VOA标准英语2013--India Seeks to Balance Growth, Landowners’ Rights

 

India Seeks to Balance Growth, Landowners’ Rights

GURGAON, INDIA— 

Lawmakers in India are expectedto begin debating changes to the country’s antiquated¹ land acquisitions laws in an effort to better balance industrial growth and landowners’ rights.

The land acquisition measure, along with the food security bill, are two key initiatives of the ruling Congress Party, as Indians prepare to head to the polls next year for national elections.

One does not have to travel too far from India’s capital to see the need for land reform.

Amid the bustling² chaos³ of the sprawling⁴ business center of Gurgaon, Rajpal Yadav owns a small oasis⁵ of quiet that is just meters from the concrete and cars. Here, trees and shrubs⁶ crowd around rays of sunlight under a train overpass⁷.

The nursery owner used to have eight hectares [20 acres] of land here, but in two decades, Yadav has gradually lost his land to one transportation project or another. Now he must cultivate his plants on just four-tenths of a hectare [1 acre], which he is also at risk of losing to an expanding roadway.

“This is the only greenery left and this will also be gone. None of the surrounding companies are doing anything about it. They are cutting down all the trees for the sake of roads and buildings,” he said.

Fair Compensation

Landowners like Yadav have filed lawsuits⁸ to try to hold on to what little they have left.

Others have seen their property seized to make room for India’s industrialization while getting little or nothing in return under the country’s Land Acquisition act of 1894.

The fight has at times turned violent. Bloody⁹ protests have erupted in the eastern Indian state of Orissa, where residents have refused to give up their land for a $12-billion steel mill built by South Korean giant Posco. And just last month, Posco withdrew its plans to build a $5-billion plant in the southern state of Karnataka, citing delays in land acquisition and iron ore mining rights.

A proposed bill before parliament seeks to bridge the gap between landowners and developers by providing fairer compensation for land acquired for industrial projects.

The new legislation provides compensation at up to double the market prices in urban areas, and four times the market price in rural areas. The measure also gives resettlement and rehabilitation¹⁰ help for those who are displaced or those whose livelihoods¹¹ are affected¹² by the land acquisition.

Under the proposed measure, the government will not have to seek consent for public projects, but private companies will have to obtain the consent of 80 percent of those affected.

Cost of Growth

S. Gopalakrishnan, Confederation of Indian Industry president, welcomes the government’s efforts toward reform and making land acquisition less arbitrary and more predictable.

But he said the government should be mindful of not pushing property and subsequent project costs higher.

“We also need to make sure that the costs do not escalate¹³ too much. Then the investment required to set up a business will become unaffordable. So, we are requesting that the government make land available to businesses at reasonable prices,” he said.

Analysts¹⁴ say the same development that has uprooted¹⁵ farmers also has connected distant communities, created jobs and allowed for India’s once near double-digit economic growth.

Sakshi Balani, with the New Delhi-based PRS Legislative¹⁶ Research, said the government must navigate¹⁷ the complex issue carefully.

“The idea essentially¹⁸ is that you have to have legislation that not only covers the spur of development and growth taking place, but also provides a check on it in some ways. It’s that very delicate balance that this law is trying to bring about,” she said.

As for Yadav, he is holding out hope that his nursery and some of the last remaining greenery along this busy road eventually will prevail.

“I have faith in the court. We will keep fighting in the court. We will see what happens, but I have faith in justice,” the nursery owner said, standing¹⁹ over rows and rows of potted plants.

Yadav and many others are watching to see how lawmakers vote on land acquisition reform as parliament debates the highly contentious²⁰ issue in the coming months.  

1 antiquated   

adj.陈旧的，过时的

参考例句：

• Many factories are so antiquated they are not worth saving.很多工厂过于陈旧落后，已不值得挽救。
• A train of antiquated coaches was waiting for us at the siding.一列陈旧的火车在侧线上等着我们。

2 bustling   

adj.喧闹的

参考例句：

• The market was bustling with life. 市场上生机勃勃。
• This district is getting more and more prosperous and bustling. 这一带越来越繁华了。

3 chaos   

n.混乱，无秩序

参考例句：

• After the failure of electricity supply the city was in chaos.停电后，城市一片混乱。
• The typhoon left chaos behind it.台风后一片混乱。

4 sprawling   

adj.蔓生的，不规则地伸展的v.伸开四肢坐[躺]( sprawl的现在分词 )；蔓延；杂乱无序地拓展；四肢伸展坐着（或躺着）

参考例句：

• He was sprawling in an armchair in front of the TV. 他伸开手脚坐在电视机前的一张扶手椅上。
• a modern sprawling town 一座杂乱无序拓展的现代城镇

5 oasis   

n.（沙漠中的）绿洲，宜人的地方

参考例句：

• They stopped for the night at an oasis.他们在沙漠中的绿洲停下来过夜。
• The town was an oasis of prosperity in a desert of poverty.该镇是贫穷荒漠中的一块繁荣的“绿洲”。

6 shrubs   

灌木( shrub的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The gardener spent a complete morning in trimming those two shrubs. 园丁花了整个上午的时间修剪那两处灌木林。
• These shrubs will need more light to produce flowering shoots. 这些灌木需要更多的光照才能抽出开花的新枝。

7 overpass   

n.天桥，立交桥

参考例句：

• I walked through an overpass over the road.我步行穿过那条公路上面的立交桥。
• We should take the overpass when crossing the road.我们过马路应走天桥。

8 lawsuits   

n.诉讼( lawsuit的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Lawsuits involving property rights and farming and grazing rights increased markedly. 涉及财产权，耕作与放牧权的诉讼案件显著地增加。 来自辞典例句
• I've lost and won more lawsuits than any man in England. 全英国的人算我官司打得最多，赢的也多，输的也多。 来自辞典例句

9 bloody   

adj.非常的的；流血的；残忍的；adv.很；vt.血染

参考例句：

• He got a bloody nose in the fight.他在打斗中被打得鼻子流血。
• He is a bloody fool.他是一个十足的笨蛋。

10 rehabilitation   

n.康复，悔过自新，修复，复兴，复职，复位

参考例句：

• He's booked himself into a rehabilitation clinic.他自己联系了一家康复诊所。
• No one can really make me rehabilitation of injuries.已经没有人可以真正令我的伤康复了。

11 livelihoods   

生计，谋生之道( livelihood的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• First came the earliest individualistic pioneers who depended on hunting and fishing for their livelihoods. 走在最前面的是早期的个人主义先驱者，他们靠狩猎捕鱼为生。 来自英汉非文学 - 政府文件
• With little influence over policies, their traditional livelihoods are threatened. 因为马赛族人对政策的影响力太小，他们的传统生计受到了威胁。

12 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

13 escalate   

v.(使)逐步增长(或发展)，(使)逐步升级

参考例句：

• It would tempt Israel's neighbors to escalate their demands.它将诱使以色列的邻国不断把他们的要求升级。
• Defeat could cause one side or other to escalate the conflict.失败可能会导致其中一方将冲突升级。

14 analysts   

分析家，化验员( analyst的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• City analysts forecast huge profits this year. 伦敦金融分析家预测今年的利润非常丰厚。
• I was impressed by the high calibre of the researchers and analysts. 研究人员和分析人员的高素质给我留下了深刻印象。

15 uprooted   

v.把（某物）连根拔起( uproot的过去式和过去分词 )；根除；赶走；把…赶出家园

参考例句：

• Many people were uprooted from their homes by the flood. 水灾令许多人背井离乡。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The hurricane blew with such force that trees were uprooted. 飓风强烈地刮着，树都被连根拔起了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

16 legislative   

n.立法机构，立法权；adj.立法的，有立法权的

参考例句：

• Congress is the legislative branch of the U.S. government.国会是美国政府的立法部门。
• Today's hearing was just the first step in the legislative process.今天的听证会只是展开立法程序的第一步。

17 navigate   

v.航行，飞行；导航，领航

参考例句：

• He was the first man to navigate the Atlantic by air.他是第一个飞越大西洋的人。
• Such boats can navigate on the Nile.这种船可以在尼罗河上航行。

18 essentially   

adv.本质上，实质上，基本上

参考例句：

• Really great men are essentially modest.真正的伟人大都很谦虚。
• She is an essentially selfish person.她本质上是个自私自利的人。

19 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

20 contentious   

adj.好辩的，善争吵的

参考例句：

• She was really not of the contentious fighting sort.她委实不是好吵好闹的人。
• Since then they have tended to steer clear of contentious issues.从那时起，他们总想方设法避开有争议的问题。