Singur reversed? Now, farmers seek WB govt help to sell land

KOLKATA: Land acquisition in Bengal has taken a backseat. But in some pockets, a reverse trend is emerging.

Over the past few months, owners of small plots in several parts of the state and in some cases, groups of farmers have been asking the administration to help in selling off their land because agriculture is not turning out to be viable.

West Bengal Industrial Development Corporation (WBIDC) has received many such applications from big and small owners in Burdwan , South 24 Parganas, Howrah and Hooghly. The land on offer ranges from a few hundred bighas to 500-1000 acre.

Such appeals have prompted WBIDC to consider framing a specific policy on purchasing these plots and forming a separate pool of land.

‘‘ If owners are willing to part with their land, then it should not be a problem for us to purchase the plots. Either WBIDC can purchase or facilitate acquisition where there is an industrial body waiting in the wings to take land. It is easier than hunting for land and convincing people . This is land with readymade consent,’’ an industries department official said.

Last year, CPM’s Burdwan district committee secretary and state committee member Amal Haldar wrote to land minister Abdur Rezzak Mollah requesting that Section IV (I) of the Land Acquisition Act be immediately issued in Kanksha mouza covering 700 acre where farmers were keen to have their land acquired by the state. The farmers have also been mounting pressure on the CPM in this regard. Recently, two other petitions came from the Maro and Ilambazar areas.