National Right to
Homestead Bill, 2013
Just when the
plaudits were rolling in for finance minister Mr. P. Chidambaram having avoided
excessive spending on handouts in his budget, the UPA government has shown that
it means business as usual. The proposed National Right to Homestead Bill,
2013, is, essentially, populism by stealth.
With credit ratings
agencies & other observers mollified post-budget, the union government
obviously feels it is time to move on to the serious business of corralling
votes for the 2014 elections. Never mind that the proposed legislation is
entirely unfeasible as far as implementation goes and is likely to provide a
breeding ground for leakage and corruption.
There are an
estimated 80 lakh homeless families in rural India. The proposed Bill enshrines
the right to a homestead of no less than 10 cents (About 4,356 square feet) of
land to be enforced within 5 years of the law's enactment.
Just where the
required land is going to come from remains a mystery. The union government's record
at redistributing land acquired for land reform purposes is questionable at
best. And that's not even getting into the details of financing the entire
boondoggle something that is likely to put an unconscionable strain on an
economy already saddled with a deficit expected to hit 5.2 % of GDP (Gross
Domestic Production) this financial year (2012-13).
Delving into the
nitty-gritties of implementation makes for even more pessimistic reading. How
will this legislation a one-size-fits-all approach be handled at the state
level?
Congress leader and
Kerala revenue minister Mr. Adoor Prakash, for instance, has already stated
that it would be a tough task in Kerala. Given the fiascos when it comes to
land acquisition for industrial purposes, what exactly makes the government
think it is going to have any better luck here?
Does it know
something no one else does? Or is it, as seems far more likely, sacrificing
prudence & rationality at the altar of political opportunism?
On the other hand, in
a country with large numbers of landless poor like ours, a Bill giving them the
right to land & a house should be welcomed rather than obstructed from the
very outset. Taking into consideration this large scale homelessness that
exists in the countryside it should be easy to see the need and usefulness of
such a Bill.
According to the
statement of objects and reasons of the draft Bill, about 10 lakh rural
families have no house of their own. More than 31 % of households in India are
landless, with about 30 % owning less than 0.4 hectares. There's no doubt that
the situation needs immediate redressal & the proposed Bill does make a
positive beginning.
The National Right to
Homestead Bill, if put into effect, has the potential to make a difference to
the lives of the rural poor, particularly those who do not have a home of their
own.
Besides, ownership of
land has a special significance. Land has always had an emotive appeal for
villagers, an appeal that has often held out against the temptation of making
easy money. This enduring relationship between villagers and land, as we have recently
witnessed, has triggered widespread protests against acquisition of land for
industrialisation.
Under the influence
of Congress president Mr.Sonia Gandhi, the National Advisory Council has
legislated landmark Bills like the Right to Education, the National Rural
Employment Guarantee Act and now the Food Security Bill.
The homestead Bill is
part of this gamut of welfare measures which have been the hallmark of the UPA
government. The question here is not about whether we need such a Bill or not
but whether it could be implemented without the usual leakages and corruption
that defeat the very objectives of such welfare legislations.
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