West Bengal govt wading into another land question: Here's why

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had reaped rich political dividend from her agitation against “forcible” land acquisition for Tata Motors’ Nano project in Singur.

But into her third term with an overwhelming mandate in the recent West Bengal Assembly elections, the state government is set to embark on its most ambitious land procurement process.

Earlier this month, Banerjee announced a detailed Rs10,000-crore compensation and rehabilitation package for a West Bengal Power Development Corporation (WBPDCL) greenfield coal mining project.

The coal block, considered to be India’s largest, was allotted by the Central government a few years ago. It has around 1,198 million tonnes of coal and 1,400 million cubic metres of basalt/black stone.

The rehabilitation and resettlement package — possibly the largest ever by the state — covers all project-affected people — from landowners, farmers, crusher labourers, crusher owners, quarry owners to local residents. Those losing houses and land will get financial compensation, houses, jobs, and other benefits (around 3,010 families).

The Deocha-Pachami-Dewanganj-Harinsingha coal block was allotted to WBPDCL for captive use at its thermal power plants and falls in the Mohammed Bazar block in Birbhum district. There are around 21,033 people residing within the coal block boundary, with 3,601 of them from scheduled castes and 9,034 from scheduled tribes.

The government has estimated the total investment for the project at Rs35,000 crore and the rehabilitation package accounts for 28.5 per cent.

“The overall principle of the chief minister is, do not forcibly take land. Look into the stakeholders’ needs, then compensate them, build houses, and do what is appropriate,” said a senior Trinamool Congress leader.

Will it be a test case for West Bengal? “If the Deocha Pachami model is successful, then you have a model not just for West Bengal but for India,” the party leader said.

While announcing the package, Banerjee made it clear that the acquisition for the project would not be like the one in Singur and discussion had taken place with all stakeholders.

Singur, 40 km from Kolkata, became synonymous with land agitation. Its story went like this: In 2006, the Left Front government had invoked the Land Acquisition Act of 1894 to acquire 997 acres for the Tata Motors project. However, of the 13,000 project-affected farmers, 2,000 refused to accept compensation cheques. An indefinite agitation backed by Banerjee, then in the Opposition, followed for returning land to farmers, ultimately resulting in Tata Motors moving out in 2008. The Assembly elections that followed in 2011 saw the ouster of the Left Front and marked the beginning of the Mamata Banerjee government.

Ensconced in power the past 10 years, the government mostly met industry’s requirements by allotting land in industrial parks or that vested with government departments. But according to industry sources, land was an ask from industry.

“Any investor has windows open in many states. Among the deciding factors is proximity to markets, logistics, and land. The starting point may not be land, but it’s an important factor and issues around land have been raised in closed-door meetings,” an industry source said.

However, they conceded that the announcement on land acquisition for the project was a positive step.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which has emerged as the Trinamool’s challenger in West Bengal, has been raising the pitch on investment policies.

“Industry will not come without land. It is not possible for investors to come to build a consensus among people and then purchase land. That is the job of the government,” said Dilip Ghosh, BJP national vice-president.

Land acquisition in West Bengal is not an easy task. According to the agriculture department website, there are 7.1 million farm families, of which 96 per cent are small and marginal farmers. The average size of land holdings is only 0.77 hectares.

It’s not without reason that Banerjee is not rushing into it. The coal block is spread over 3,400 acres and work will first start on 1,000 acres of government-owned land. Moreover, WBPDCL has set up a committee of well-known personalities headed by actor and director Parambrata Chattopadhyay to supervise and monitor activities relating to confidence-building measures among residents.

But questions are being raised about the method of acquisition. Media reports quoted CPI(M) leader Sujan Chakraborty, demanding a white paper on the acquisition — whether the government would acquire the land or procure land from aggregators. The acquisition of land in Singur, incidentally, was under the Land Acquisition Act. The government notification on the proposed package, however, mentions “direct purchase” for land with private owners.

It’s early days for the process but political analysts believe that pushing it through could be one of Banerjee’s biggest challenges.