Govts vying to keep land losers happy

Can any government keep villagers happy even after taking over their land? To be fair, the governments of Orissa, Jharkhand, Chhattisgrah and West Bengal are trying, and so are the companies.

The states scoff at how companies could help in the process. Politicians in all the states said they realised that this was a process where the solution had to be found by the government and company schemes, however well-intentioned, could only be the icing on the cake.

The Orissa government recently notified a new R&RP (rehabilitation and resettlement policy) increasing the payment of compensation to the project-displaced people substantially.

On its part, Posco India scaled down its demand for 5,000 acres, which would displace 2,000 families, to 4,000 acres of mostly government land, besides excluding some thickly populated villages and bringing down the number of families to be displaced to 450.

The Tata group has launched programmes such as 'Parivaar' to retrain local people, for possible employment or self-employment.

But these have not worked "" Orissa continues to be troubled by agitations that have stalled takeover of land.

The Chhattisgarh government is seeking to overcome its land acquisition problems and resistance from villagers by taking a strong line. It recently turned down a 13-point demand charter submitted by villagers before the administration.

For example, Chhattisgarh has rejected the demand of land for land. At the site of the proposed Essar Steel plant in the tribal villages of Dhuli and Bhansi in the Maoist-hit Dantewada district, the government is determined to call a gram sabha meeting after one called in October was boycotted by villagers.

"We will soon convene another gram sabha," K R Pishda, collector of Dantewada, said.

The government was, however, exploring all possible solutions while bureaucrats like Sarguja collector Manoj Pingua admitted problems. "The problem of land acquisition is serious," an industrialist said.

Chhattisgarh Minister of State for Industries Rajesh Munat admitted that there had been delay in land acquisition.

"But the problem will be sorted out soon as the state government has asked the district collectors to take necessary action and complete the process at the earliest," Munat told Business Standard.

To ease land acquisition in equally troubled Jharkhand, the UPA-supported Madhu Koda government has decided to completely review the state's R&R policy to protect the interest of those losing land.

A new rehabilitation policy has been drafted and circulated to all ministers for their suggestions and it would be out in early 2007, instead of late-2006 as promised, said top government sources.

In Jharkhand's 81-member Assembly, the JMM has 17 MLAs, the BJP 30 and the Congress 9, while the rest were independent legislators. Jharkhand revenue and land reforms minister Dulal Bhuia said the new rehabilitation policy would have a clause that land losers would get a partnership role in proposed industrial units.

"Otherwise no land would be handed over to investors," he said.

Bhuiya said after considering the discontentment and intense agitation by farmers against land acquisition of cultivable land for proposed plants, the Koda government was serious about provisions to include land losers in new enterprises, but the final form of this was yet to be worked out.

Bhuyia, a member of the JMM, said the recent happenings in West Bengal against farmland acquisition at Singur for Tata Motors had come as an eye-opener to politicians in Jharkhand.

The Singur lessons would help the Jharkhand government finalise and incorporate suitable clauses in the new rehabilitation policy.

Jharkhand would also take steps to improve the lot of agriculturists while framing the rehabilitation policy. Jharkhand Deputy Chief Minister Sudhir Mahto, also the industries minister, said the relief and rehabilitation policy promulgated in the past by the Arjun Munda government would be reviewed to minimise rural displacement and maximise benefits in the process of land acquisition.

These steps were likely to be be cleared as the JMM had a strong base in the state Assembly. However, politicians admitted they were not sure if investors would still be willing to set up industries if they were forced to make provisions for land losers.

The West Bengal government was earlier rigid about its compensation policy for land acquisition, but it has mellowed it stand after the agitation at Singur turned out to be more intense than expected.

The state was now offering land for land to those who refused to hand over land.

CPI(M) patriarch Jyoti Basu said while consent from those whose land was being acquired was not mandatory under the law, the state would like all the land to be handed over willingly and avert conflict.

At the same time, West Bengal has also started talking about a partnership role for communities affected by land acquisition in consultation with investors, but a policy decision on this was some way off.