After lobbying the Madhya Pradesh Government to shelve its ambitious Simhastha project — which is aimed at permanently acquiring thousands of hectares of farmers’ land to build infrastructure for the Kumbh Mela — the Bharatiya Kisan Sangh (BKS) has now urged the Union Government to ban land pooling across the country and bring uniformity to land acquisition laws.
The RSS-affiliated organisation on Monday (December 1, 2025) said that it is concerned about the lack of attention to the interests of villages and farmers affected by the acquisition of agricultural land across the country in the name of development.
In a 15-point memorandum of suggestions to be given to the Central Government, the BKS mentioned about a release issued by the Indian Agro-Economic Research Center, which stated that the British land acquisition law of 1894 continued for many decades and even when the new land acquisition law came into effect in 2013, the same was weakened by arbitrary amendments by the State Governments.
The BKS also cited findings of the Indian Agro-Economic Research Centre that pointed to ‘no or meagre compensation’ to farmers even after the government took possession of their land, as well as poor planning for their employment and rehabilitation.
The BKS alleged that laws like the ‘Land Pooling Act’ were enacted to deceive innocent farmers into obtaining consent based on false promises, giving officials free rein to terrorize them.
“There is no effort or provision to stop this atrocity. There is no obligation to follow the rules, and there is no control,” it said.
Suggesting measures for the government in farmers’ interest, BKS said that the government should take the consent of 80% of the residents in the Gram Sabha when it makes laws or amendments. It added that compensation on land acquisition should be four times the actual market value or the registered value, and that the rehabilitation plan should be fully implemented before possession of the land is taken.
It further said that where displacement of tribal people is necessary, all villagers should be rehabilitated in one place as a new complete village, so that their culture, society, and social environment can be preserved. Also, the acquisition of multi-crop irrigated land should be prohibited unless it is for an essential public purpose. And that the farmers should be made shareholders and given a stake in the project.
“Amendments made by various States have eliminated key provisions. Therefore, the Central Government, with the consent of State Governments and, if necessary, through Constitutional Amendments, should bring uniformity to the law across the country. The Act should provide for strict punitive action within a minimum time frame (one year) against officials and employees who mislead farmers or misuse the rules while acquiring land,” BKS said.
Published – December 02, 2025 09:45 pm IST
