Maharashtra farmers to get land in SEZs

As an answer to the problem of growing protests over acquisition of land for special economic zones (SEZ) or other industrial projects, Maharashtra government has come up with an innovative idea of giving 12.5 per cent of the acquired land back to the farmers as fully developed plots.

This was announced by State Industry Minister Ashok Chavan in the Assembly few days back while replying on the calling attention motion on SEZs.

Chavan said this would be in addition to the cash compensation given to the farmers for their land. "However, the final formula for compensation is still being worked out," he added.

A senior official from the industry ministry said, "When City and Industrial Development Corporation (CIDCO) acquired land for developing Navi Mumbai, the same formula was adopted. Besides, recently Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation (MIDC) also adopted a similar formula to acquire land for industrial parks in the state. The MIDC reserves 15 per cent land of the industrial park for farmers."