Maitreya Project Replies
by Linda Gatter
Kushinagar, Uttar Pradesh, Northern India: poverty, sub-standard housing, a literacy rate of 62%, low life expectancy, a lack of quality healthcare, high infant mortality, and not much hope for future generations – these are the day-to-day realities for thousands of people in this corner of the most populous state of India. No one could doubt the plight of the subsistence farmers living hand-to-mouth on the sharp edge of poverty.
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Maitreya Project
It is at Kushinagar, the place where the historical Buddha passed away and part of India’s Buddhist pilgrimage circuit, that Maitreya Project plans to build the world’s largest Buddha statue, designed to last for at least 1,000 years. The statue will act as the focus for the Project’s concept — a sustainable model which aims to uplift the community through:
* free education
* free healthcare
* long-term employment
* making India’s Buddhist Pilgrimage Route more accessible
* an improved civil infrastructure
* additional economic opportunities that will naturally evolve from such a significant social and economic investment in the community.
It is this aim to create whole-community sustainability and long-term benefits that distinguishes Maitreya Project from many other charitable endeavors. As Lama Zopa Rinpoche, Spiritual Director of Maitreya Project, says, “Construction of the statue is not the goal — it is the method for achieving the goal. The goal is to benefit as many people as possible for as long as possible.”
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Cynicism:
going the extra mile
In her recent article published by WRR, Jessica Falcone says, “Kushinagaris are the first to criticize the Maitreya Project for failing to work with the farmers to achieve a mutually agreeable settlement. They wonder why the Maitreya Project isn’t meeting with the farmers, working with them, negotiating with them privately for the land. Why is the Maitreya Project allowing the state government to forcibly acquire the land from poor farmers, when state officials are so often corrupt?”
Ms. Falcone’s questions reflect a cynicism that is endemic in the 21st century. It assumes that corruption and opportunism rather than benefit will carry the day. It is a cynicism that says if one cares for social justice and human rights then it’s impossible to work with India’s governments. It says that large scale development in areas of poverty will bring benefits only to those who already have money and those who are willing to make a fast buck at the expense of humanity. While such cynicism may in some cases be well placed, in this instance Maitreya Project begs to disagree.
Key members of Maitreya Project’s team have extensive experience in grass-roots development projects in India, are Indian and/or speak Hindi, and have all spent years, if not decades, living and working in India. They are well acquainted with the cultural framework that exists in relation to development in India.
In more than 17 years of charitable activity in India, the Project has never paid, and will not pay, even one paisa to anyone, anywhere, in the interest of receiving an advantage. Maitreya Project and the State Government of Uttar Pradesh agreed at the outset, in writing, that each party has a zero tolerance policy towards fraud and corruption, which is adopted directly from World Bank policies. Agreed protocols and procedures are in place and are rigorously followed.
A comprehensive Memorandum of Understanding, signed by Maitreya Project Trust in India and the Government of Uttar Pradesh, represents a shared vision for bringing long-term benefits to the region.
Government records show that a total of 660.57 acres of mainly open land are being purchased by the Government of UP, representing 1,114 mainly small plots. These figures include 48 households in 7 villages who regrettably will be displaced. They will therefore require appropriate re-settlement services as well as compensation if the proposed land purchase is concluded.
Quite understandably, compulsory land purchases are highly emotive, whether they take place in the US, the UK, India, or elsewhere. Even though it might appear to be the obvious solution, the Project cannot enter into negotiations with the landowners because the Project is not buying the land. Maitreya Project has been offered only the lease of the land from the Government of Uttar Pradesh. Compliance with India’s Land Acquisition Act is therefore mandatory.
However, the Project is well aware of its related responsibility, which is why we continue to insist that the Government of Uttar Pradesh must settle the acquisition with land purchase agreements that are consistent with the Project’s aspirations.
Falcone says, “My interviews with non-affected Kushinagaris about current land prices support the farmers’ sense that they are being grossly under-compensated for land that is their livelihood — the land value will continue to go up, and they cannot buy anywhere near the same amount of land with the compensation settlement.”
India’s Land Acquisition Act requires a 2-payment system of compensation. To date, the Government’s first payment, which is similar to a down payment, has been offered to landowners, but the amount of the second payment has not yet been announced.
Maitreya Project has been assured by the State Government of UP that, in keeping with the Project’s ethical values, a very generous compensation package is being reserved for this acquisition. It is understood that the State Government is planning the final compensation level to be much higher than other recent acquisitions in even urban areas of the state — significantly above recent replacement purchase price levels in the area.
Falcone points out that “the farmers of Kushinagar are fighting, and they have been fighting for several years now.”
There was tremendous enthusiasm in 2001 that such a major project would locate in Uttar Pradesh and it was expected that a land purchase agreement would be reached within months. However, during the 4½ years since the land site was identified, the political environment in India has created problems of continuity.
Since 2001, there have been four elected UP State Governments. Each Government has fully supported the Project, but as is standard practice in the Indian administrative system, key bureaucrats have been continually rotated. The key offices for the Maitreya Project are the District Commissioner — which has changed 11 times, the District Magistrate — changed 11 times, and the Culture Secretary in Lucknow — changed 6 times.
This situation has resulted in uncertainty and frustration for locals and the Project alike — most specifically, not knowing the final rates to be offered for the land. It is understandable that the landowners will not accept the proposal without knowing the final value to be placed on their land.
Maitreya Project has insisted from the beginning that the government should meet with local leaders to work out an agreeable settlement. At the appropriate stage the Project will support this dialog by participating in meetings with all stakeholders: government, local civic groups and landowners, including those who are farmers.
Ms. Falcone claims, “The minority who are losing their homes face additional uncertainty. They’ve been told they will be ‘rehabilitated,’ but state officials have no plan yet to resettle them elsewhere. A government Land Acquisition Officer told me that instead of being resettled, they will be given a check to compensate them and will have to find someplace else to move, whether they agree to the terms or not.”
The proposed site was selected by the State Government only after extensive consultation with local people, specifically because it was relatively free of dwellings, and included a high percentage (approximately 40%) of unproductive land.
The fact is that, in addition to the Land Acquisition Act, the Government of India’s Rehabilitation and Relocation Policy dictates stringent and binding conditions on the State Government. The aim of this policy is to identify and mitigate any form of hardship which may follow from an acquisition. Maitreya Project understands that a large sum, in addition to that for land compensation, is being set aside specifically for relocation and rehabilitation of the displaced families.
Some may question whether the Government’s promises will come to fruition. The Project’s bottom line of control is that it will not proceed to lease the land offered by the Government of UP unless and until a full, fair, and agreeable settlement is reached with all stakeholders. This must include agreeable compensation and relocation services for the 48 families who will be displaced, and these matters must be independently verified as being fair.
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More Than Charity
Maitreya Project is often asked why we don’t forget about the statue and fundraise the equivalent amount of money to use just for education. While high quality education is an essential part of the Project’s vision, in a rural area like Kushinagar, to provide education alone is insufficient. It is essential to also create long-term, well-paid employment opportunities, otherwise there is a serious risk that the young people who have received an education will leave their villages for jobs in cities and abroad, thus decimating the social fabric.
The Project’s concept for sustainability ensures that those provided with education will have a huge number of employment opportunities both within the Project and in the associated developments and commerce that will follow it, generation after generation.
Maitreya Project already runs a highly successful school in Bodhgaya, India (Kindergarten through Grade 12, at which point the students are ready to attend university). Each year approximately 500 students are provided with free tuition, uniforms, books, a daily dinner, nutritional supplements, and on-site healthcare. This is the Project’s pilot school – the same educational services will be provided in and around Kushinagar.
Maitreya Project will also provide public healthcare programmes, to serve families who are currently living in dire poverty, and will build a teaching hospital of international standard to serve the community’s developing needs in the long-term.
The Maitreya Buddha statue, its throne building, and the park will provide the public with temples, exhibition halls, a museum, library, audio-visual theatre and hospitality services. All of this activity will provide major on-going employment opportunities for local people. It will create the circumstances for further development in the community to serve the many pilgrims and tourists who will come to see the statue and visit the other holy sites of the Buddhist pilgrimage route in Northern India.
The Project and the Government of Uttar Pradesh have worked together to create and enact the Kushinagar Special Development Area (KSDA), an additional area of 4.6 miles / 7.5 kilometres surrounding the Maitreya Project site.
Municipal bylaws, planning regulations, and legally controlled management will protect the KSDA from the kind of opportunism that is often seen in communities of emerging economic development.
The Special Development Area status was enacted specifically because it would be irresponsible to build the Project without a carefully considered planning context to complement it.
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what now?
The Project is crucially aware of the difficulties that land acquisition presents and is deeply concerned that acquisition means loss of land and potential hardship, which if not appropriately addressed would negate the Project’s philosophy and aspirations.
Keeping in mind the immense benefits Maitreya Project will bring to the community, it is dedicated to persevering in its attempt to bring long-term, sustainable benefit to Kushinagar. With the assistance of independent third-party professional agencies the process of land acquisition and the local situation will be closely monitored to ensure that the Government’s promises to the landowners are carried out. The Project is confident that they will be.