To,
His Excellency
Honorable Governor
Sri Vajubhai Rudabhai Valaji
Government of
Karnataka
India
Honorable Sir,
Subject: Requesting not to pass land reforms
bill through “Ordinance” for the state of Karnataka
The Government of Karnataka is
ready to pass many bills such as APMC bill, Electricity bill, Essential
Commodity bill and the Land Reforms Bill. These bills are highly objected to by
Farmers organization, Social thinkers, specialists’ people and common persons
across the state of Karnataka.
The Legislative Assembly plans to
pass the Land reforms bill through an Ordinance. This move is highly condemned by all farmers’
organizations, individual peasants and women farmers, land-less labourers and
others. Today the farming community consists of almost 70% of the total
population of which 51% are direct farmers. Land reforms is a sensitive issue.
It is an issue that concerns the lives of farmers and that of farming systems,
culture, tradition, bio-diversity, water and forest lands, and the lives of
millions of other persons such as artisans, pot makers, weavers, handicrafts
and the rural economy as a whole.
We urge you to take note of the following issues:
1. The
Government of Karnataka is trying to bring amendments to the following
Sections:
Sec 79(a): Non-Agriculture
income should not exceed 25 lakhs to buy an agriculture land
Sec 79(b): Only
practicing farmers who own Pahani from their ancestors can buy agriculture
lands
Sec 79(c): If
found guilty in buying agriculture land they will be prosecuted by the act of
law
Sec 63: A family
of 5 and below can buy agriculture land upto 54 acres and family above 5
members can buy upto 108 acres. 108 acres is the maximum ceiling limit.
Sec 80:
Agriculture land cannot be used for non-agriculture purposes
The Government
of Karnataka is going to bring amendments to all the above quoted sections. If
Sec 79(a) and 79 (b) gets waved, then anyone can buy agriculture lands with
whatever his/her income levels and whoever he/she is concerned. Then
automatically 79(c) will lose its functionality and existence. The Government
is also trying to dilute the strength of Land ceiling limits of Sec 63. It now
proposes that a family of 5 or less than that can own 108 acres and family of
more than 5 members can own upto 216 acres. This dilution of Sec 63 will give
scope for huge land banks and aggregators. It is said that Sec 80 will also be
diluted, a person if he/she wish to convert that land for non-agricultural
purposes, he/she can appeal to that District Commissioner and if that DC does
not give permission within 30 days, it will be deemed that land will be
converted.
2. Corona group
of virus have become pandemic across the globe. State of Karnataka has already
crossed 10000 plus cases and it is increasing everyday by the hundreds. As per
the estimates by medical technical team, it is said that Covid infection will
reach its peak in Aug-Oct. The Government of Karnataka cannot use this time to
pass any bills where public discussions and consultancy cannot be held. This
Covid virus is virulent for the people who are aged 65 and above, but
unfortunately all farmer leaders are 60 plus in age, and cannot come outside
their homes to protest against this. The fact that the Government is now ready
to pass Ordinance in this stage indicates a violation of the basic norms of
democracy.
3. There are
already 83,000 plus cases relating to land access and rights pending in the
court of law, and all these are violative of the rules of 79 (a) & (b).
Now, the government is ready to dismiss all the cases pending in the court as
per the statement of ministers. This leads to the loss of fundamental rights of
justice and social equity.
4. Due to Covid
pandemic, thousands of people have returned to their native villages, and it is
now the due duty of the government to think and rework on programs such as
MGNREGA and other rural development schemes to make ensure their livelihood
security. Instead, by proposing these draconian new laws via ordinances the
government is pushing rural people into drudgery.
5. Nearly 80% of
farmers in Karnataka are small and medium farmers. These are the farmers who
bring food security to the state. These farmers today suffer from climate
change, uncertain rainfall, pest and disease, low soil carbon, insecure market,
high production costs and so on. Under such conditions the government should
not further pauperise rural people by enforcing them to sell their land and
become labourers on their own fields. The Government needs to address these
issues to make their lives and lands viable and sustainable.
6. The
Agriculture minister has said that agriculture graduates are not in a position
to do scientific advanced agriculture since they don’t own agriculture lands.
We raise questions about this statement. How many agriculture graduates and
masters practice agriculture today? In reality many are working in
multinational seeds, fertilizers, and pesticide companies. They are in great
demands in banks. Many of them are in civil services etc. Hardly 1% of them go
into agriculture or return to their villages. “Scientific agriculture” has
become a great failure today. 0ur farmers who have mastered farming from
hundreds of years are in great distress due to the vicious cycle of debts, and
therefore parents do not want their son or a daughter to do agriculture in
their respective villages. This is the fact and bitter ground truth. Another
question is how many applications or letters have come from agriculture
graduates to the minister requesting land for agriculture? Does the government
have details of this?
7. Land
degradation and desertification are the major concerns in Karnataka. As per the
Desertification Atlas by ISRO it is said 36.24% of land have already been
degraded due to over exploitation of agriculture lands, soil and water. If the
proposed amendments via the ordinances are made, then the competitive
exploitation of ground resources will increase. As of now, most of the villages
have gone more than 800 feet for underground water. The suggested reforms and
amendments will render land to see become only investment commodities and
thereby subject to exploitation by advanced chemicals, mono-cropping, heavy
water use, and hybridization etc. This will further have a cascading effect on
land degradation and underground water in coming years.
8. Forest lands,
as per the Forest survey of India is only 18.5% – 19% (out of minimal 33% to
balance ecology). Usually villages and human civilization will be on the
downstream of forest and mountain lands. If the village lands start exploiting
underground water in the name of scientific agriculture due to competition, all
these forest lands will be deprived of underground water and start converting
into thorny shrub forests and later may ruin themselves. There will be a
greater loss of Bio-diversity. This is worst sign causing irreversible damage
to ecology and environment. Agriculture needs to be seen as a part of
environment. If we degrade the environment, we will end up in great crisis.
9. Food security
of the state and the nation will be assured by farmers, who work with the
knowledge that they have learnt from their ancestors over hundreds and
thousands of years and this great wisdom will be severely threatened.
Agriculture is a greater science with nature starting from predicting rainfall,
ploughing lands, sowing seeds, harrowing, weeding, crop care, harvesting and
packing, post-harvest measures, storage of seeds etc. Farmers do all these
operations with great love, and they have compassion for soil, plants and
trees. For farmers their fields are their universe. If land is rendered into
only a business opportunity, then they will not be able to assure the state or
nation of any productivity. Food and nutritional security can be assured only
by farmers. So, it is a question of both farmers’ and the larger public’s food
security. The proposed land reform is a serious threat to farmer’s sovereignty.
We hereby request
our honorable Governor, government of Karnataka, not to pass the Ordinance to the Land reform bill since it
is the question of every farmer’s life, farming system and of our bio
diversity, forest and pasture lands, ponds, streams, rivers and other water
bodies, culture and tradition, life and humanity as a whole.
We urge you to uphold the norms and processes
of democracy and not sign this Bill and the Ordinances.
Thanking you
With Regards
Farmers Organizations who are concerned against Land Reforms in the
State of Karnataka:
Karnataka Rajya Raitha Sangha
hagu Hasiru Sene: Badagalapura
Nagendra: 9449264917
Amrita Bhoomi: Chukki Nanjundaswami: 9482164376
Karnataka Prantha Raitha
Sangha: G C Byyareddy: 9448230121
Karnataka Rajya Raitha Virodhi
Kayade Horata Samithi: Kurubur
Shanthakumar: 9448060640
Gram Seva Sangh: Rangakarmi Prasanna: 9008484880
J H Patel foundation: Mahima Patel: 7899458609
The School of Natural Farming: Manjunath H: 9632226229
Tumkur Science Centre: Yathiraju C: 9481677607
Punarchith: Dr. A R Vasavi: 9448360215
Rashtriya Swabhiman Andolan: Madavan C P: 7899939414
Rashtriya kisan mahasangh: Suresh patil: 9845253134
Swadeshi andolan: K V Biju (All India Org Secretary):
9871368252
Karnataka Rashtra Samithi Party: Mallikarjun: 9880665397
WordPress: Narasimha Reddy Donthi: 0091-40-24077804
Rashtriya Kisan Sangh: Konche Shivarudrappa: 9448705384
Karnataka Rajya Raitha Sangha: K T Gangadhar (Rajya varistaru):
9448524928
Contact email: agrigrowind@gmail.com, schoolofnaturalfarming@gmail.com.