Bill retracted 6 months ago passed in House recently; state continues crackdown on land acquisition opponents
A group of local activists are using social impact assessment studies to fight against bauxite mining by Vedanta on the Niyamgiri hills. File photo: CSE A contentious Bill waiving off the necessity of doing social impact assessments (SIA) and public hearings for ‘strategic and development’ projects was recently passed by the Odisha government months after it was scrapped. It has raised serious concerns, as the state continues its crackdown against protestors and activists fighting land acquisitions in the state.
The Bill to amend the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement (RFCTLAR&R) Act was first tabled in March 2023. However, the government withdrew it on March 31, 2023 within days of tabling it.
The Odisha legislative assembly on September 27, 2023 passed the bill despite severe criticism and Opposition parties staging a walkout.
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According to the state government, the amendment would streamline the transfer of land to a variety of projects critical to the country’s national security or defence and infrastructure projects, such as educational institutions, health infrastructure, government offices, electrification, irrigation projects, housing and drinking water projects.
The amendment would help the state attract private investments in mega projects across sectors through Make-in-Odisha initiatives, Odisha Revenue Minister Sudan Marndi said while introducing the bill in the assembly.
“Certain provisions of the Act such as mandatory provision of SIA studies, special provision for food security and provision of lapsing of the SIA study report under section 14, provision of rescinding under sub-section (7) of section 19, provision of lapsing under section sub-section (2) of section 24 and section 25, are found to be causing delay in acquisition of land,” Marndi said.
The amendments will “help broad base the industrial ecosystem for faster industrial promotion for employment generation and all-round economic development of the state,” he added.
When contacted for a comment on the re-introduction, Marndi told this reporter it was bound to be passed sooner or later.
Odisha is not the first state to exempt developmental projects from the purview of SIA and public hearing. Gujarat introduced a similar amendment in 2016, followed by Maharashtra in 2018, and Karnataka in 2019.
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According to Section 4 of the Act, the SIA must be carried out by an impartial agency in collaboration with affected communities and representatives from local bodies. This assessment seeks to identify and assess the potential negative social consequences that may arise during the project's execution.
It includes estimating the number of families affected, those at risk of displacement, and the repercussions of land loss on livelihoods, infrastructure assets, and public utilities.
It also evaluates several critical aspects of a project, such as whether efforts have been made to minimise the required land to the greatest extent possible, whether the chosen location has been thoughtfully selected after considering alternative sites, and the total cost associated with addressing adverse social impacts in comparison to the overall benefits of the project.
Following the completion of this assessment, a public hearing is organised to present the draft SIA report and the Social Impact Mitigation Plan within the Gram Sabha of the affected villages. During this process, the input and perspectives of the impacted families are actively sought and integrated into the final SIA report.
This all-inclusive approach ensures that the concerns and voices of those who will be directly impacted by the project are considered in the decision-making process.
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Other than the SIA, the amendment also lifts the restriction on acquiring irrigated multi-cropped land for projects that displace fewer than 100 families and involve less than 500 acres of private land.
“Any project should require Palli Sabha approval and a public hearing. These amendments will deprive people of their rights. This is a clear case of the government seeking corporate funding,” claimed environmental activist Prafulla Samantara, who has fought many cases against land acquisition in the state.
Notably, this comes at a time when the Odisha government is under fire for filing charges against anti-mining activists who were protesting ongoing projects and land acquisitions. The state will also hold elections in 2024.
Since July this year, over 25 anti-mining activists have been arrested in cases pertaining to attempts to murder, rioting and even the stringent Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), 1967.
In the past month, Odisha has approved nearly 30 projects with a total investment of over Rs 1 lakh crore. The projects span from steel, renewable energy, infrastructure, bio-gas and cement grinding sectors, among others.
People who have long opposed unjust land acquisition believe that this will deprive them of a critical right.
“SIAs are important because the general public is a direct victim of all the corporate advancements taking place on our land,” said Drika Kadraka of the Niyamgiri Surakshya Samiti, a Dongria Kondh community-led voluntary group leading the movement against Vedanta’s bauxite mining on the Niyamgiri hills.
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“The assessment studies would assist us in making a stronger case against any projects that would harm people and cause displacement,” Kadraka added.
Experts also believe that, irrespective of whether SIA is a provision or not as mandated by the government, community members should continue to present their own similar assesments.
“There will be little or no change as people have always been politically isolated and there have been no measures to address their grievances. SIAs were never taken seriously, even when they were in provision. But this amendment will affect organised groups who have fought with support of the law. But they should still continue to work on their assessments and present their case,” said journalist Sudhir Pattnaik.
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