The Hindu Business Line : `Land acquisition should be for public purposes only'

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Guntur Feb. 10 The Union Minister of State for Commerce, Mr Jairam Ramesh, feels that governments should not acquire land for private industries and special economic zones (SEZs).

He suggested according equity shares to the farmers giving land for the projects, besides ensuring a constant stream of income for 25-30 years as against one-time payment of compensation.

"When States acquire land, it should be used for public purposes such as irrigation, power and highways. States should not be acquiring land for private SEZs," he said.

Talking to Business Line, the Minister said it (land deals for setting up SEZs) should be done between the private players and the landowner, with the State restricting itself to set down the rules for such acquisition and monitor the process in order to ensure payment of market value.

Compensation

On payment of compensation, Mr Jairam Ramesh advocated against one-time payment. "The down payment should be minimum. We should provide for annuity, ensuring a steady income stream for the landowner for 25-30 years. There should be set rules for mode of payments," he explained.

He also pointed out that the landowners should not be denied benefits of appreciation. Whatever compensation they received, it was based on the present market value.

Though the Government had cleared about 60 AEZs (agricultural exports zones), most of them had not taken off largely because the States were not able to provide the required infrastructure.

"They could not attract the anchor private entrepreneurs who could drive agriculture exports," he said.

"We have created a window of Rs 50 crore in the Ministry to get some of these AEZs going. APEDA has identified a couple of areas with maximum potential to take off. Some of these could be flowers from Sikkim, pineapple from north-east and mangoes from Nuziveedu and Chittoor," he said.

The Minister hoped that at least five to six AEZs would happen soon.

On agricultural exports, he said the share of these exports was 10 per cent of in country's total exports as against 20 per cent in the mid-1990s.

There were many reasons for this decline. Contributions from other sectors grew faster than that of agricultural exports.

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