Bengal forms co to buy property for land bank
Amid nationwide furore over farmland acquisition for big-ticket industrial projects, the West Bengal government has silently floated a brand-new company, christened West Bengal Land Holdings, which will be responsible for creating a land bank by a...
By Sutanuka Ghosal, TNN |
KOLKATA: Amid nationwide furore over farmland acquisition for big-ticket industrial projects, the West Bengal government has silently floated a brand-new company, christened West Bengal Land Holdings, which will be responsible for creating a land bank by acquiring acres for upcoming special economic zones (SEZs) and industrial projects in the state.
The new entity, which will be a wholly-owned subsidiary of WBIDC, has been specifically asked to identify mono-crop farmland which may be used for industrial purpose. The state’s decision to create a standalone entity for handling the crucial project land issue has been triggered by recent political turmoil over farmland acquisition in Singur — the proposed site of the Tata Motors small car project.
Incidentally, the state will soon need to kick off the acquisition process for a staggering 44,000 acres for projects already in the pipeline. This includes 22,500 acres for Salim Group’s mega-chemical industrial estate and a multi-product SEZ in Haldia.
Top officials at Writers’ Buildings told ET, “The Singur incident has been an eye-opener for the state government. It has been an uphill task for West Bengal Industrial Development Corporation (WBIDC) to acquire 997 acres at Singur. In the past couple of months, WBIDC officials were dealing only with Singur. The formation of a new entity for land acquisition/banking is the brainchild of chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, who is making going flat out to revive the state’s image, post-Singur.”
It is understood that Mr Bhattacharjee, who has sought his party’s organisational support for acquiring land for industrial projects, is keen to have the proposed land bank in place before embarking on a major land acquisition drive. Party insiders indicated that the chief minister wishes to ensure that prospective investors in the state get land without trouble.
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Lately, farmland acquisition for industrial projects has become a politically sensitive issue at a national level. According to recent media reports, nearly 250 SEZs across the country are hanging fire due to delays in land acquisition. Download
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