West Bengal makes land acquisition industrialists’ job

KOLKATA - After its land acquisition for industry went wrong twice, and with adverse consequences for it, the West Bengal government Thursday said henceforth the industrialists will have to directly purchase land from farmers.

The government will no more acquire land for industries, Finance Minister Asim Dasgupta told the state assembly.

However, in case an industrialist has problems with acquiring a small amount of land after purchasing a lumpsum, the government will step in, he said.

Dasgupta, however, said in 98 percent of industrial ventures land is bought directly by the entrepreneurs in the state. “The entire land for small and medium range projects are purchased directly by the entrepreneurs. Only in the case of some big industries, the government gets involved,” he said.

Dasgutpa said there is a provision for Rs.500 crore in the 2009-10 state budget for a land bank. “Land can be given from that,” he added.

Acquisition of land had become a major issue in the state since 2006 and the government’s bid to purchase farmland to set up a Tata Motors’ Nano plant in Singur and a chemical hub in Nandigram had to be aborted following sustained protests by some unwilling farmers, led by the opposition parties.