The Hindu Business Line : Land acquisition: Bengal Govt working on package for `marginalised'

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Land acquisition: Bengal Govt working on package for `marginalised'

Plan to develop commercial properties around new industrial units

Our Bureau

Kolkata, Sept. 25

The State Government is working on modalities as to how to reward those evicted from lands acquired for the purpose of industrialisation by sharing with them the prospective appreciated value of the land so acquired.

"We're still mulling how to go about in this matter as there are so many issues to be sorted out," Mr Nirupam Sen, West Bengal Minister for Commerce & Industry, said here on Monday.

He also indicated that a special package was being considered for those to be "marginalised" in the process of land acquisition. The essence of the package would be to develop commercial properties in and around areas where new industrial units would come up and make them available to the "marginalised" sections.

"Our experience from the leather complex at Bantala near Kolkata has prompted us to explore similar opportunities in other areas where new industrial projects are coming up," he said.

The Minister, however, made it clear that the proposed package would be tailor- made only for those who could cannot be rehabilitated in any other way. This would be in addition to the compensation money to be provided to them for the acquisition of land.

Earlier, at a seminar organised by the State Government on major policy issues relating to industrialisation in West Bengal, the Minister dwelt at length on the industrial land use and rehabilitation of those affected by the launching of industrial projects.

The State Government, the Minister said, had identified six belts such as Kolkata- Howrah-Hooghly, Asansol- Durgapur-Bankura-Purulia, Haldia centering arounf port, Kharagpur-Midnapore-Jhargram, Kalyani and Siliguri- Jalpaiguri in the northern part to promote industrialisation.

Also, in each district small and medium industrial units would be encouraged to come up, and for this, several industrial parks such as foundry park, food park, apparel park, garments park, tea park would be set up.

FOCUS ON CLOSED UNITS

There were problems, legal and others, with regard to acquisition of land of the closed units. Still, the State Government had made some headway in this regard by acquiring land of its own closed units. Also, move was afoot to acquire about 200 acres each of NJMC (National Jute Manufacturers Corporation) and NTC (National Textiles Corporation) mills located in the State. "We've told the Central Government that we're prepared to pay even the reserve price for the NJMC mills," he said. There was also a move to acquire the land of the closed MAMC factory in Durgapur.

Mr Sen said that a consensus was being reached at the grass-root level with the participation of the political parties with regard to the payment of compensation to those who would be affected by industrial units. "In Purulia, such consensus has already resulted in the evictees getting substantially more than the market price for the lands they offered for industrialisation," he added.

Dr Sabyasachi Sen, Secretary, Department of Commerce & Industry, also participated in the discussion.

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