My column in today’s DNA :

on why  the land acquisition policy is short sighted.

Last week in Srikakulam in Andhra Pradesh – villagers braved bullets to protest against the acquisition of land for a Power Plant. Some Died. This is not the first time we have been reading about farmer outrage at land acquisition. In the last few years farmers have been taking up cudgels against the forcible buying of their land for developmental projects. And, these protests don’t seem to be restricted to a particular state. There was, of course,  the famous Singur protest against the Nano plant. But, this was not the exception. There have been protests in Mangalore (Karnataka), in Bairamangalam (Tamil Nadu), Nandigram (West Bengal) in Pen Panvel (Maharashtra), in Jhajar (Haryana) and most recently in Jaitapur (Maharashtra). Farmers across the nation seem to be up in arms against any form of industrialisation.

On the face of it, it seems like a tussle between those who want development and those who want to continue with their traditional way of life. But, dig deeper and there is a common thread that links all these. These are fertile agricultural lands, in densely populated areas,  being acquired at ‘throw away’ prices and handed over to large companies to develop – either as factories or SEZ’s or Power Plants.

Is this development required? Definitely. India needs employment, power and hubs where it can produce goods and services in a planned manner. But, should it be set in densely populated agricultural lands – that is the crore rupee question.

The rest of the column can be read here.