Corporates need to gain confidence of the people giving up their land and this can be done by explaining to them the benefits of a project, said Ajay Shankar, Chairman, Expert Committee on Ease of Doing Business in India, DIPP, Ministry of Commerce and Industry.

Confidence must be instilled in people for them to voluntarily convert agricultural land for industrial development.

People giving up land need to see the benefits of better job prospects and rising incomes from such projects. “As far as densely populated areas are concerned and those who own land and are dependent on it, they must be convinced that they will benefit from converting agricultural land to the industrial/urban usage. They have to feel partnered and (as) beneficiaries,” he told reporters on the sidelines of the annual regional meeting of the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII).

For this to happen, land pooling, land leasing or a combination of the two can be explored.

Geographical planning for land use can also be carried out alongside to ensure better use of resources and avoid complications that may arise if fertile land is taken over for industrial projects.

Calling for the unlocking of closed factory land, Shankar said priority should be given to these places.

“The first priority is to unlock value in the land where no industrial activity takes place at the moment,” he said adding that there were many such land parcels in West Bengal. According to him, corporate houses under their CSR mandate should impart skill-training for youth of tribal dominated areas, irrespective of whether they have a project in the area or not.

“If the young of the tribal population get skills and jobs with higher income, then they will become partners in development,” Shankar said.

GST, a game-changer

Meanwhile, Sumit Mazumder, Chairman of CII, during his inaugural address said that the proposed Goods and Services Tax (GST) Bill will be a game-changer and help raise the share of manufacturing.

This will also fuel inclusive growth and align India with the global economy.

“GST will turn out to be a game-changer in raising the share of manufacturing, fuelling inclusive growth and aligning India with the global economy,” Mazumder said.

The Eastern region must “actively participate” in support of the legislation, he added.

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