At least 80 farmers who had gathered in Haryana's Manesar to participate in a protest march to the Prime Minister’s residence over "unfair" compensation were detained by the Gurugram Police on 20 February, 2024. The farmers were taken to the Manesar Police Lines in two buses and they were released after nearly six hours of detention.
Hundreds of farmers had gathered at Manesar to march alongside the larger protest by farmers in North India, demanding a minimum support price (MSP) for their crops._ _To prevent the farmers from marching to Delhi, the police had imposed a Section 144 order in Manesar and deployed 500 personnel to prevent a possible breach.
Farmers allege that they were not given fair compensation by the Haryana government for 1,800 acres of land acquired from 1,200 farmers in five villages of Manesar in 2011 to develop the second phase of IMT-Manesar.
The process to acquire 1,810 acres in Kasan, Kukdola and Sehrawan villages began in 2011 but the matter got tied up in litigation soon after. In 2019, the Punjab and Haryana High Court vacated the stay on the acquisition after which the acquisition process resumed.
On 16 August 2022, the district administration fixed rates between Rs 70 lakh and Rs 91 lakh per acre for the land. Stating that the market rate was nearly Rs 10 crore per acre, farmers gathered at Rajiv Chowk on 20 September 2022 and marched to the mini-secretariat -- some of them were shirtless and wearing shackles to symbolise their helplessness. During an earlier protest 11 people were detained by the police.
On July 8, 2023, the Haryana government announced the ‘No Litigation Policy, 2023’ stating that it was for the benefit of the landowners affected by the land acquisition. Landowners could avail of benefits in exchange for their right to demand enhanced compensation within a period of 6 months of the announcement of the policy.
Amid the latest protest, Dakshin Haryana Kisan Khap Samiti vice-president Pradeep Yadav told _The Times of India, _"Land was acquired at a rate of Rs 55 lakh per acre. But we have been protesting for two years to get at least Rs 11 crore per acre. Farmer representatives from Punjab and Haryana agreed to support our demand and raise it with the Centre in their ongoing negotiation. In return, we agreed to join their march for MSP law.
Mahendra Singh, another farmer leader, said, "The government wants to loot the farmers' land by taking it at throwaway prices."
Assistant Commissioner of Police, Manesar, Surender Singh, was quoted as saying, "Section 144 has already been imposed, but farmers are gathering. We have detained the farmers, and if they flout Section 144, action will be taken as per the law."
Additional Deputy Commissioner Vishram Kumar Meena, who interacted with the villagers on behalf of the administration, assured the villagers to take up their demands with the higher authority.
Demand/Contention of the Affected Community
Demand for more compensation than promised
Demand for compensation
Complaint against procedural violations
Demand to get back acquired land
Other Demand/Contention of the Affected Community
Region Classification
Urban
Type of Land
Private
What was the action taken by the police?
Detention
How many people did the police detain or arrest?
50
What is the current status of the detained/accused persons?
Released from detention
Did the person face any violence while in police custody?
Don't know
If any arrests took place, were the accused persons produced before a judge within 24 hours of the arrest?
If the accused was not produced before a magistrate within 24 hours, or not produced at all, what were the reasons?
Legislation under which the accused was charged
Was the accused person informed of their right to legal representation? Did the accused person have access to legal aid?
In cases where the accused person approached the court for bail, was bail granted?
Why was bail granted or rejected? If granted, what were the bail conditions and quantum of bail?
Details of sources (names of accused, names and numbers of any lawyers, names of any police officers contacted)
Status of Project
Original Project Deadline
Whether the Project has been Delayed
Significance of Land to Land Owners/Users
Agricultural land
Whether the project was stalled due to land conflict
Source/Reference
Total investment involved (in Crores):
₹
Type of investment:
Year of Estimation
Has the Conflict Ended?
No
When did it end?
Why did the conflict end?
Categories of Legislations Involved in the Conflict
Legislations/Policies Involved
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Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.
Whether claims/objections were made as per procedure in the relevant statute
What was the claim(s)/objection(s) raised by the community?
What was the Decision of the Concerned Government Department?
Legal Processes and Loopholes Enabling the Conflict:
Controversial land acquisition by the government
Non-consultation with stakeholders
Use of old/outdated laws
Legal Status:
In Court
Status of Case In Court
Disposed
Whether any adjudicatory body was approached
No
Name of the adjudicatory body
Name(s) of the Court(s)
Supreme Court, Punjab and Haryana High Court
Case Number
Writ Petition (Civil) No. 113 of 2011 (SC), CWP-18940-2014 (P&H HC)
Main Reasoning/Decision of court
Major Human Rights Violations Related to the Conflict:
Arrest/detention/imprisonment
Lathicharge/teargas/pellets
Whether criminal law was used against protestors:
Yes
Reported Details of the Violation:
Almost 70 farmers were detained by the city Police while protesting for their demands. Police teams reached the spot and asked the farmers to stop the protest. After waiting for an hour, the police finally detained the farmers and dragged them to Police Lines in two buses. Section 144 was imposed soon after the farmers started gathering.
Date of Violation
February 19, 2024
Location of Violation
Manesar area, Gurugram
Government Departments Involved in the Conflict:
Revenue Department Gurugram, Department of Town and Country Planning
PSUs Involved in the Conflict:
Haryana State Industrial and Infrastructure Development Corporation
Did LCW Approach Government Authorities for Comments?
Name, Designation and Comment of the Government Authorities Approached
Corporate Parties Involved in the Conflict:
Did LCW Approach Corporate Parties for Comments?
Communities/Local Organisations in the Conflict:
Dakshin Haryana Kisan Khap Samiti (DHKKS)
What was the action taken by the police?
Detention
How many people did the police detain or arrest?
50
What is the current status of the detained/accused persons?
Released from detention
Did the person face any violence while in police custody?
Don't know
If any arrests took place, were the accused persons produced before a judge within 24 hours of the arrest?
If the accused was not produced before a magistrate within 24 hours, or not produced at all, what were the reasons?
Legislation under which the accused was charged
Was the accused person informed of their right to legal representation? Did the accused person have access to legal aid?
In cases where the accused person approached the court for bail, was bail granted?
Why was bail granted or rejected? If granted, what were the bail conditions and quantum of bail?
Were there any other notable irregularities that took place, or other significant details?
East Street Journal Asia is a multilingual, Web-based news journal. It is an independent media organisation whose goal is to make transparent, unbiased and data-driven journalism accessible to all.
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