Central Executive Committee of All India Kisan Mazdoor Sahba (AIKMS) met on Oct 7 and resolved that the "Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act 2013" is a pro-corporate, anti-farmer law. AIKMS has called upon farmers' organizations to oppose this new law and raise the demand "Save Land, Save Agriculture, No Acquisition of Farm land for Industry, No Land to MNCs". Secretary Ashish Mital said this new law was drafted in the face of repeated, widespread and clear cut opposition by farmers to their agricultural and forest lands being acquired for development of MNCs and big corporate houses, he said. This policy had forcefully displaced farmers and tribals from their traditional abode, deprived them of their livelihood and had made companies, mafia and big contractors owners of their land, mineral wealth, water and other resources. It had recklessly pushed the hard working farmers into destitution, said Mital. The new law fails to address farmer's opposition to land acquisition. It fails to define 'public purpose' in public interest and includes all possible private interests in its ambit. It states 70% approval by affected population for PPP projects and 80% for private acquisitions. By including non land owners in affected families it fails to prevent land acquisition if 70% or 80% land owners only also disapprove it. For govt acquisitions, several committees have been made for social impact assessment, expert committees, etc but government has been given legal right to acquire even if no farmer agrees. The law states that approval by these committees is 'conclusive proof' that land is being taken for public purpose (Section 20-6). The government has given free right to acquire land for private companies, Mital added. AIKMS called upon all farmers' organizations to build a wide and forceful farmers movement to oppose this New Land Acquisition Act, 2013.