While the West Bengal government is still grappling with the political opposition, even after announcing a rehabilitation package to the land losers of Tata Motors' project in Singur, the Andhra Pradesh government has gone a step ahead.The state government has announced a job for each of the 600 families losing land in the Jindal Group's proposed aluminium project, with a monthly Rs 3,000 up front salary compensation till the project is commissioned.This is in addition to the Rs 2.05 lakh per acre net compensation and Rs 1.75 lakh worth of shares in the company offered to each of these families.While the employment is guaranteed to one person from each of the displaced families as per their qualification, a one-time financial grant of Rs 3 lakh is also being offered to families who do not want the job. Also, the company will build houses for each of the 600 displaced families at its own cost with all the amenities.Considered to be the most controversial of all the projects, the state government had engaged the Andhra Pradesh Mining Development Corporation (APMDC) to mine the bauxite reserves falling in the reserve forest areas of the Visakha agency while entering into memorandums of understanding (MoU) with the Jindal Group a couple of years back, and UAE firm Ras Al Khaimah recently.According to the Geological Survey of India, about 1,000 million tonne of bauxite reserves are estimated to be obtainable from the Visakha agency.The Jindals and Al Khaimah have proposed to set up alumina and smelter projects with an investment of over Rs 9,000 crore and Rs 8,000 crore respectively. APMDC will supply bauxite ore to these projects at a mutually agreed price.The state Cabinet, which met here on Wednesday, cleared the allotment of 1,048 acres of land to Jindal South West Aluminium Company in the S Kota area in Vizianagaram district along with a rehabilitation package for the land losers. Of this, 866.67 acres is assigned land, that is, given away by the government in the past to the landless scheduled cast and scheduled tribe families. The company proposes to build the phase one project in a year from the date of handing over the land.
