Withdraw Land Revision Act-2013: Human Rights Forum

Visakhapatnam: Human Rights Forum (HRF), Andhra Pradesh State Committee demanded that the State government withdraw the revision of Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act-2013.

The AP government has introduced the revision bill of LARR Act-2013 in the last assembly session. The HRF termed the state government’s move to revise the Act as an anti-farmer bill. The LARR Act-2013 has come into force followed by people’s agitations across the country. According to the Act, the rehabilitation has become a right to the oustees, the HRF said.

HRF state president UG Srinivasulu and general secretary K Sudha alleged that the Act has been protecting the rights of oustees and the AP government has been trying to kill the rights of oustees by revising the Act.

The government is trying to revise the second and third clauses of Act by exempting the Private Public Partnership projects from the social impact assessment.

In the Act-2013, no lands to be acquired in which multi crops being cultivated. However, the State government is trying to exempt the clause benefitting to private parties, the HRF alleged. Meanwhile, the government has proposed to accord powers to the collector. The collector can announce the award after taking the acceptance letters from landowners.

“If, the act revised there will be a massive scale of damage to food security and there will be an adverse impact on oustees. The revisions in the Act-2013 are aiming to legalise illegal land acquisition in the coastal areas. The HRF strongly demanding the government to take back the revision bill,” Srinivasulu and Sudha demanded.