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LATEST NEWS UPDATES | Marriage pawn in acquisition game by Amit Gupta

Marriage pawn in acquisition game by Amit Gupta

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published Published on May 26, 2011   modified Modified on May 26, 2011
Land acquisition by steel behemoth ArcelorMittal is changing the demography of Bokaro’s hinterland.

The lure of a smart compensation package being offered by the company — Rs 5 lakh per acre and jobs — has spurred villagers of Kasmar and Petarwar blocks to sell their land to family members and friends to make the most of the expected windfall.

Ever since the land acquisition process started in early 2010, a number of marriages have been solemnised in the eight villages that are smack in the middle of the 2,500 acres the company wants for its proposed 3 million tonne per annum (MTPA) steel plant. Moreover, as many as 200 new rayats or landowners — all stakeholders to the largesse pie — have emerged, after buying up numerous small and medium holdings over the last few months.

“All this is happening because the villagers want to extract the maximum benefit out of the compensation package. However, with so many new players entering the field, the land acquisition process is getting delayed,” said ArcelorMittal’s general manager (mines) P.S. Prasad.

So far, the company has been able to procure only 2.32 acres in Ormo village, and that deal was inked way back in October last year. Since then, the company’s efforts to purchase land have run into numerous hurdles as titles of holdings have changed.

“The land records have to be updated before new registrations can take place,” a source at the Kasmar block office said.

According to villagers, many families “distributed” and sold chunks of land to close relatives, with an eye on the sops being offered.

Not only is the L.N. Mittal-owned company offering Rs 5 lakh for every acre, it has also promised jobs to every nuclear family and a stipend of Rs 5,000 per month from the time the land is registered till a member is provided employment in the company.

“Ever since the package was announced, there has been a rush to buy and sell land. Not only have people sold holdings to family members, outsiders from Bihar and Bengal have also bought land here,” said Omprakash Karmali, a resident of Ormo.

The villager attributed the spurt in marriages to an effort to ensure as many nuclear families as possible, thereby that many jobs and monthly stipend. “We have feasted at 30 to 32 weddings this summer. Most of the bachelors in my village tied the knot this year,” said Karmali, who ekes out a living by ploughing the field and also moonlights as a munshi in a brick kiln.

Fellow villager Vikas Mahto sees nothing wrong in making hay. “Such opportunities are rare. The company will rake in the profits once the unit starts. What is wrong if we try to get a better deal?” he asked.

But for ArcelorMittal, the frequent change of hands as far as the land in question is concerned, has been nothing short of a nightmare. Prasad said agreement papers signed earlier against acquisition of land now need to be changed before they can be registered either at Tenughat or Bokaro.

The company aims to set up a 3MTPA steel mill to start with, which will be part of the company’s first greenfield project in India of 12MTPA capacity. An MoU to this effect was signed back in 2005.

Ever since, delays have dogged the company’s plans in Jharkhand, though a similar venture in Karnataka, agreed upon last year, is going ahead full steam. The steel major has already procured a sizeable 1,800 acres in the southern state.

The Telegraph, 26 May, 2011, http://www.telegraphindia.com/1110526/jsp/frontpage/story_14030835.jsp


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