In an affidavit filed in Jharkhand High Court recently, Jharkhand industry department admitted that after signing 74 MoUs with private companies by successive governments, the state could not provide land to many of them and they were asked to negotiate directly with the land owners, without government assistance.
The affidavit, signed by the deputy director of industry department BML Das, said availability of land was a major hurdle for setting up industries and as a result, many industries had to be shifted and relocated due to land disputes and protests by villagers.
The affidavit said, “The companies that have offered lucrative prices to the landowners for acquiring their lands to set up industries have yielded positive results.”
According to the affidavit, after gaining statehood, Jharkhand had signed 74 MoUs with private companies of which 16 have been partly executed. Nineteen MoUs have been cancelled, while five are on the verge of cancellation due to a lack of interest of the companies concerned.
The affidavit said that the industry department is due to review work concerning 16 MoUs with industries planning to set up units in the state.
It said companies like Jindal Steel and Electrosteel have already set up plants and begun discharging corporate social responsibilities.
During hearing of a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed by Maa Adishakti Bhrashtachar Unmulak Ebam Nagarik Adhikar Raksha Samiti, an NGO fighting against corruption and representing people’s rights, the high court directed the government to examine and analyse every MoU the state had signed with private companies and explain the hurdles in their implementation.