The Hindu Business Line : Land not an issue in Bengal: Asim

Stating that 72 per cent of investments coming into West Bengal today were in the small and medium industry segment, Dr Asim Dasgupta, the State Finance Minister said that land, therefore, was not an issue. He, however, conceded that it will be much better if land be directly acquired by the investors rather than through intermediaries.

Admitting that the land-acquisition process was a matter of social concern, he said barren land in Bengal was just 1 per cent of the total land available, with 67 per cent being cultivated land, and the remaining single-crop or semi-arid land.

Speaking at a panel discussion organised by FICCI (Eastern Regional Council) on "India in the Emerging Global Order: Opportunities and Pitfalls" here on Saturday, Dr Dasgupta drew a parallel between Singur, where the problems began, and Nandigram (East Midnapur), which set the State Government on the backfoot.

He said 90 per cent of land in Nandigram was government-owned. Describing the problem related to land acquisition in Singur (some 997 acres) for Tata Motors as one at the micro level, he said the two areas of concern that need to be addressed upfront were if there will be any disturbance to food security in the area, and the level of compensation to land-dependent farmers.

The minister said while the compensation given was well above the market price, the Government was open to giving a higher amount.

Involving farmers

In Nandigram, where the proposed chemicals hub was being set up as a central project at a SEZ, the State Government has planned to take all farmers into confidence before land acquisition starts, he said.

Earlier, in his presentation, Dr Dasgupta said if a level-ground has to be achieved for Third World countries, it was time to call for an alternative IMF, WTO and perhaps even a World Bank.

Presenting his party's viewpoint on such land acquisition, Mr Prakash Javadekar, national spokesperson, BJP, said that essentially multi-crop fertile agricultural land should never be palmed-out for industrial projects. And if so, the rate of compensation should be at least 300 per cent more than the market value, to make such deals meaningful. Additionally, he felt, the affected farmer should be made a stakeholder in the proposed industrial project.

According to Mr Abhishek Manu Singhvi, MP, national spokesperson of the Congress Party and senior Supreme Court lawyer, there should be a uniform approach by all States if problems are to be avoided.

Pointing out that States still have not learnt from sister States, Mr Singhvi called for a uniform growth pattern if the widening urban-rural divide has to be narrowed and for a more equitable distribution of the cake. Suggesting that 50 per cent of the world's poor live in India, out of whom some 35 per cent are food insecure, he said poverty reduction in the country has to come about much faster (and not at the present rate of 0.8 per cent per annum).

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