The private sector promoters of Bengal Aerotropolis Projects Ltd (BAPL) should talk to landowners directly, even those willing to sell their land to accommodate the 3500 acre project, in a move that has brought into sharp focus the antiquated land ceiling act in force in West Bengal and how it was hampering both private enterprise and public expectations.
This feeling was at cross-purposes with the ongoing exercise undertaken by West Bengal Industrial Development Corporation (WBIDC) in the Andal area to acquire land under the land acquisition law of the 1890s, for WBIDC was the only entity which could purchase large tracts of land.
Some of the locals alleged that landowners felt alienated as the company did not approach them directly for purchase of land.
Interestingly, the company had initially started work on the project by buying land directly but abandoned the initiative quickly in view of the antiquated land ceiling laws in force in Bengal.
No entity – human or institutional - could buy or hold more than 25 acres outside urban limits in the state, Subrata Paul, chief executive officer & director, and Kaushik Banerjee, vice-president for projects & business development of BAPL told Business Standard.
This meant that to accommodate the 3500-acre project, BAPL would have to set up 140 companies each holding 25 acres each and co-operating with each other to build, manage and run the venture.
Ironically, the land ceiling act was out in place by the Left Front government in West Bengal purportedly to protect the common man from the rich attempting to buy large tracts of land in the state, like the ‘rajas’ and ‘zamindars’ of old.
Yet, as locals told Business Standard, it was the common man in the area which was eager to talk to the private sector promoters of BAPL directly and to sell BAPL land far in excess on the land ceiling laws.
“This shows that a land owner feels he will get a fairer deal from a private investor than from the government acquisition officer”, said a faculty member of Jadavpur University involved in a land acquisition related study for the government.
BAPL officials admitted it was next to impossible to directly buy 3500 acres because of the the land ceiling laws.
Also, there was no guarantee that all the owners would give up land for the project within any timeframe and issues like land price could crop up.
However, acquisition by WBIDC had one big advantage: it would ensure the reclassification of land use from agricultural to industrial for the plot by the district land records office (DLRO).
The DLRO was the sole entity which had the power to reclassify land use and record it ownership through mutation and was perceived by industry as being the most difficult hurdle in setting up a greenfield unit in the state as it held up the ‘change of land use’ certificate and prevented financial closure of projects in the state.
While locals in Andal said they wanted the project, they said the price could be higher and this could be achieved if only the government stepped back from the process.
At public hearings, like one held today, local land owners said they felt their land was worth more and they should be paid more. WBIDC was offering a maximum of Rs 11.24 lakh for homestead land, and between Rs7.5 lakh to Rs 8.24 lakh per acre for the mono-crop farm land.
Locals also welcomed the BAPL gesture of giving land losers one cottah of land inside the project site for every bigha of land acquired for the project, and smaller plots from those owning less than a bigha.
One of the landowners from Dakhhin Khanda gram panchayat that Business Standard met on the proposed site of the aerotropolis said he was waiting to collect his cheque from the district magistrate's office.
What enticed the part-time farmer was the land-for land offer, and he said, "We want the 1 cottah of land per bigha inside the project area".
The aerotropolis was being set up by BAPL in association with Changi Airports International (CAI) and of the 3500 acres covering five gram panchayats in the Andal block and the Durgapur-Faridpur block, 2363 acres would be taken over in the first phase for the airport, industrial and commercial hubs, residential areas, theme park and allied areas.
This is the third and concluding part of a three-part series on Bengal Aerotropolis Pvt Ltd airport and township project, promoted by a private sector investment group in West Bengal under technical agreement with the Changi Airports of Singapore.
