'We are in a state of emergency'

Q & A ARUNA ROY, founder, Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sangathan

The Business Standard, Bombay, 31 Aug 2007

Aruna Roy, one of the founders of the Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sangathan and aformer member of the National Advisory Council who recently took part in the

Jan Adhikar Yatra through Rajasthan, tells PRASAD NICHENAMETLA that

the government's approach on SEZ and jatropha farming has been "undemocratic"

What led to the Jan AdhikarYatra in which you took partrecently?In Rajasthan, there are sever-al policies pursued by thestate government against thecommon people's interest. Whileland is being acquired forspecial economic zones (SEZs),the government is also allottingwastelands and degraded for-est lands on commercial scalefor jatropha cultivation.

These processes involve nodialogue with the people whowould lose their land and liveli-hoods.

The state isalso amendingthe RajasthanLand TenancyAct, 1955, to fa-cilitate land trans-fer from Dalitsto non-Dalits,which would takeaway the landholdings of theformer. There arealso concernsabout improperimplementationof the NationalRural Employment Guaran-tee Act (NREGA) and the Rightto Information Act (RTI).

So, to know the problemsof the people and make them in-teract on these issues, we or-ganised the Jan Adhikar Ya-tra. The basic idea is while op-posing the undemocratic man-ner in which the governmentmakes some policy decisions,we want to initiate a discus-sion among the general peo-ple, the intelligentsia and the po-litical class.

What kind of response didyou receive from the Yatra?A state-wide procession start-ed on August 9 from Alwar,Tonk, Ajmer and Sikar townsto converge in Jaipur afterinteracting with villagers onthe way. The marches were fol-lowed by a discussion till Au-gust 26 where people took partin large numbers. About 1,300km were covered by 500 pady-atris (processionists) who trav-elled through 800 villages. Theyatra was supported by about50 organisations.

What aboutthe issue oflandacquisition bySEZs?The Centre hasapproved the SEZAct in just twodays, without tak-ing into consid-eration concernsexpressed by var-ious quarters.This only reflectsthe government'sreluctance to in-

volve a democratic discus-sion on a sensitive issue likeland acquisition and displace-ment of the marginal sec-tions. Only after the Nandigramepisode, the government hasconstituted a ParliamentaryCommittee to look into theissue.

The same applies to Jatrophacultivation, regarding whichthe state cabinet has approveda policy to acquire huge tractsof land for companies to cul-tivate the plants. However, even

representatives of the rulingparty were hot aware of theprocess.

Under the movement, wewould like to know how vi-able are the projects likeSEZs or Jatropha cultivationand how they would benefit thepoor.

Are you satisfied with theNREGA?I think the NREGA is better thanany other employment gen-eration programme in the coun-try. While it has achieved around60 per cent success, a lotmore has to be done with a bet-ter participation of people. Butthe pace of the Act is a bit slow.It is being implemented only in330 districts, out of which130 districts will get it in this fi-nancial year.

Social audit is a betterway to share ideas and solu-tions and make the Act a bigsuccess. While it has shownpositive results in Rajasthanand Andhra Pradesh, it seemsthe government lacks the spaceand time to take it to the na-tional level. We need betterinfrastructure for better im-plementation.

What do you think about theimplementation of the RTI?Will the Act with its presentcontent be able to deliverperfectly?I think the Act in its presentform can deliver on its prom-ise. But the Department of Per-sonnel and Training (DoPT),the nodal body servicing the

Q46CED documentation is for educative purposes-for your reference and study only

'I think we havereached a pointwhere there is

severe unrest overgovernment policies

and the overalldemocratic set-up.There are attempts

to curtail thefreedom of the

citizens'

Act and the Central Informa-tion Commission, is letting somevested interests play their part.The DoPT website is still car-rying the section on file not-ings. I think the RTI shouldbe brought under some oth-er ministries like the Min-istry of Information and Broad-casting to make it free fromsuch interventions.

What is your opinion aboutthe Indo-US civilian nucleardeal?I think the deal paves wayfor the imperialist forces likethe United States to walk in-to the country. We are againstthe deal, and I am also a sig-natory to the memorandum sub-mitted to the Centre demand-ing that the deal be stalled.

What are your plans? Youropinions on the course ofpeople's movements in thecountry?I think we have reached a pointwhere there is a severe unrestover government policies andthe overall democratic set-up.There are attempts to curtail thefreedom of the citizens. Weare in a state of emergency with-out being aware of it.

There is a dire need tosave democratic spaces, whetherit is the lack of space to holdprotest in Jaipur or the lackof public participation in pol-icy formulation. This padyatrawas the beginning of a longstruggle to regain a voice in thedecision-making process. Iwould continue my struggle forpeople's rights in all forms.

Q46

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<description>What led to the Jan Adhikar Yatra in which you took part recently?In Rajasthan, there are several policies pursued by the state government against thecommon people's interest. While land is being acquired for special economic zones (SEZs),the government is also allotting wastelands and degraded forest lands on commercial scalefor jatropha cultivation. These processes involve no dialogue with the people whowould lose their land and livelihoods.</description><classif>Q46</classif><entrydt>03/09/2007</entrydt><sd>VD</sd>

CED documentation is for educative purposes-for your reference and study only

Activist Aruna Roy at a Jan Adhikar Yatra rally in Rajasthan