At 20, Chandan Singh would not mind surrendering what has long been his family property: land. For, over generations the plot of two bighas in Dobra of northwest Madhya Pradesh has not earned him encouraging income -- it is practically barren, much like 21 villages in the vicinity. With no irrigation facility, the returns have been discouraging; but that doesn’t mean he can sell it off. Reason: no buyers, despite its proximity to this town in Rajgarh district.
Of late, a government move has lent the young peasant a ray of hope. In a way, the administrators in the state capital are even more frustrated than Chandan, who has already quit farming and is working as a mason. The authorities are looking for a site to set up a power equipment hub, a defense special economic zone and a new industrial area around here, only 120 km away west from the state capital.
It may, thus, look a simple give-and-take exercise. Only that it just isn’t.
For one, not all the 3481 hectares of land in the 21 villages in the locality (which the government plans to take over) are completely, or even partly, arid. Two, that being the case, it becomes tough to calculate the compensation money -- more so, fix a uniform price. Further, a chunk of the inhabitants had got their patta (title deed) during the previous Congress regimes, implying that a land takeover now by the present BJP dispensation would lend it a political colour that would be uneasy for the ruling party.
Whatever, lower-rung government staff like patwaris have started cajoling the villagers to surrender their land for the upcoming project, dangling the usual bait: better lifestyle in the future.
The impoverished residents, predominantly from the Scheduled Castes, have begun sensing remuneration in the transaction, but none has a clear idea about the amount they might get. Few among them is literate enough to seeks justic and basic rights in this kind of a deal. For instance, Ramcharan, 75, as one of the eldest members of his Dobra village, is eager to get rid of the agriculture land that yields him practically nothing. “What is good in a plot if it cannot give me the money to pay school fees to my grandsons?” he asks.
Juxtaposing his view is fellow farmer Randhir Singh -- of nearby Kosar Kala village. He is sure that he must get a “good offer” in return for the fields he may have to surrender.
Also Read
Amid this, the government had, two years ago, signed a Rs 20,000-crore deal in Gwalior with Infrastructure Leasing and Financial Services (IL&FS) on making Biaora a heavy power equipment manufacturing hub. The main artery of this area is Ghora Pachhad River. Flows vertically to Gujarat-Vadinagar pipeline for Bina refinery, it is projected to feed the proposed industries for the first few years.
On its part, the government says it owns 1,250 of the 3,481 hectares of land -- in patches -- in these 21 villages. The rest 2,230 hectare needs to be acquired. “It will not be difficult,” claims Biaora deputy collector Neeta Rathore. “After all, there are no jobs for the rustic youths in this area. People live in extreme poverty.”
In fact, Chandan has himself migrated to this town; while quite a few in his native village have moved farther -- to Bhopal, Indore and even Rajasthan.
So, contesting Rathore’s view, a few insiders in the government say land acquisition would not be easier as all farmers are patta holders (lessees). “It’s the previous Congress governments that awarded them lease for farmland,” notes a government official. “So, if the BJP takes them back, it would take a political colour.”
Also many farmers contradict the government calculations on barren land. “Some areas are cultivable,” says Ram Singh Meena, a soya farmer. His list isn’t small: “Alampur, Kalakot, Bank Pura, Kasor Kala, Palaway, Jaganya Pura, Guljarpura Kesharpura, Jogidata...” The government officials, he claims, have erroneously surveyed the land.
The industries department has yet to start the land acquisition process, which will put an additional burden of Rs 400 crore to the state kitty. Notes Rathore: “As many as 6,000 farmers will be relocated. That, too, will require a huge fund.”
There is hardly a social organisation that works in the area. As a result, there is none to contest the government officials’ claim that the land is barren. Also none has conducted a study on the future of the pristine Malwa culture once industrialisation comes in.
“What’s wrong if an industry comes and increases employability in the area?” asks the deputy collector. “People of Bedia and Banchhda communities have for long no option, but to survive on prostitution. The male members have no jobs.”