Wednesday, September 06, 2006
Farmers too have a stake in growth
The spate of land acquisitions across the country, either for gigantic Special Economic Zones (SEZs) or for other infrastructure projects, is beginning to acquire political overtones. We have already witnessed some protest by the farm lobby over the manner in which Haryana government acquired the initial chunks of land for the 25,000-acre SEZ to be built in collaboration with the Reliance Industries group.
The other day, there was another significant protest led by former prime minister V P Singh at Dadri where some 2,500 acres of land have been acquired by the UP government for a power project.
The simple question being raised by V P Singh is whether in a “free-market economy” the farmers are being given the freedom to sell land on their terms. Even if they give up land for development, what do they get in the long run as stakeholders in development?
These are difficult questions to answer today because as yet there is no well-thought-out policy on large-scale agriculture land acquisition for the purpose of development. For instance, the Punjab government has acquired a full 1,000 acres in Amritsar district to be handed over to real estate company DLF for an SEZ.
Similarly, large chunks of land are being handed over for SEZs and township development in states like Maharashtra, Gujarat, West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh, Orissa and so on. The government has already cleared some 115 SEZs. More applications are likely to be cleared in due course.
The commerce ministry said last week that the overall limit of 155 SEZs, decided by the empowered group on ministers, may also be reviewed, given the massive response from the industry. It will be interesting to see how various state governments politically handle the acquisition of agricultural land, wherever required.
A minister in the UPA government told this writer there is a nagging worry among the top leadership that the farmers’ resentment over massive land acquisition could develop into a big political problem in later years. This would happen simply because big money pumped into such SEZs, which are largely real estate plays, will raise land prices in the initial years.
The farmers from adjoining areas who gave up land at government determined prices will then start calculating their notional losses. This is what happened when the Haryana government acquired land recently at 2001 prices from farmers to develop an SEZ.
CPI (M) member of Parliament, Mr Mohammed Salim, who works closely with West Bengal chief minister also echoed the view that land acquisition from farmers must be done with utmost care. He said the West Bengal government too was grappling with the issue as it tries to facilitate massive townships and SEZ projects.
The other day, there was another significant protest led by former prime minister V P Singh at Dadri where some 2,500 acres of land have been acquired by the UP government for a power project.
The simple question being raised by V P Singh is whether in a “free-market economy” the farmers are being given the freedom to sell land on their terms. Even if they give up land for development, what do they get in the long run as stakeholders in development?
These are difficult questions to answer today because as yet there is no well-thought-out policy on large-scale agriculture land acquisition for the purpose of development. For instance, the Punjab government has acquired a full 1,000 acres in Amritsar district to be handed over to real estate company DLF for an SEZ.
Similarly, large chunks of land are being handed over for SEZs and township development in states like Maharashtra, Gujarat, West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh, Orissa and so on. The government has already cleared some 115 SEZs. More applications are likely to be cleared in due course.
The commerce ministry said last week that the overall limit of 155 SEZs, decided by the empowered group on ministers, may also be reviewed, given the massive response from the industry. It will be interesting to see how various state governments politically handle the acquisition of agricultural land, wherever required.
A minister in the UPA government told this writer there is a nagging worry among the top leadership that the farmers’ resentment over massive land acquisition could develop into a big political problem in later years. This would happen simply because big money pumped into such SEZs, which are largely real estate plays, will raise land prices in the initial years.
The farmers from adjoining areas who gave up land at government determined prices will then start calculating their notional losses. This is what happened when the Haryana government acquired land recently at 2001 prices from farmers to develop an SEZ.
CPI (M) member of Parliament, Mr Mohammed Salim, who works closely with West Bengal chief minister also echoed the view that land acquisition from farmers must be done with utmost care. He said the West Bengal government too was grappling with the issue as it tries to facilitate massive townships and SEZ projects.
# posted by mashup @ 4:31 PM 
