Jharkhand may offer equity to displaced

The Jharkhand rehabilitation and resettlement policy, expected any day now, is likely to include a proposal to offer equity to the displaced villagers as an option for compensating them for the loss of land.

According to the draft policy, the displaced villagers would either have to be given one job per family or a lumpsum, half of which could be in the form of equity in the projects.

The policy is also likely to make the approval of gram sabhas a must for identifying land for the projects.

"The collector will determine the market rate and the compensation advisory committee will consider the collector's recommendation," the draft policy says. A rehabilitation advisory committee would suggest relief packages for the displaced.

The policy will make various MoUs between the state government and industries a reality. Many companies, sources said, could not acquire land due to the absence of such a policy.

Jharkhand government sources indicated that many projects""Tata Steel, Jindal Steel & Power, Hindalco""were at the land acquisition stage.

However, this is not the first time a state government is considering grant of equity in projects as compensation. Orissa's rehabilitation policy has a provision for issuance of convertible preference shares to the displaced.

The value of the shares can be up to 50 per cent of the one- time cash assistance. The West Bengal government is also considering the option for its future projects.

However, industry executives say the displaced are unlikely to opt for equity as they will not know what to do the shares.