The landless end march at Agra
Thousands of landless poor aborted their march to Delhi on Thursday, accepting the government's promises to initiate land reform and the possibility of statutory backing for the right to shelter, homestead and agricultural land. Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh signed a 10-point agreement in Agra — barely 10 days after refusing to sign a similar deal at the march’s starting point in Gwalior — which promises a draft National Land Reform Policy in the next four to six months.
P.V. Rajagopal, founder of the march organisers Ekta Parishad, signed on behalf of the Jan Satyagrahis. As reported by The Hindu on Tuesday, the agreement also envisions homestead land of 10 cents for all landless rural poor households by doubling funding under the Indira Awaas Yojana, fast-track settlement of land cases through dedicated tribunals and legal aid and enhanced land access for adivasis, Dalits and other vulnerable groups through better implementation of the existing laws. A task force headed by Mr. Ramesh to put the agreement into action will hold its first meeting on October 17.
Since land is constitutionally an issue for the States and not the Central government to tackle, the agreement emphasises a “dialogue process,” “proposals” and “detailed advisories” to the States, rather than making promises the Centre does not have the power to enforce. “Ekta Parishad should continue putting pressure not only on the Centre, but also on the State governments,” Mr. Ramesh told the green flag waving crowds.
The Centre has felt the pressure over the last 10 days as about 60,000 people set out from Gwalior on a 350-km padayatra, threatening that their numbers would swell to one lakh by the time they reached the capital later this month. However, in actual fact, numbers have dwindled, and only about 20,000 people were present in Agra to watch the signing of the agreement... Read more:
