farmers demonstrationImage source: PTI
Farmers and the government are face to face again. They took to the streets to express their demands. Vice President Jagdeep Dhankar also spoke out for farmers. He questioned why the promises made to the farmers were not fulfilled and why there were no negotiations with the protesting farmers. He said that farmers in crisis resorting to agitation does not bode well for the overall welfare of the country. The question arises why farmers are taking to the streets again. What are their demands and what are the sources of the dispute?
The farmers’ protest started outside Noida Authority on November 25 but hit the headlines on December 2. On December 2, 5,000 farmers from western Uttar Pradesh gathered at the Delhi-Noida border and entered Delhi.
The protest was held under the banner of several farmer-led organizations including Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKU), Bharatiya Kisan Parishad (BKP) and Kisan Mazdoor Morcha (KMM). And some organizations like SKU also led farmers’ protests in 2020 against the three farm laws passed by the central government. This time their demands were different and related to the Uttar Pradesh government.
On the other hand, another group of farmers from Punjab is protesting near the Punjab-Haryana border. Their demand is related to the minimum support price and is different from the issue of farmers in UP.
What are the needs of farmers in UP?
The demands of farmers in Uttar Pradesh are related to the government’s land acquisition in the region between 1997 and 2008. Chaudhry Mahesh Kasana, president of Indian Kisan Union (Akhand) said, “We have been protesting for a long time but the authorities have done nothing except exploiting poor farmers. Now they are talking about New Noida and they will take our land by force again.
Farmers are demanding that 10% of the land used for residential and commercial development be developed into land belonging to the original owner families. They also want the compensation rate to increase by 64.7% due to rising inflation.
Farmers believe that the old acquisition rate was four times lower than the current market rate. Other demands include new legal benefits for children and families of displaced people. Such as 10% booking fee for schools and colleges and free water and electricity.
Since 2008, numerous protests have been held against such demands. However, since this year, the protests have intensified with the participation of leaders of many organizations such as BKP Sukhbir Khalifa. In February, his protest at the Dalit Prerna Sthal in Noida was stopped. The state government assured farmers that their demands would be met and said Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath would form a committee to draft a report to examine the issues.
The committee’s recommendations include…
- Both the Noida Authority and the Greater Noida Authority shall prepare within two months for their application under the New Okhla Industrial Development Authority Rural Population Locations (Management and Regularization for Residential Purposes) (Third Amendment) Regulations, 2011 Survey of the total rural population.
- Authorities on both sides should determine and demarcate the border within 3 months.
- The CEO of Greater Noida Authority shall allot land to eligible farmers within 6 months.
- The National Development Agency should increase compensation for landless farmers by 64.7%.
- Regional development committees should be formed. Its members will include magistrates, chief executive officers of the three agencies, chief development officers, social workers and two prominent NGOs.
- Farmers claim the report was never made public and its recommendations never implemented. He said that while the Uttar Pradesh government accepted many of his demands, his main demand of allotment of 10 per cent of the land in Gautam Buddha Nagar to the original owners was never accepted.
What are farmers doing now?
Farmers have announced a strike at Mahamaya flyover in Noida today (Wednesday). A Mahapanchayat on the arrest of farmers will also be held today. Meanwhile, the UP government has decided to form a committee to find solutions to the movement.
The committee is chaired by Anil Kumar Sagar, IAS, principal secretary, Ministry of Infrastructure and Industrial Development. Besides Anil Kumar Sagar, the committee also includes Special Secretary for Infrastructure and Industrial Development Piyush Verma, Sanjay Khatri ACEO Noida and Soumya Srivastava ACEO Greater Noida, Kapil Singh ACEO YEIDA. The committee will submit its report and recommendations to the government within a month.
