradhan, had launched an agitation to save Puri of Lord Jagannath fame from falling into the clutches of the Vedanta empire.
Hearing a writ petition filed by Uma Ballabh Rath, VVSS convener and former MLA from Puri, in 2008, a bench of Orissa High Court, comprising Chief Justice V. Gopal Gowda and Justice B.P. Das said acquisition of government land as well as land of Lord Jagannath for the university was invalid as it violated the Land Acquisition (companies) Rules, 1963. As the Anil Agarwal Foundation was a company under Section 25 of Companies Act and not a public limited company, the bench also ruled that any acquisition of land for it under Land Acquisition Act, 1894, is illegal. Out of the 4,500 acres land acquired for the company, 1,300 acres were of Amrutamanohi category i.e the land belonged to Lord Jagannath and crops grown on these lands were used in the Lord's kitchen. The land managed by the Puri Temple administration could not be traded, said the bench and ordered that the land be returned to the original owners.
Incidentally, in March this year, Justice P. K. Patra, Lok Pal of Orissa, had expressed similar views while acting on a petition questioning the le gality of land acquisition for the Vedanta University. Petitioner Uma Ballava Rath adds, “The HC bench not only quashed the land acquisition process but also expressed concern over environmental issues. The court also said that the university project would be a threat to the wildlife at Balukhand marine sanctuary as it was situated just about 30 meters away. As per law, no construction can be allowed within five km of any wildlife sanctuary.”
Though this verdict came as an embarrassment for the state government, intellectuals, political leaders, activists of the state and the common people of Puri welcomed it. Taluchha Bhagawan Mohapatra, a sebayat of Jagannath and former member of Jagannath Temple Managing Committee, tells TSI, “All the sebayats of Lord Jagannath are extremely happy that the temple’s land will be returned. The decision to sell temple land was totally wrong. It’s now the responsibility of the state government to return the land.” On the other hand, P.K.Mohapatra, RDC of Central Range and chief administrator of Sri Jagannath Temple Administration, says, “I can’t comment on anything at this point. So far, I have not received a copy of the judgment. I can speak only after going through the document.” Parsuram Pradhan of Beladal claims, “It’s not our victory, but a victory for Lord Jagannath. Some hundred years ago, people had donated these lands to Jagannath as a token of their devotion towards the lord. But our government acquired the Lord's land at the instance of a private company like Vedanta. How could you sell the Lord’s land to a private company at a throwaway price? At last, the Lord’s wish prevailed.”
People living in these 22 villages are delirious at their victory over billionaire and metal trade tycoon Anil Agarwal. A jubilant Benudhar Pradhan seemed a lot more energetic and active as compared to six months before when we had met him at his Beladala residence. “We demand the resignation of the chief minister after the high court verdict as he had made false promises. I remember when we met Naveen Patnaik at his secretariat chamber in 2008, he had given us a very patient hearing and assured us that as we have already approached the high court for redressal of our problems, the government will accept the court’s decision, whatever the verdict be. But now, on the contrary, he is saying, ‘the government would study the order before taking any further decision.’ Is it not a breach of promise? As per Naveen Patnaik's promise, the government should accept the verdict as it is,” claims Benudhar.
Benudhar’s mission is accomplished. He and his fellow villagers have been able to thwart the might of Anil Agarwal’s Vedanta Group. People seem to have been emboldened by this judicial intervention. The villagers are now readying themselves to push for more. “We will gherao the Legislative Assembly and will demand the resignation of the chief minister (Winter session begins on November 23). The government should accept the high court verdict unconditionally since its own erroneous decision has caused a lot of harassment and misery to us over the last three years,” says an eloquent Damodar Pradhan, working president of VVSS.
However, this instance of exploiting the state’s natural resource for private companies to make money is nothing new in this state or country. The Orissa High Court verdict, experts feel, has surely etched am indelible black spot on Naveen Patnaik’s clean image. It’s high time that political leaders and bureaucrats, who are used to unilateral decision making, understand that the masses today are fully aware of their rights and won't let things go unchallenged.
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Nearly 50,000 inhabitants of 22 odd villages near Puri in Orissa
are now assured that they will not be evicted from their ancestral homes and agricultural lands anymore. The once tense populace is today joyous. The check gate, which had been restricting outsiders from entering the villages for years, was open and no volunteer of the Vedanta Vishwavidyalaya Sangram Samity (VVSS) was on vigil. The Orissa High Court’s recent verdict has come as a lifeline for these villagers as the court quashed the process of land acquisition for the proposed Vedanta University which was to be come up on 6,298 acres, belonging to the villagers and the Jagannath Temple of Puri. This judgment came at a time when the Anil Agarwal Foundation had already acquired about 4,500 acres of land allotted to it.“We had faith on the judiciary and it was not misplaced,” said Uma Charan Pradhan of Beladal village. Pradhan and a few other villagers were sitting in a pan shop at Beladal bazaar on the Puri-Konark marine drive, just five km away from Puri. VVSS activists took us to a small hall in the first floor of a cyclone shelter centre where we met a few office bearers.
“The last time when you had been to our village, your magazine had published a bold report in English,” one of the office bearers recognised me and photographer Arabinda. Our sister publication Business & Economy had carried a cover story on this issue in June, 2010. Managing editor Sutanu Guru had travelled to the proposed Vedanta University area and unearthed the reality behind Anil Agarwal’s 'biggest act of philanthropy'. The report had also highlighted how a 95-year-old villager, Benudhar Pradhan, had launched an agitation to save Puri of Lord Jagannath fame from falling into the clutches of the Vedanta empire.
Hearing a writ petition filed by Uma Ballabh Rath, VVSS convener and former MLA from Puri, in 2008, a bench of Orissa High Court, comprising Chief Justice V. Gopal Gowda and Justice B.P. Das said acquisition of government land as well as land of Lord Jagannath for the university was invalid as it violated the Land Acquisition (companies) Rules, 1963. As the Anil Agarwal Foundation was a company under Section 25 of Companies Act and not a public limited company, the bench also ruled that any acquisition of land for it under Land Acquisition Act, 1894, is illegal. Out of the 4,500 acres land acquired for the company, 1,300 acres were of Amrutamanohi category i.e the land belonged to Lord Jagannath and crops grown on these lands were used in the Lord's kitchen. The land managed by the Puri Temple administration could not be traded, said the bench and ordered that the land be returned to the original owners.
Incidentally, in March this year, Justice P. K. Patra, Lok Pal of Orissa, had expressed similar views while acting on a petition questioning the le gality of land acquisition for the Vedanta University. Petitioner Uma Ballava Rath adds, “The HC bench not only quashed the land acquisition process but also expressed concern over environmental issues. The court also said that the university project would be a threat to the wildlife at Balukhand marine sanctuary as it was situated just about 30 meters away. As per law, no construction can be allowed within five km of any wildlife sanctuary.”
Though this verdict came as an embarrassment for the state government, intellectuals, political leaders, activists of the state and the common people of Puri welcomed it. Taluchha Bhagawan Mohapatra, a sebayat of Jagannath and former member of Jagannath Temple Managing Committee, tells TSI, “All the sebayats of Lord Jagannath are extremely happy that the temple’s land will be returned. The decision to sell temple land was totally wrong. It’s now the responsibility of the state government to return the land.” On the other hand, P.K.Mohapatra, RDC of Central Range and chief administrator of Sri Jagannath Temple Administration, says, “I can’t comment on anything at this point. So far, I have not received a copy of the judgment. I can speak only after going through the document.” Parsuram Pradhan of Beladal claims, “It’s not our victory, but a victory for Lord Jagannath. Some hundred years ago, people had donated these lands to Jagannath as a token of their devotion towards the lord. But our government acquired the Lord's land at the instance of a private company like Vedanta. How could you sell the Lord’s land to a private company at a throwaway price? At last, the Lord’s wish prevailed.”
People living in these 22 villages are delirious at their victory over billionaire and metal trade tycoon Anil Agarwal. A jubilant Benudhar Pradhan seemed a lot more energetic and active as compared to six months before when we had met him at his Beladala residence. “We demand the resignation of the chief minister after the high court verdict as he had made false promises. I remember when we met Naveen Patnaik at his secretariat chamber in 2008, he had given us a very patient hearing and assured us that as we have already approached the high court for redressal of our problems, the government will accept the court’s decision, whatever the verdict be. But now, on the contrary, he is saying, ‘the government would study the order before taking any further decision.’ Is it not a breach of promise? As per Naveen Patnaik's promise, the government should accept the verdict as it is,” claims Benudhar.
Benudhar’s mission is accomplished. He and his fellow villagers have been able to thwart the might of Anil Agarwal’s Vedanta Group. People seem to have been emboldened by this judicial intervention. The villagers are now readying themselves to push for more. “We will gherao the Legislative Assembly and will demand the resignation of the chief minister (Winter session begins on November 23). The government should accept the high court verdict unconditionally since its own erroneous decision has caused a lot of harassment and misery to us over the last three years,” says an eloquent Damodar Pradhan, working president of VVSS.
However, this instance of exploiting the state’s natural resource for private companies to make money is nothing new in this state or country. The Orissa High Court verdict, experts feel, has surely etched am indelible black spot on Naveen Patnaik’s clean image. It’s high time that political leaders and bureaucrats, who are used to unilateral decision making, understand that the masses today are fully aware of their rights and won't let things go unchallenged.
For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.
IIPM: Indian Institute of Planning and Management
Arindam Chaudhuri on his third National Award and his unique business formula for films
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Labels: Dhrutikam-Mohanty, Farmer, High-Court, IIPM, Land-Acquisition, VVSS
Rashmi Bansal Publisher of JAMMAG magazine caught red-handed, for details click on the following links.
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