The Uttar Pradesh police today morning forcibly arrested hundreds of farmers who were on protest, including a number of women, demanding compensation and benefits as per the Land Acquisition Act of 2014.
Groundxero | Dec. 3, 2024
The Uttar Pradesh police, today, forcefully evicted farmers and arrested thousands of them from the Dalit Prerana Sthal in Ambedkar Park on Noida Delhi Highway. Yesterday, thousands of farmers under the banners of the Bhartiya Kisan Parishad (BKP), Kisan Mazdoor Morcha (KMM) and Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM) have successfully organised a militant and massive “Delhi Kooch” (March to Delhi) to bring their demands to the Parliament which is currently in session.
Thousands of farmers including women started the march towards Delhi overcoming barricades, barbed wires, trucks and shipping containers put on their way to Delhi by Uttar Pradesh Police. It was only after the assurance of the Revenue and Police authorities that the UP Chief Secretary will meet the farmer leadership to discuss and settle their demands; farmers lifted the road blockades and decided to sit peacefully on a day- night dharna at a park on Noida-Delhi Highway.
What are the farmers’ demands?
The protesting farmers are demanding just and fair compensation for their land acquired for Greater Noida, Noida-Yamuna Expressway, UPSIDC and other projects. The land issue of projected affected farmers has been continuing without solution for more than the past 18 years. So far, six farmers had been martyred in police firing as part of this struggle during 2008, 2011 and 2012.
There were massive struggles across the country against such widespread land acquisition to facilitate corporate profiteering. In this context, the then UPA2 government headed by Manmohan Singh was forced to enact the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act 2013 (RFCTLARR Act) to protect the land rights of farmers. But in 2014, the BJP led NDA1 Government led by Narendra Modi brought the Land Acquisition Ordinance to invalidate the LARR Act 2013. Due to the farmers’ struggle across the country under the banner of Bhumi Adhikar Andolan, they failed to enact the law.
The BJP led State governments including Uttar Pradesh had brought State land laws to violate the LARR Act 2013. The UP government has not revised the circle rate of land since 2017 and land owners have been denied adequate, lawful compensation and other benefits assured by the LARR Act 2013 including employment, resettlement and rehabilitation. The farmers are also demanding employment and rehabilitation benefits for children of landless farmers. The Yogi Adityanath government has failed to ensure justice to the farmers so far. The farmers are in struggle in different parts of Uttar Pradesh for achieving their genuine rights. The Delhi Chalo march which started yesterday was part of this long struggle.
Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM)’s reaction
SKM has strongly condemned the Yogi Adityanath Government for the arrest of farmers including above one hundred women, and their forceful eviction by the UP police from the protest site. In a press note, SKM called the police action a violation of the Constitutional Rights for peaceful protest and urged the judiciary to intervene and protect the fundamental rights of the protesting farmers.
SKM protested the arrogance of the UP Administration both Revenue and Police Departments for nakedly violating the consensus made with the farmers’ leadership asking for seven days for the Chief Secretary of UP to discuss and resolve the farmers’ demands. As per the request of the officials, the farmers had shifted the spot of the struggle to the Dalit Prerena Sthal of Ambedkar Park and were continuing with the day-night sit-in struggle. But the UP administration, today, deployed a huge police force which cordoned off the nearby villages to stop farmers from reaching the Dharna venue and forcefully evicted the peacefully agitating farmers. The police arrested hundreds of farmers who were sitting on protest, including a sizable number of women.
SKM reminded the CM of Uttar Pradesh that using police force cannot resolve the burning issues of the people who have lost their valuable land and livelihood for a pittance. The Greater Noida project affected farmers are entitled to get back 10% of the developed land, employment for landless farmer households, 4 times of circle rate as compensation apart from resettlement and rehabilitation.
SKM said that the BJP led State Government cannot evade its responsibility of ensuring these lawful rights of the project affected farmers. It has appealed to all farmers of UP to advance the struggle until victory is achieved and justice is done to all the victim farmer households.
All India Kisan Sabha has also condemned this arbitrary unilateral action of the UP police. It has demanded that all the arrested should be unconditionally released forthwith and the date for the talks with farmers be announced immediately. AIKS has warned that such intimidatory tactics will not work and AIKS along with other organisations will intensify the struggle and continue till all the genuine demands of the project affected farmers are met.