India’s World – Democratic Crisis in Maldives

Summary:

• The arrest of opposition leader and the former President has triggered a fresh crisis in the Maldives. Opposition parties together have started a movement called save the Constitution movement. The former president, Nasheed, has been arrested on the charge of terrorism for illegally ordering the detention of a Judge. If convicted, the former President has to be in Jail for up to 15 years putting pate to all his political ambitions. The capital city Male has been witnessing many night marches by the supporters of the former President. The Government has failed to control the situation politically.

• Maldives had previously denied India’s claim that it held discussions with Indian officials regarding former President, who sought refuge at the Indian High Commission here to evade arrest, saying it cannot interfere with the independence of the judiciary.

• In 2008, Nasheed, became the first democratically elected leader of the Maldives, defeating Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, who had been dictator for 30 years. In January 2012, he ordered the detention of Criminal Court judge Abdulla Mohamed for allegedly obstructing the police, ordering illegal probes, and accepting bribes to release certain criminals. The arrest triggered protests, following which, in February 2012, Nasheed resigned. He claimed he was forced to step down after soldiers and police mutinied, but his successor, Mohamed Waheed, said Nasheed had left on his own.

• A political crisis in the Maldives will deepen unless parties hold emergency talks. The Maldives is a major tourist attraction, but political unrest has dented its image as a peaceful island paradise in recent years. A large number of Indian population resides in Maldives. Indians are the second largest expatriate community in the Maldives with approximate strength of around 26,000. Indian expatriate community consists of workers as well as professionals like doctors, teachers, accountants, managers, engineers, nurses and technicians etc. Hence, immediate intervention of the Indian government is being sought.

Explained : Changes that NDA wants to bring to land acquisition law 2013 (भूमि अधिग्रहण कानून 2013)

Earlier this week, a bill to amend the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013 (LARR Act, 2013) was introduced in Parliament. This bill replaces an ordinance which was promulgated in December 2014.

A brief overview of land acquisition laws in the country, and the changes this bill makes to the LARR Act, 2013 are provided below.

What is land acquisition (भूमि अधिग्रहण)?

• Land acquisition is the forcible take-over of privately owned land by the government. This is not the same as purchase of land, in which case the land owner does not have a compulsion to part with the land.

• Currently, land may be acquired by the central or state government for government projects, public-private partnership projects, and private projects which serve a ‘public purpose’. Public purpose includes defence, national security, infrastructure (such as roads, airports, water supply pipelines, etc), housing the poor, among others.

What were the major shifts from the Land Acquisition Act, 1894 to the LARR Act, 2013?

• The LARR Act, 2013 was enacted in January 2014, and replaced the Land Acquisition Act, 1894. Major shifts from the 1894 Act to the LARR Act, 2013 include:

• Compensation (मुआवज़ा):The 1894 Act required that compensation of 1.3 times the price of land be given to land owners. The LARR Act, 2013 provides for compensation of 2 times the price of land for urban areas, and of 2 to 4 times the price of land in rural areas.

• Rehabilitation and resettlement (पुनर्वास और पुनर्स्थापन): While the 1894 Act provided compensation to land owners, it did not provide rehabilitation and resettlement to others who were dependent on the land for their livelihood. The LARR Act, 2013 provides for rehabilitation and resettlement for these affected families as well.

• Consent (सहमति): The 1894 Act did not require the consent of land owners when land was acquired. However, the LARR Act, 2013 mandates that the consent of 80 per cent of land owners is obtained when land is acquired for private projects and the consent of 70 per cent of land owners is obtained when land is acquired for public-private partnership projects.

• Social Impact Assessment (सामाजिक प्रभाव आकलन): Unlike the 1894 Act, the LARR Act, 2013 mandates that a Social Impact Assessment is conducted for all projects, except those exempted through the urgency provision. An SIA is meant to determine whether the project serves a public purpose, and what the social impact of the acquisition of land could be on affected families.

• Restrictions on irrigated multi-cropped land (सिंचित बहु-फसली जमीन पर प्रतिबंध): The LARR Act, 2013 imposes certain limits on the amount of irrigated multi-cropped land which may be compulsorily acquired.

What are the major changes the bill makes to the LARR Act, 2013?

• Exemption of five categories of land use from certain provisions (कुछ प्रावधानों से भूमि के उपयोग की पांच श्रेणियों की छूट): The bill exempts the five categories of land use from the requirement of obtaining the consent of land owners. Additionally, the requirement of conducting a SIA and limits on multi-cropped land may be waived by the government, for these categories of land use.

• The five categories of land use are: (i) defence, (ii) rural infrastructure including electrification, (iii) affordable housing, (iv) industrial corridors, and (v) infrastructure and social infrastructure projects.

• The opponents of the bill argue that most items defined as public purpose (that is, for which land can be compulsorily acquired) fall within these five exempted categories.

• Return of unutilised land (अप्रयुक्त भूमि की वापसी): The LARR Act, 2013 required that land which was acquired and remained unused for five years be returned. The bill changes this to the later of the following; five years, or any period specified at the time of setting up the project. This is meant to address projects which may take more than five years.

• Acquisition of land for private hospitals and educational institutions (निजी अस्पतालों और शिक्षण संस्थानों के लिए भूमि का अधिग्रहण): The LARR Act, 2013 excluded the acquisition of land for private hospitals and private educational institutions from its purview. The bill removes this restriction and allows the acquisition of land for private hospitals and private educational institutions.

• Acquisition of land for ‘private entities’ ('निजी संस्थाओं' के लिए भूमि का अधिग्रहण:): The LARR Act, 2013 was applicable when land was acquired for private companies for projects with a public purpose. The bill replaces ‘private company’ with ‘private entity’. A private entity is defined as an entity other than a government entity, and can include a proprietorship, partnership, company, corporation, non-profit organisation, or other entity. This will enable, for instance, acquisition for a private educational trust.

• Offences by government (सरकार द्वारा अपराध): The LARR Act, 2013 stated that if an offence is committed by the government, the head of the department would be deemed guilty unless he could show that the offence was committed without his knowledge, or that he had exercised due diligence to prevent the commission of the offence. The bill removes this provision. It inserts a new provision which states that if an offence is committed by a government official, he cannot be prosecuted without the prior sanction of the government.

Source: PIB

[The Big Picture] Rail Budget : Is it on new tracks?

Summary:

• The first railway budget of the new government and the new railway minister was presented recently. The budget tries to turn around the railways, which is reeling under losses and many other problems now. The ambitious projections, including 8.5 lac crore investments in the next five years, have received mixed responses. Announcing of new railways, which was the hallmark of the railway budgets so far, was however missing in this budget. There is also no passenger fare increase and there are only very few freight increases. The focus of the Budget has been on to complete the earlier announced projects.

• It is also true that introduction of new trains need not necessarily be announced in the Budget. They can be announced anytime depending upon the requirements. This is also true with respect to ticket fares. They can also be increased at any time. The Budget is being appreciated by the experts. It is a budget that is at once pragmatic and visionary. It is one that has the potential to be transformational—by increasing capacity and improving technology on the supply side, improving quality of service on the demand side, and focusing on transparency and efficiency on the operational side.

• Since Railways is a corporate entity and corporate undertaking which requires a budget every year as part of a corporate plan. Previous railway budgets followed populous trend and did not have any business plan in them. The challenge before the railways minister is to immediately fill the financial gap by attracting the investors. The railway minister has also said that railway colonies and staff would be taken care, and this is a welcome step.

• The rail budget envisages an investment plan of Rs.8.5 trillion over the next five years. If successful, this could have a multiplier effect on everything from the fortunes of steel companies to the country’s ability to attract foreign interest in railways and boost the government’s ambitious Make in India programme. The budget sets out a five-year action plan that is based on the principle that fundamental to Railways’ turnaround is enhancing its capacity and generating the resources to fund it.

• The budget aims to channelize most of the PPP participation for improving its freight business. It has been losing traffic to roads and will focus on the construction of feeder routes to the dedicated freight corridor and set up a Transport Logistics Corporation of India to develop user facilities and provide end-to-end logistics solutions. Freight rates were increased by an average 3% across commodities. The budget also mentions a review of the wagon leasing scheme, special freight train operator scheme, private freight terminal scheme and liberalized wagon investment scheme to make them more liberal and attractive for the private sector. All these have been longstanding demands of the industry. To succeed in PPP model the railways has to have clear demarcation of jobs that they take up.

Source: RajyaSabha TV

[The Big Picture] Land Acquisition Bill : What is the opposition?

Summary:

• Opposition parties in the parliament are opposing the Land Acquisition Bill in the present form and are demanding some changes. They say that the bill is Anti farmer. Coming under such huge pressure, the government has finally agreed to amend the bill and bring in some changes. But the stalemate over the issue still continues. The methodology that is being used to bring in the changes is also being criticised.

• The allies of the BJP have also joined opposition parties in resisting the introduction of the contentious land acquisition amendment bill in Parliament. Analysts say the backlash over the bill could stonewall the PM’s efforts to get reforms through this budget session, impeding big-ticket projects worth thousands of crores that have been stuck for want of land. But the government has been defending itself by saying that the bill is pro-poor and pro-farmer.

• The opposition has also alleged that the government has killed the spirit of the original Bill by doing away with the provision of seeking a social impact assessment and the requirement to get the prior consent of 70% of land owners before the acquisition of agricultural land. The new bill aims to relax some of the provisions in the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013 passed by the previous Congress-led UPA.

Source: RajyaSabha TV