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LATEST NEWS UPDATES | Trinamul door ajar on PPP land by Biswajit Roy

Trinamul door ajar on PPP land by Biswajit Roy

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published Published on Aug 1, 2011   modified Modified on Aug 1, 2011

The Trinamul Congress will accept government acquisition of land for the private sector only if the plots are required for projects under public-private partnership (PPP) and serve a public purpose.

The stand was articulated by Trinamul Rajya Sabha MP and land expert Debabrata Bandopadhyay at a meeting with Union rural development minister Jairam Ramesh here today. The party had so far opposed any government role in acquisition of land for private ventures.

Ramesh, who had met chief minister Mamata Banerjee last night to get her support for the draft National Land Acquisition and Rehabilitation & Resettlement Bill, visited Debabrata Bandopadhyay’s Salt Lake residence today to overcome differences between the Congress-led UPA and its largest partner Trinamul.

Debabrata Bandopadhyay, a former bureaucrat, is known as the architect of the land reforms started by the first Left Front government in 1977. He enjoys a personal rapport with Ramesh.

Debabrata Bandopadhyay said he had reiterated Mamata’s stand against government intervention in 100 per cent land acquisition from farmers for private projects.

“But Ramesh pointed out that governments these days are delegating responsibilities in many areas and running development projects under the PPP model. He asked what would be happen if land acquisition is needed for a private company under such a model,’’ Debabrata Bandopadhyay said. The expansion of Delhi airport and other hubs is being done under such a model, the minister is said to have told Debabrata Bandopadhyay.

“I told him that in such situations, government can acquire land for private groups. But ministries like civil aviation will have to certify that the acquisition is needed for public purposes after the companies apply for such a clearance. The certification and the acquisition have to be decided on a case-by-case basis. I have suggested relevant corrections in the draft,’’ the land expert said.

According to the draft, “public purpose” includes private sector projects “useful to the general public” along with those related to defence, national security, industrialisation and urbanisation.

Trinamul, still opposed to inclusion of the private sector under the term “public purpose”, is likely to accept the draft if Debabrata Bandopadhyay’s riders are incorporated, party leaders said.

Debabrata Bandopadhyay shrugged off a provision in the draft bill that makes prior written consent of 80 per cent of the landowners a must for both government and private projects. “I am not bothered about that provision since we are opposed to any general provision for government acquisition for the private sector in public purpose.”

A section of the Trinamul leaders sees the provision as a “cosmetic change” to the earlier 70:30 formula which had allowed governments to procure 30 per cent land for private firms if the rest was already purchased. The leaders suspect the clause is a veiled attempt to make way for government intervention.

According to the Trinamul leaders, the 80:20 formula can be troublesome for the Mamata Banerjee government in Singur as the Left government had always insisted that over 80 per cent of the farmers had accepted the acquisition and collected compensation.

Of the more than 12,000 plot-owners, “unwilling” farmers numbered less than 3,000, as suggested by recent applications of such individuals asking for the return of their plots.

After meeting Ramesh, Mamata had described the new draft as “much better than the previous one” while mentioning that she “has issues with one or two points” in the revised blueprint. She also pointed out that the state’s draft land policy, drawn up by Debabrata Bandopadhyay, had already ruled out any government procurement of land for private firms.

She also iterated her opposition to forcible land take-over, not only for private sector but also for government projects in public purposes.

The Telegraph, 1 August, 2011, http://www.telegraphindia.com/1110801/jsp/frontpage/story_14315983.jsp


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