Dhanmanjiri Sathe

The Loss of Land and Compensation Issues

This is the first of the core chapters. We first contextualize the land acquisition in Maan village—the village that we have selected for study in this manuscript. We tell how the land was acquired by MIDC in the period from 2000 till 2006. The findings based on the survey with respect to land acquisition and compensation are then put forth in three tables. Here we discuss the willingness or otherwise of the farmers to sell the land; and how future appreciation has emerged as an important issue in land acquisition. The protest movement against acquisition that occurred in 2006 is then discussed. This led to stalling of further land acquisition. The situation after agitation till 2015 is then discussed.

Need for a Shift in Discourse

This chapter puts forth the conclusions from the earlier chapters. It then argues that there is a need for a shift in discourse based on the empirical work that has been done. It puts forth that a covenant between the state and the land needs to emerge.

Other Significant Changes in Maan

There are some interesting issues that get covered in this chapter. We begin with profiling Maan’s agriculture. Then we study the phenomenon of migrants and politics in Maan. There are other interesting observations on matters like the ‘profile of four-wheeler owners’, ‘places of worship’, beauty parlors’, ‘liquor shops’ etc. This chapter has six tables.

A Historical Detour and Background to Maan

In this chapter, we take a historical detour and put forth the stories of two villages viz. Pimple Saudagar and Khadakwasala in the context of land acquisition. The economy of Maharashtra is then introduced and as also the city of Pune. Then we move on to the methodology used in the manuscript and introduce the sample that we have used. There are three surveys that we have done in the Maan village. This sets the background to the empirical work that follows.

Eminent Domain, Right to Property and the LARR 2013

In this chapter, we start with a brief history of Eminent Domain and introduce the Indian tradition with respect to Eminent Domain. After introducing the Eminent Domain in the Colonial period, we discuss the important case of Mulshi Satyagraha. Then, we move on to the use of Eminent Domain in the post-Independence period. This section covers the period till LAAR 2013. The next section covers the objections to Eminent Domain; which is followed by a section on LARR 2013 and what has happened after it.

The Development in Maan

In this chapter, we focus on ‘development’ in Maan. Thus we study the changing contours of the budget of the gram panchayat of Maan. We find that the revenues of this village have increased exponentially since 1993–1994 onwards. Has that led to improvement in education, health etc., is what we study. We also see what has happened to the ‘social justice’ expenditure in the village. This chapter has two graphs and nine tables.

A Review of Some Other Acquisitions In India and Policy Implications

In this chapter, we examine some of the other acquisitions in India. We study two unsuccessful acquisitions (in W. Bengal and Maharashtra) and one successful acquisition in UP. We also scrutinize an unfolding story close to Pune.Then we move on to presenting some important policy implications from this entire study.

Growth in Maan

In this chapter, we deal with the issue of how the village has changed after new industries etc. were set up on the acquired land. Based on the survey of all households, we put forth the findings with respect to gains from acquisition. Then we discuss the employment and occupational structure. A simple regression is fitted to find out the causal factors affecting employment. We find that the level of unemployment is quite high in Maan and the quality of employment is very poor. This is followed by a study of the implications of acquisitions for land-losers and land-holders. This chapter has ten tables.

Land Acquisition and the Dalits

In this chapter we focus on the impact of land acquisition on the dalits. We compare dalits with non-dalits in terms of their economic standing. The educational and occupational patterns of dalits and non-dalits are also compared. Issues related to dignity, discrimination are also explored. This chapter has ten tables.