Indian farmers at risk as states bypass land acquisition laws – activists

[WorldNews]

By Rina Chandran MUMBAI (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - States across India are bypassing land acquisition laws by introducing land pooling schemes to speed up industrial and development projects, a move that activists say leaves farmers and the environment vulnerable. It is different from the federal Land Acquisition Act of 2013, which requires consensus to buy the land, a social impact assessment, rehabilitation for those displaced and compensation of up to four times the market value. "It can be a fair and equitable system if there is a way to ensure there is no compulsion, and if a social impact assessment is done," said E.A.S. Sarma, a land rights activist in the southern state of Andhra Pradesh.

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