Naxal problem due to 'forcible acquisition' of land by PSUs: Ramesh

Coming down heavily on PSUs for displacing tribals, Union Minister Jairam Ramesh blamed their actions for growth of Naxalism in many areas and cautioned that the era of "forcible acquisition" was now over.

The Union Rural Development Minister said if the new Land Acquisition Act is implemented properly, it will put an end to "inhumane" displacement of tribals from forests and check Maoist menace. "The record of public sector (PSUs) in displacements is worse than the record of the private sector. This is a sad truth... That more displacement has been caused by government and public sector projects than private sector projects... particularly in Naxal areas,’ the Minister said here. Ramesh slammed National Thermal Power Corporation for allegedly seeking police help for forcibly acquiring land in Keredari block of Jharkhand's Hazaribagh district, where a villager agitating against land acquisition was shot dead two months ago. He was addressing Hindi and regional media two days after Parliament passed the path-breaking 'Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013'.