'Govt won't step in to acquire land for SEZ'

MUMBAI: Maharashtra chief minister Vilasrao Deshmukh finally broke his long silence over the controversial issue of land acquisition for the Maha Mumbai SEZ in Raigad district. Mr Deshmukh said there was no “compulsory land acquisition” and the government won’t intervene to help the developer acquire land.

“I had very clearly said that the government would neither allow compulsory land acquisition by a developer nor would it indulge in land acquisition itself. The government stands by this commitment and will continue to stand by it,” Mr Deshmukh told media persons.

Mr Deshmukh’s comments come in the backdrop of the seemingly conflicting positions taken by the chief minister and revenue minister Narayan Rane on land acquisition for the Reliance Industries-promoted Maha Mumbai SEZ. While Mr Deshmukh had ordered a stay on land acquisition in March and ruled out government intervention on behalf of the developer, the revenue ministry did not issue written orders to this effect.

The land acquisition process, under the Land Acquisition Act of 1894, is still continuing in Raigad district. Earlier this week, Mr Rane stated that the process would go on and there was no question of staying the process at this juncture. All through the controversy, Mr Deshmukh had maintained a surprising silence.

On being asked the government’s stand, Mr Deshmukh sought to differentiate between the land getting notified and acquired. “Land is only being notified in Raigad and not acquired. The government stand is what it has been — we will not resort to compulsory land acquisition after it gets notified.

The government will also not force farmers to accept the final compensation award. In this case, the government will not invoke its right to impose the compensation package on farmers,” Mr Deshmukh said.