NOT ORDINANCE, But Singur land bill will be presented in assembly: Mamata.What a Turnaround!Ordinance to Return SINGUR Land But NO Respite to Indian Peasantry Persecuted as Indiscriminate land Acquisition to CONTINUE!In an UNPRECEDENTED Move,the Mama

NOT ORDINANCE, But Singur land bill will be presented in assembly: Mamata.What a Turnaround!Ordinance to Return SINGUR Land But NO Respite to Indian Peasantry Persecuted as Indiscriminate land Acquisition to CONTINUE!In an UNPRECEDENTED Move,the Mamata Banerjee government on Thursday passed an ordinance to reclaim 400 acres of the 997.11 acres land in the deserted Tata Motors site in Singur to return it to unwilling farmers.But Mamata Banerjee has kept MUM on Draft Manifacturing Policy which opens the INFINITE Avenues of Indiscriminate Land cquisition for NMIZ!Industry gives thumbs up to draft manufacturing policy!Through NMIZs, the Government proposes to make it simpler for the units in the zone to file their returns in a consolidated manner for all the rules/acts and also to reduce the burden of inspections.The creation of National Manufacturing and Investment Zones as mega investment regions, equipped with world-class infrastructure, has been proposed as a major policy instrument.Unions decry labour law exemption for manufacturing investment zones!


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Singur land bill will be presented in assembly: Mamata

What a Turnaround!

After attacks from the opposition, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said Friday her government would not enforce the ordinance to return the Singur land to 'unwilling' farmers from whom it was taken for Tata Motors Nano car project.

Instead, the chief minister said, the government will bring a bill on the issue in the budget session of the state assembly.

'After the governor addresses the assembly session, which could open June 13, we are planning to place the bill. We will place only Singur bill in the assembly in this session,' Banerjee told reporters here.

'We are not enforcing the ordinance. Even if we had done so, we would have had to pass it in the house within six months. But Singur is important to us, and people there are turning to me in their helplessness…

'Ordinance is a long procedure. So to speed up matters, so we will bring only the Singur bill from the government side in this session so that no more time is wasted,' said Banerjee.

The chief minister, a first time legislator, however, conceded that she did not understand the system that is followed in the assembly as she has been only involved in parliament.

Banerjee had Thrusday announced that her government had promulgated an ordinance to acquire 400 acres of land at Singur to return it to the farmers, from whom it was taken 'against their will' by the previous Left Front regime for the Tata Motors Nano small car project.

'We have promulgated an ordinance. By the ordinance, we will return 400 acres of land at Singur to the unwilling farmers. Cabinet had already taken the decision. The governor has signed the ordinance. The remaining 600 acres of land will be available for industry,' Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee told reporters Thursday.

It created a furore in the political circles.

The Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) termed it as 'unconstitutional' and 'illegal' as the assembly was in session.

'It is unconstitutional and illegal. It is dangerous for parliamentary democracy. No ordinance can be brought when the assembly is in session,' said Biman Bose, politburo member of the CPI-M and secretary of its state unit.

Returning 400 acres to the farmers was one of the major promises of the Trinamool Congress. Hours after being sworn in as chief minister May 20, Banerjee got the decision passed in the first cabinet meeting of the new regime.

Ordinance to Return SINGUR Land But NO Respite to Indian Peasantry Persecuted as Indiscriminate land Acquisition to CONTINUE!In an UNPRECEDENTED Move,the Mamata Banerjee government on Thursday passed an ordinance to reclaim 400 acres of the 997.11 acres land in the deserted Tata Motors site in Singur to return it to unwilling farmers.But Mamata Banerjee has kept MUM on Draft Manifacturing Policy which opens the INFINITE Avenues of Indiscriminate Land cquisition for NMIZ!Industry gives thumbs up to draft manufacturing policy!Through NMIZs, the Government proposes to make it simpler for the units in the zone to file their returns in a consolidated manner for all the rules/acts and also to reduce the burden of inspections.The creation of National Manufacturing and Investment Zones as mega investment regions, equipped with world-class infrastructure, has been proposed as a major policy instrument.Unions decry labour law exemption for manufacturing investment zones!


Well! Mamata Banerjee seems to be in HASTE. She struck the Gorkhaland deal last week. The Dust is NOT settled as yet and she declares to issue an ORDINACE while the ASSEMBLY is technically in SESSION! In keeping with its first decision taken in the first cabinet meeting on May 13, the state government  promulgated the ordinance that ensured the return of 400 acres of land to farmers of Singur who did not accept the price of their land acquired!The West Bengal Government on Thursday issued an ordinance that will enable it to reclaim 400 acres of disputed land (out of 997.11 acres) alleged to have been acquired at Singur from farmers against their wishes to set up the Tata Motors small car project, since relocated.

A special session of the newly constituted West Bengal Assembly was convened on May 30 to elect the new speaker when Biman Bandyopadhyay of the Trinamool Congress was elected unopposed in the post.

The governor will inaugurate full fledged session of the new house on June 24 and the deputy speaker's election will be held on June 27.

The Government, on Thursday, gave an in-principle nod to a draft policy to significantly enhance the share of manufacturing in GDP and generate substantial employment in the country, while reducing the compliance burden on industry.

The policy aims to raise the share of manufacturing in GDP to 25 per cent by 2025 from 15-16 per cent at present. The objective of the policy is also to generate 100 million jobs in manufacturing by 2025.

The creation of National Manufacturing and Investment Zones as mega investment regions, equipped with world-class infrastructure, has been proposed as a major policy instrument.

The draft 'National Manufacturing Policy' was approved at a high-level meeting chaired by the Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh, and attended by the Ministers of Finance, Commerce and Industry, Environment and Corporate Affairs as well as the Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission and the Chairman of PM's Economic Advisory Council.

Tatas happy to return Singur land

NDTV Correspondent, Updated: June 10, 2011 16:43 IST

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New Delhi:  A day after the West Bengal government announced that it has taken back 997 acres of land, with the Tatas on a 99-year lease at Singur through an ordinance, the Tatas said they were happy to return the land if it was needed for the development of Bengal.

They said they expected adequate compensation from the new owner.

In 2007, the Tatas started construction of a factory here to build the Nano car, but left in October 2008, after an agitation led by Mamata Banerjee, in support of farmers who owned 400 of the total 997 acres of land acquired for the project, and had refused to accept compensation for the same.

Now Mamata Banerjee has said the government will return 400 acres of land to the farmers in the area. On the issue of the remaining 600 acres at Singur, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said, "The rest 600 acres will be kept open for industry... The Tatas can set up industry if they want. If they (Tata) demand compensation without going in for industry on this 600 acres, we will give them compensation through legal means by appointing an arbitrator."

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Story first published:

June 10, 2011 16:27 IST

Tags: Mamata Banerjee, Singur land, Tata

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• Also See

• West Bengal govt issues ordinance to return Singur land to farmers
• More Congress ministers join Mamata Govt
• Buddhadeb breaks his silence on Left's defeat
• Financial situation difficult in Bengal: Pranab
• Mamata Banerjee to pen memoirs

Read more at: http://www.ndtv.com/article/india/tatas-happy-to-return-singur-land-111446?cp

10 JUN, 2011, 08.11PM IST, TAMAL SENGUPTA,ET BUREAU

Expectant farmers wait for "Didi's" land return in Singur

SINGUR: Remember Becharam Manna ? That five-foot something "hero" of Singur during the agitation days of Mamata Banerjee, whose main job then was to raid the Tata Nano site with people to break down portions of the perimeter wall or dig gaping holes in it ? Manna used to often call up newspaper offices in those days to say "I am going in the evening today with my boys to break down a part of the wall, please ensure coverage".

It was hilarious, but "Bechaa" - as he is popularly known in Singur - got rewarded for his 'great work' by being nominated as a candidate from adjacent Haripal, from where he has become a member of the state legislature. The people of the area think Bechaa is very close to "Didi", which is why he got voted. Devoted he surely is, but the dark 32-year old doesn't have a clue of what's happening about the land in Singur.

ET bumped into him on Friday and asked him about the possible land return formula of the state government so far as the controversial 400 acres are concerned. "I have no knowledge really. The government is looking after this aspect, but I am told all 2,900 unwilling farmers would get back their land" he said.

This last bit is what Bechaa is programmed to tell Singur's farmers also, which he does as systematically as any old faithful is expected to do. In turn, the likes of Ashtu Das, Ujjwal Manna, Swapan Bag, Bijan Das, Kashinath Das, Panchkari Manna or Sunil Bag - farmers all - repeat the same line parrot-like.

Nobody has a clear take on what is happening. The moment television sets flashed the picture of the chief minister announcing the Ordinance on Thursday evening, Singur started riding on a mass hysteria. "Didi, didi, didi" went the chants on Friday morning, as the entire village of Beraberi Purbapara for example gathered on the dusty roads to celebrate the occasion.

"Mamata Banerjee has kept her word. She had promised to return us our land and she has done it," said 70-year-old Saraswati Das of Beraberi Purbapara. "More than a bigha of my land was grabbed at gun point four years ago. Last night we could not sleep and all my four sons were weeping in joy after Mamata announced that we will get back our land soon," Saraswati told ET on Friday. The lady, whose pluck made Mamata nickname her Matangini Hazra, after a famous freedom fighter in the early 20th century, danced with others despite her age with green gulal on her forehead.

Fortunately, Singur still has a few level-headed people around. "Yes we are happy. But I need to know how this transfer is going to take place exactly and what this ordinance is about"said Milon Manna, a farmer. Precisely, the point that others should have considered too, but didn't. On Friday evening, the 24-hour old Ordinance euphoria became shattered, although this perhaps will not affect the future of the land return dream.

However, many in Singur now think that they would rather want their land back with all the ownership rights as before. Ujjwal Kumar Manna whose 3 bigha plot was acquired forcibly, said : "We will not accept anything less than absolute ownership, of the kind we had before the land got acquired forcibly by the CPIM government ".

One will have to wait and see.
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics/nation/expectant-farmers-wait-for-didis-land-return-in-singur/articleshow/8804295.cms
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Bengal minister challenges Trinamool on land acquisition

Kolkata, Nov 16 (IANS) Throwing a challenge to the opposition Trinamool Congress, which has launched a fresh movement on the land acquisition issue in the north eastern fringes of the city, the West Bengal government Tuesday offered to return 11 per cent of the acquired land if Mamata Banerjee's party allowed Tata Motors to establish their second small car unit at Singur.

The state government arm, Housing and Infrastructural Development Corporation (HIDCO) has acquired large tracts of land in the Rajarhat-Newtown area to set up a satellite township christened Jyoti Basu Nagar.

On Saturday, Banerjee led a rally in the area and threatened legal steps if 10 percent developed land was not returned to farmers.

'She has demanded that 10 per cent of the developed land in the township be returned to the farmers. Whatever be the odds, I will return 11 percent of the land there to the farmers. But Banerjee will have to agree to let the Tatas set up their factory in Singur if the state government returned 10 percent of the acquired land there to the farmers,' Housing Minister Gautam Deb told media persons here.

Deb said once Banerjee agreed to his proposal, Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee will talk to the Tatas. Banerjee then should let Tata Motors start the second factory of Nano there.'Thus we can have a settlement in Singur'.

Tata Motors had abandoned plans to set up their small car Nano plant at Hooghly district's Singur, about 40 kms from Kolkata, in Oct, 2008, after Banerjee's Trinamool led an intense peasant agitation demanding return of 400 acres of the 997.11 acre acquired land to farmers from whom the land had been 'forcibly' acquired.

After Singur and Nandigram, Rajarhat on the northeastern fringes of the city is turning into a new political flash point on land acquisition. Banerjee, who had spearheaded the land acquisition protests at Singur and Nandigram earlier, took out a large rally Saturday that traversed some areas of Rajarhat.

She alleged that to develop the area into an industrial town, the state government has forcibly taken away 25,000 acre agricultural land from the farmers, most of whom were religious minorities and backward classes.

'They were not paid any compensation for the land. Till now 200 farmers, whose land was forcibly taken away, have not received any payment,' she said.

Launching a scathing attack on Banerjee, Deb said 'She has become a symbol of destruction. She has finished Singur. She has finished Nandigram. Now she is trying to finish Rajarjhat. But she should remember Rajarhat is not Singur. Singur will be her waterloo'.

1. Singur land bill will be presented in assembly: Mamata ‎ iNewsOne - 47 minutes ago We will place only Singur bill in the assembly in this session,' Banerjee told reporters here. 'We are not enforcing the ordinance. Even if we had done so, ... Expectant farmers wait for "Didi's" land return in Singur‎ - Economic Times Governor withholds consent to land ordinance‎ - Hindustan Times Singur farmers celebrate ordinance passing to return land‎ - Moneycontrol.com Financial Express - Times of India all 92 news articles » हिंदी में

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2. Should Singur land be returned to unwilling land-losers? ‎ Business Standard - Dipankar Dasgupta - 3 days ago Singur land can neither be used for cultivation nor for non-agricultural business, but Mamata Banerjee made a pre-election promise to farmers and she should ... West Bengal to amend Act for Singur‎ - Times of India Mamata amending law to return 400 acres in Singur‎ - mydigitalfc.com Land return bill in the works‎ - Calcutta Telegraph all 5 news articles »

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3. Allies AIFB, CPI blame CPM for West Bengal poll debacle ‎ India Today - Soudhriti Bhabani - 3 days ago The All India Forward Bloc (AIFB) and the Communist Party of India (CPI) slammed big brother CPM for its dogged stand on the Singur land acquisition issue, ... Bloc calls for CPM leadership change‎ - Calcutta Telegraph Bloc threatens to quit Front, CPI too slams CPM‎ - Hindustan Times Bloc, CPI take on Big Brother‎ - Indian Express gulfnews.com - Mangalorean.com all 35 news articles »

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6. Stats of Singur vendor park under scrutiny ‎ Times of India - 28 May 2011 But this is one aspect of the Singur controversy. The main point, however, is forcible land acquisition that Mamata has been opposing for all such projects ... Singur agreement to be made public: Mamata‎ - The Hindu Govt initiates process to reclaim Singur land allotted to Tata‎ - Livemint Legal complications stop Mamata govt from making Singur agreement ...‎ -Business Standard Calcutta Telegraph - Deccan Chronicle all 207 news articles »

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7. 'Govt committed to return Singur land' ‎ Times of India - 3 days ago It may be noted that the industries minister visited Singur last week along with Mukherjee and Gupta. Chatterjee had earlier said that the state government ...

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9. Singur: Mamata-Tata deal on the cards? ‎ IBNLive.com - 23 May 2011 Singur: Mamata Banerjee's first cabinet decision after becoming the West Bengal Chief Minister was to return 400 acres to the unwilling farmers ofSingur, ... Singur land return kicks off Mamata power stint‎ - Times of India Tata's Singur lesson for Britons‎ - Hindustan Times Bengal govt wants to expedite Singur land return process‎ - Business Standard Calcutta Telegraph - The Hindu all 838 news articles »

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10. 'We want our land returned to us and Tata back in Singur' ‎ Times of India - Mukherjee Pandey - 14 May 2011 On May 18, 2006, the day Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee was sworn in as West Bengal CM, Ratan Tata announced that Singur, 40 km from Kolkata, would be the home of ... Singur hopes to get back 400 acres‎ - Calcutta Telegraph Singur: villagers pull down wall, enter Tata factory site‎ - Indian Express Land-losers begin to dream again in Singur‎ - IBNLive.com Hindustan Times - Sify all 27 news articles »

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12. News archive results for singur

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3. Singur (Bengali: সিঙ্গুর Shinggur) is a census town in Hooghly district in the Indian state of West Bengal. Singur railway station is 34 km from ...

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New manufacturing policy to create 100 mn jobs

India will soon have a national policy on manufacturing that will help create 100 million additional jobs by 2025 and boost economic growth.

"For the first time we are going to have a policy dedicated to the manufacturing sector. Industry welcomes the in-principle nod given by the prime minister to the draft National Manufacturing Policy and hopes that a final policy will be announced within a month," Harsh Mariwala, president of Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) said on Friday.

A high-level committee on manufacturing headed by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Thursday cleared the draft of the policy that aims to increase the share of manufacturing in the country's GDP to 25 percent by 2025 from the present 16 percent.

The new policy is expected to give a fillip to the growth of industrial and overall GDP, which have slowed lately.

GDP growth slowed to 7.8 percent in the January-March period, the slowest in five quarters.

The country's industrial output grew at a much slower 6.3 percent in April, according to official data released on Friday.

Analysts said the new policy, if implemented quickly, would provide a much-needed fillip to growth, especially the growth of industrial output.

"This will certainly give the much needed boost to the manufacturing sector whose contribution in the country's GDP has remained stagnant at 16 percent and needs to increase it to generate the much needed employment opportunities," FICCI's Mariwala said.

According to draft of the proposed manufacturing policy prepared by the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion, in consultation with National Manufacturing Competitiveness Council and the Planning Commission, the new policy is estimated to create an additional 100 million jobs by 2025.

Sustaining growth and providing gainful employment to the rising workforce is among the biggest challenges facing the country's economic policy makers.

The draft policy, which was presented to the meeting presided over by the prime minister by Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma, has been prepared after consultations with various stakeholders, including different ministries, state governments and industry associations.

1. Congress supports anti-POSCO brigade ‎ Daily News & Analysis - 59 minutes ago Place: Bhubaneswar | Agency: PTI Asking the Orissa government to refrain from "forcible" land acquisition for the POSCO project near Paradip, Congress today ... PM moved against land acquisition for Posco project‎ - Times of India Orissa govt plans anti-POSCO crackdown?‎ - indiablooms Farmers pay for Indian growth‎ - Asia Times Online all 14 news articles »

   * Orissadiary.com

2. Congress ready for Rahul Gandhi's 'kisan panchayat' in Bhatta-Parsaul ‎ Daily News & Analysis - 5 hours ago ... a snook at Uttar Pradesh chief minister Mayawati's land acquisition policy. ... the IndiaGandhi Awas Yojana were brought to light in Bakshi-ka-Talab. ...

3. Mamata's land bank idea, industry cautious ‎ Mangalorean.com - 7 hours ago The automobile major was forced to pull out its Nano project from Singur due to protests led by the Trinamool Congress against land acquisition. ... Light at last for Singur?‎ - Business Line THE DISCOVERY OF DEFEAT‎ - HardNews Magazine Mamata fulfils promise, takes back Singur land‎ - Business Standard TwoCircles.net all 93 news articles » हिंदी में

   * Business Standard

4. Congress plans chaupals in troubled villages ‎ Indian Express - 18 hours ago They will also ask farmers to suggest amendments in the Land acquisition Act of the Government of India. These chaupals would be held in the next two weeks ...

5. Parekh for early passage of Land Acquisition Bill ‎ MSN India - 1 day ago "The longer we drag our feet on the passing of the Land Acquisition Bill, ... housing finance programmes for alleviating the housing problems in India. Parekh pitches for low-cost housing‎ - Business Standard all 14 news articles »

6. UP: Cong woos farmers with Rahul's birthday ‎ indiablooms - Alka Pande - 1 hour ago ... June 10 (IBNS): The leaders of Congress party in the North Indian state of ... government'sland acquisition policy and demanding better compensations. ...

7. Indian PSUs facing a leadership deficit! ‎ Equitymaster.com - 6 hours ago But considering that land acquisition in India is a major problem, implementing this policy remains a concern. Acquiring land for construction purposes has ...

8. Sound policy shift ‎ The Hindu - 3 days ago In India, land and development are State subjects but acquisition of land falls under the Concurrent List. The central Land Acquisition Act, ... To not land in trouble‎ - Hindustan Times Walk the talk‎ - Times of India all 34 news articles »

   * Deccan Chronicle

9. Face-off between police and activists at Posco site ‎ Business Standard - 4 days ago "Villagers were ready to lay down lives opposing the land acquisition process and ... Despite tension, revenue officials conducted land acquisition work at... Posco's Orissa Land Acquisition on Track‎ - Wall Street Journal Civil disobedience agitation against POSCO from tomorrow in Orissa‎ - Daily News & Analysis 200 arrested for opposing Posco project‎ - Rediff all 34 news articles »

   * Moneycontrol.com

10. Nifty seen flat; Industrial output data watched ‎ Economic Times - 14 hours ago Tata Motors after India's top car maker faces road block with respect to land acquisition in West Bengal. The government said will return land to farmers. ...

12. News archive results for Land Acquisition India

    Oct 28, 2007	India's poorest march on capital protesting land acquisition Financial Express Bangladesh - all 39 news articles »
    Aug 27, 2010	Uttar Pradesh farmers protest in Capital over land acquisition ... Livemint - all 27 news articles »
    May 9, 2011	Farmers in north India protest over land acquisition Straits Times - all 79 news articles »

Keep up to date with these results:

1. Land Acquisition Act, 1894 - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

2. The Land Acquisition Act of 1894 is a law in India and Pakistan that allows the government to acquire private land in those countries. ...

3. Purpose of Land Acquisition Act - History of Land Acquisition Act

4. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Land_Acquisition_Act,_1894 - Cached

5. Business Portal of India : Land Acquisition, Resettlement and ...

6. - 2 visits - 8 May

7. Further, given the population density and the type of land use in the country, there is more problem in land acquisition in India. ...

8. business.gov.in/land/issues_problems.php - Cached - Similar

9. Process of Land Acquisition - Legal Service India

10. 15 Aug 2008 ... The Process of Land Acquisition The difficulties that come in the process ofLand Acquisition in India are immense, given the population ...

11. www.legalserviceindia.com/.../l257-Process-of-Land-Acquisition.html - Cached - Similar

12. News for Land Acquisition India

    * Orissadiary.com

    Congress supports anti-POSCO brigade 1 hour ago Place: Bhubaneswar | Agency: PTI Asking the Orissa government to refrain from "forcible" land acquisition for the POSCO project near Paradip, Congress today ... Daily News & Analysis - 14 related articles PM moved against land acquisition for Posco project Times of India Orissa govt plans anti-POSCO crackdown? indiablooms

14. The ugly side of land acquisition in India - Rediff.com Business

15. 31 May 2010 ... Controversies, protests and violence have marred land acquisition for projects in India. | The ugly side of land acquisition in India.

16. business.rediff.com › Business - Cached - Similar

17. Land Acquisition - India Real Time - WSJ

18. 8 Jun 2011 ... Indian government ministers are vowing to bring legislation to overhaul the country's ancient land acquisition laws when Parliament begins ...

19. blogs.wsj.com/indiarealtime/tag/land-acquisition/ - Cached

20. India Grapples With Land Acquisition Rules - WSJ Blogs

21. 1 Jun 2011 ... Indian government ministers are vowing to bring legislation ...

22. blogs.wsj.com/indiarealtime/.../india-grapples-with-land-acquisition-rules/ - Cached

23. Show more results from wsj.com

24. Land Acquisition in India , Land Acquisition Act of India

25. Get full info on Land Acquisition in India with main focus on Land Acquisition Acts, Process, Procedure, Bill, Definition and so on.

26. www.indiahousing.com › Legal Aspects - Cached - Similar

27. Land Acquisition | India Environment Portal

28. 9 Jun 2011 ... Uttar Pradesh's land acquisition has set farmers on the warpath. Projects like Yamuna Expressway will engulf thousands of villages. ...

29. www.indiaenvironmentportal.org.in › Land - Cached - Similar

30. [PDF]

31. DISPLACEMENT DUE TO LAND ACQUISITION FOR "DEVELOPMENT" PROJECTS IN ...

32. File Format: PDF/Adobe Acrobat - Quick View

33. growing economy like India, the acquisition of land by the Government has .... 14 Special Article: Land Acquisition in India, (The Statesman India, ...

34. www.rfgindia.org/publications/LandAcquisition.pdf - Similar

35. [PDF]

36. Report on Amendment to Section 6 of the Land Acquisition Act, 1894

37. File Format: PDF/Adobe Acrobat - Quick View

38. 6 of the Land Acquisition Act, 1894, which has come to light in view of the decision of the Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court of India in its ...

39. lawcommissionofindia.nic.in/reports/182rpt.pdf - Similar

Searches related to Land Acquisition India
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Ordinance 'takes back' Tata land

OUR BUREAU

* * Mamata Banerjee, Ratan Tata Calcutta, June 9: Chief minister Mamata Banerjee today said the state government had "taken back" through an ordinance the 997.11 acres lying with the Tatas and vendors in Singur to fulfil the promise of returning plots to disgruntled farmers. The dramatic announcement evoked studied silence from the Tatas, sounded the death knell for the agreement the business group signed with the erstwhile Left government and triggered hair-splitting that raised questions about the constitutional validity of the ordinance. The chief minister cited "non-performance" as the reason for the decision to take back the leased land that was once set aside for the Nano car plant. "The governor has signed the ordinance today. We have taken back the entire land. For four years, the land was lying unutilised, there was non-performance. If the land remains unutilised for three-four years, the government can take it back. We had taken this decision in the cabinet. On the first day, we had announced this. Khushir khabor (Good news)," Mamata said at Writers' Buildings. "I am very happy today. Let this day be dedicated to Singur," a beaming Mamata added. She said 600 acres would be kept reserved for industry and 400 acres (possibly sourced mainly from vendors' allotments) returned to farmers who were "unwilling" to part with their land. Local MLA and minister Rabindranath Bhattacharjee has been given the responsibility of talking to the farmers and working out the modalities of distributing the land, for which an amendment bill will be passed. "I want industry to come up there. The 600 acres have been left for public purpose, industry purpose," she said. On the Tatas, who Mamata again referred to as "Tatababus", she said they could either invest afresh or opt for compensation. "I have no objection if they want to set up the factory in Singur on the remaining 600 acres. I have seen a letter that the Tatababus wrote to the previous government saying that they were willing to vacate the land if they were compensated. We have no objection to that as well. If they settle for compensation, an arbitrator will decide on the amount to be paid," she said. State industries minister Partha Chatterjee said the agreement with the Tatas stood annulled after the ordinance. "Oi lease kharij hoye gechhe. Oi lease to aar nei (That lease is cancelled. That lease is no more)," Chatterjee told The Telegraph. "If the Tatas want to come, they are welcome. But if they were interested, would they have brought up compensation?" he asked. A spokesperson for Tata Motors, which holds 645 of the 997 acres, said: "We would not like to comment until we have the opportunity to study the ordinance." The move has come at a time Mamata is gearing up to chair an investment meeting on June 18, to which many industrialists, including Ratan Tata, are invitees. According to the acquisition law, land can be taken back from the lessee if it lies unutilised for over three years. If the clock started ticking when the deal was signed in March 2007, three years are already over but the Tatas had carried out 80 per cent of the work. If the count began from the day of pullout in October 2008, some more months remain for the "unused" deadline to be over. Besides, according to the agreement with the Tatas, a 21-month notice has to be given before cancelling the agreement. However, the West Bengal Industrial Development Corporation (WBIDC), which leased out the land, had written to the Tatas last year pointing out that the project had not been completed three years after the lease was signed and asking what they intended to do. It was in response to this communication – on the basis of which Mamata seems to have cited "three-four years" – that the Tatas had referred to compensation. "An ordinance will make these clauses (of the agreement) redundant," said lawyer Arunava Ghosh. The ordinance has fallen into a constitutional twilight zone as the Assembly is technically still in session, having adjourned after meeting for one day to elect the Speaker. "The House is in session, it has merely been adjourned," Speaker Biman Banerjee said. An ordinance, supposed to be an emergency option, cannot be promulgated when the Assembly is in session. CPM state secretary Biman Bose dubbed the government's move "unconstitutional". An unfazed Mamata, who has an overwhelming majority in the Assembly, appeared be keeping a Plan B ready. "If the CPM has objections, we won't issue the notification. We can convene the Assembly session on Tuesday and get a bill passed. Kono ashubidhe nei (There is no problem). Even the Forward Bloc, RSP and the CPI will support us." Former Speaker Hashim Abdul Halim said the session could be brought forward but it should begin with the governor's address." http://www.telegraphindia.com/1110610/jsp/frontpage/story_14095078.jsp

 

Shri Anand Sharma, Union Minister for Commerce & Industry, while addressing at an Interactive Session with Industry of Northern Region, inChandigarh today, said that while services have grown at a rapid pace, the share of the manufacturing sector in the country's GDP has stagnated at around 15%. "With the objective of helping Indian manufacturing to achieve its true potential and in the process be an engine for job creation, we have proposed the creation of a number of National Manufacturing & Investment Zones (NMIZ)", the Minister added. While detailing the NMIZs, Shri Sharma said: "the NMIZ would provide good physical infrastructure, a progressive exit policy, structures to support clean and green technologies, appropriate investment incentives and business friendly approval mechanisms and each zone would have a combination of production units, public utilities, logistics, environment protection mechanisms, residential areas and administered services. The interactive session was organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and attended by a large number of representatives from Industry and senior officials of the government. 

 

During the interaction, Shri Anand Sharma said, "We have witnessed rapid economic development post liberalization. However, given the size of our country and the daunting task of providing a basic minimum standard of living for all, we need to achieve much faster growth. We are a young country and we need to cater to the youthful aspirations. According to the 2007-08 Economic Survey, 64.8% of India's population would be in the working age of 15-64 years in 2026. By 2015, India will have 800 million people in the productive age group of 15 to 59, ahead of China which is expected to have only 600 million. This means that we need to create employment and enterprise opportunities at that scale. For this to happen, jobs will have to be created both in the services and the manufacturing sector".

 

            "The NMIZ would have a governing body which would be in the form of a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) formed with the constituents of that specific NMIZ. The SPV would have the delegated authority from the State Government, Ministries in the Central Government and other Government agencies for issuing necessary clearances for the inception and continuation of business ventures inside the NMIZ.  Thus, the concept of NMIZ combines the framework for more business friendly policy, procedures and approval ecosystem, combined with superior physical infrastructure", he added.

 

            "Investments are critical to economic growth and in today's globalized world, FDI play an important role," stated Shri Sharma and added that "whileIndia remains an attractive destination for FDI, we can do with much more. In order to simplify FDIs, my Ministry has released the final document of FDI Policy Framework that would now comprise the single document on FDI policy".

 

            Speaking on the occasion, the Minister said that the Delhi Mumbai Industrial Corridor (DMIC) development project being executed over six States of Gujarat, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh at an investment of over US $ 90 billion, will generate significant economic activity along the dedicated rail freight corridor between Delhi and Mumbai and aims to double employment potential in seven years, triple industrial output in nine years and quadruple exports from the region in 9 year period.  "Under this project, 24 investment nodes have been identified of which there are 11 investment zones and 13 industrial areas. Of the seven nodes being developed in the first phase, Manesar-Bawal region in Haryana is receiving special focus and attention. We have cleared the overall perspective plan for the Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor region and planning of the roads in Haryana is proceeding at a fast pace.  In the Early Bird projects finalized for the state of Haryana, a project for establishment of a Smart City which envisages the Manesar-Bawal region which will be implemented on a PPP basis with the support and collaboration of Japan.  In the recent visit of the Japanese Trade Minister, we took stock of the progress of the project and I am satisfied that we are proceeding as per schedule.  I have also held a meeting with the Chief Minister of Haryana who has kindly agreed to earmark 250 acres of land for establishment of a world class Convention cum Exhibition facility", Shri Sharma added.

 

As regards exports front, Shri Sharma said: "if we have to continue to grow rapidly and move towards our objective of double digit growth, exports have to play a much larger role. We not only have to become competitive to increase our exports but we also have to diversify our export markets and we need to look at the markets of Africa, Latin America, Oceania and CIS countries".

 

In his welcome address, Shri R M Khanna, Chairman, CII Northern Region said that although the contribution of the Northern region to the national GDP continues to be the highest at 27.5%, it has been declining over the years with manufacturing witnessing one of the lowest growth rates amongst the key sub sectors. "Credit availability, infrastructure and inflation remain major areas of concern and we request the Government to focus on these areas and alleviate the problem so that Industry can contribute even more to the GDP", he added.  During his address, Shri Harpal Singh, Immediate Past Chairman, CII Northern Region said that India needs to significantly raise basic educational standards, increase the quality and quantity of our universities as well as introduce other measures on the agricultural front.  Shri Chandrajit Banerjee, Director General-CII, in his remarks said that CII has been proactively engaged with the Indian Reforms process for economic development and in the pre–liberalization era, CII advocated reforms for economic liberalization and its role was crucial in building consensus around the reforms and minimizing opposition to them. Now is the time for second generation reforms.  

 

*********

RJ/MRS

http://commerce.nic.in/pressrelease/pressrelease_detail.asp?id=2592

Labour law

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Singur Tata Nano controversy

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This article has multiple issues. Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page. Its neutrality is disputed. Tagged since March 2009. It has been nominated to be checked for neutrality. Tagged since March 2009. It may need to be wikified to meet Wikipedia's quality standards. Tagged since January 2011.

Tata Nano Singur Controversy refers to the controversy generated by the Nano factory of Tata Motors at Singur in Hooghly district, West Bengal, India.

Singur gained international media attention since Tata Motors started constructing a factory to manufacture their $2,500 car, the Tata Nano at Singur. The small car was scheduled to roll out of the factory by 2008.^[1]

The state government of West Bengal facilitated the controversy by using an old rule to conduct an eminent domain takeover of 997 acres of farmland to have Tata build its factory.^[2] The rule is meant for public improvement projects, and the West Bengal government wanted Tata to build in its state. Opponents included displaced farmers and land-rights people.

Contents  [hide] 1 Small car manufacturing facility 2 Perspective of those who favour the Tata project 2.1 The land acquisition controversy 2.2 Fencing off the land 2.3 Construction of plant 2.4 Procedural lacunae 2.5 Business houses' role 3 Tata pulls out 4 References

[edit]Small car manufacturing facility

The choice of Singur was made by the company among six sites offered by the state government. The project faced massive opposition from displaced farmers. The unwilling farmers were given political support by West Bengal's opposition leader Mamata Banerjee. Banerjee's "Save Farmland" movement was supported by celebrity environmental activists like Medha Patkar, Anuradha Talwar and Arundhati Roy. Banerjee's movement against displacement of farmers was also supported by several Kolkata based intellectuals like Aparna Sen, Kaushik Sen, Shaonli Mitra and Suvaprasanna. Ultra left activists also shared the platform with Banerjee's Trinamool Party. The Tatas finally decided to move out of Singur on 3 October 2008. Ratan Tata blamed violence by Banerjee and her supporters for the pullout decision. On 7 October 2008, the Tatas announced that they would be setting up the Tata Nano plant in Sanand, Gujarat.

[edit]Perspective of those who favour the Tata project

In the 1950s the Indian state of West Bengal was one of the most industrialized states in the country. Bidhan Roy, its first chief minister, founded large industrial plants in Durgapur, Asansol, Kalyani, Howrah and Calcutta proper. In the 1960s and 1970s, disruptions by theBangladesh War, the Naxal movement and militant trade unionism by leftist parties led by Jyoti Basu slowed down industrial development. Consequently other states such as Maharashtra, Gujarat, Punjab, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka attracted industrial investment and experienced job growth.

The rapid rise in the population of West Bengal has not been accompanied by significant economic growth. Key indicators such asunemployment rates, poverty rates, infant mortality rates, job growth rates, per capita income, mobile phone penetration rates lag the more industrialised states of India. Local politicians gained power by promising agricultural land to landless farmers, but given West Bengal's population density, the land-holdings are small and the yields are insufficient to sustain poor families. While the shift from agriculture to industrial jobs requires re-training, given India's economic growth, it provides an opportunity for earning higher income.

Several states have proposed to offer land to Tata Motors if they abandon the project in Singur.

The people staying in the proposed land were forced to evacuate by the government. The compensation given was considered inadequate and the new housing facilities offered were delayed. This led to the protest of the peasants backed by opposition political parties, who thought it would be a good opportunity to end the communist rule of Bengal.

The company has made substantial promises. According to their claims, Singur would become a mini-auto city and approximately 70 vendors would set up shop along with the factory. The total investment planned is to the tune of Rs 1,000 crore.^[3] The project had, however, generated controversy right from the start, particularly on the question of state acquisition of fertile agricultural land for private enterprises.

[edit]The land acquisition controversy

On 23 September 2008, Tatas decided to leave Singur in West Bengal, the decision is reported to have been made by the Tata management and the Bengal government had been informed. On 3 October it became official that TATA will leave Singur (WB) when Ratan Tata announced it in a press conference in Kolkata.

While the ruling party has gone all out^[4] for acquisition of 997 acres (404 ha)^[2] of multi-crop land required for the car factory, questions have been raised about the party forcible acquisition which was made under the colonial Land Acquisition Act of 1894.^[2] Others say the provisions of this act were allegedly not been met.^[5]

The law has provisions for state taking over privately held land for public purposes but not for developing private businesses. The illegality of the acquisition has been substantially conceded by the Kolkata High Court.

The Tata Motors site is the most fertile one in the whole of the Singur, and the Singur block, in turn, is among the most highly fertile in West Bengal. Consequently, almost the entire local population depends on agriculture with approximately 15000 making their livelihood directly from it.^[6] With the number of direct jobs to be created no more than about 1,000, many of which are expected to go to outsiders, the local populace feel understandably threatened for their livelihood.^[7] Environmental degradation is also feared.

Chief protesters include the opposition parties spearheaded by the Trinamool Congress under Mamata Banerjee and Socialist Unity Centre of India. The movement has received widespread support from civil rights and human rights groups, legal bodies, social activists like Medha Patkar and Anuradha Talwar, Booker prize-winning author Arundhati Roy and Magsaysay and Jnanpith Award-winning author Mahasweta Devi.^[8] Other intellectuals, writers like the poet Joy Goswami, artists like Suvaprasanna, theatre and film personalities like Saonli Mitra,Aparna Sen etc. have pitched in. The state police force has been used to restrict their access to the area.^[9] The Nobel Laureate Amartya Sen has on the other hand appeared to defend the decision to set up the factory. He however opposed forcible acquisition of land.[3]

The protesters have been trenchantly attacked, verbally by the Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPI(M)) leaders and physically by the party's supporters. Benoy Konar, member of the party's state committee, famously declared that protesting intellectuals would be greeted by women supporters of the party by baring their behinds [4].

Preliminary surveys by officials of the state and Tata Motors faced protests, and manhandling on one occasion, from the villagers organized under the Save Singur Farmland Committee with Trinamool Congress forming its chief component.^[10] It is reported that Naxalite elements hold sway over the direction the agitation takes and the Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee takes no decisions without consulting them.^[11]

The state government imposed the prohibitory Section 144 of the Indian Penal Code for initially a month and then extended it indefinitely. The imposition has been declared illegal by the Kolkata High Court ^[12]

While landless peasants and share-croppers fear losing out entirely, sections of the locals, particularly those owing allegiance to the CPI(M) have welcomed the factory. These count chiefly among the owners of bigger portions of the land even as discrimination in the compensation has been alleged.^[13]

A section of those promised jobs at the factory have boycotted classes while training in protest against the alleged going back on the promise.^[14]

In the 2011 state assembly elections, while the sitting Trinamool Congress MLA, Rabindranath Bhattacharya retained the Singur seat,Becharam Manna, the convener of Krishi Jami Raksha Samiti, won the adjoining Haripal seat ^[15] [16]

[edit]Fencing off the land

The land earmarked for the project was taken control of by the state administration amidst protests and fencing off commenced on December 1, 2006. Mamata Banerjee, who was prevented from entering Singur by the state police, called a statewide bandh in protest while legislators belonging to her party turned violent in the legislative assembly causing damage to furniture. [5] Later, she went on a 25-day hunger strike[6].During this period she presented affidavits of farmers apparently unwilling to part with their land.^[17]

The fenced off area has been regularly guarded, besides large contingents of policemen, by cadres of the CPI(M) party. They were accused of the multiple rape followed by burning to death of teenage villager Tapasi Malik who was active in the protests, on December 18, 2006.^[18]Negligence and political interference in the probe into her death have been alleged.^[19] Later, CPI(M) activist Debu Malik and based on his statement, CPI(M) zonal committee secretary Suhrid Dutta were arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation in connection with the crime.^[20]

Intermittent attacks by villagers have since continued on the fence. However, continuing agitations against the project appeared to have proved ineffective and a farmer who lost land committed suicide^[21]

On the other hand the pro-factory villagers siding with the CPI(M) have made accusations against the Naxalite faction of the 'Save Singur Farmland Committee' of threats and violence against them.^[22]

[edit]Construction of plant

Tatas ceremonially initiated the construction of the plant on 21 January 2007.^[23] The Tata Group announced on October 3, 2008 that they are pulling out of Singur due to the political unrest and agitation by the Trinamool Congress against the construction of the plant.

[edit]Procedural lacunae

Other aspects of the process of setting up the factory that have come under severe criticism are the government's secrecy on the details of the deal and the chief minister's furnishing of false information, including in the legislative assembly Vidhan Sabha. In particular, the concessions being given to Tata Motors have not been publicly revealed. The falsehoods of the chief minister chiefly pertain to claims made by him of having acquired 912 acres (3.69 km²) ^[24] through voluntary consent of the owners without the use of force.

The Kolkata High Court declared the acquisition prima facie legal.^[25] The air seemed to have cleared somewhat when the High Court ordered the state government to submit correct figures following which an affidavit but was not satisfied with the result [7]. In a fresh affidavit filed later in June 2007, the government admitted to 30 per cent of the land was acquired from farmers without consent.^[26] The affidavit remains unclear on whether the lack of consent is based on insufficiency of the compensation or refusal to sell altogether.^[27]

[edit]Business houses' role

The critics of the government's industrialization policy have argued on the other hand that while India is moving towards a "free market" economy, government has been acting as a broker for the private sector by forcing private citizens to give up their property at throw away prices.^[who?]

[edit]Tata pulls out

On October 3, 2008, after a brief meeting with the Chief Minister, Mr. Ratan Tata declared his decision to move the Nano Project out of West Bengal. Mr. Tata specifically mentioned his frustration with the opposition movement at Singur Project led by Trinamool Congress chief Ms. Mamata Banerjee. Ms Banerjee responded by referring to actions by Tatas and the state government.^[28][29]

The CM of Gujarat, Narendra Modi then sent an SMS to Mr. Ratan Tata, which simply said "Suswagatham", to persuade him to relocate the Nano factory to Gujarat.^[30]

It took 14 months to build a new factory in Sanand, Gujarat compared with 28 months for the Singur factory.^[31]

[edit]References

1. ^ The Hindu Business Line, 26 November 2006
2. ^ ^a b c The Economist August 30, 2008 edition. U.S. Edition. "Nano wars". Page 63.
3. ^ The Hindu Business Line, 13 December 2006
4. ^ The Telegraph 14 October 2006
5. ^ The Business Standard
6. ^ Countercurrents.org, 30 December 2006 Headline Singur
7. ^ Tehelka Mar 03, 2007
8. ^ doccentre.net Report on Public Hearing
9. ^ The Times of India December 8, 2007: Do you need a visa to enter Bengal?
10. ^ The Indian Express 15 January 2007
11. ^ Banerjee doesn't take decisions without Naxal elements' OK:The Indian Express August 31
12. ^ The Times of India February 15, 2007
13. ^ The Telegraph December 10, 2006
14. ^ The Telegraph 23 June, 2007 Job cry from Tata trainees
15. ^ "Haripal". Assembly Elections May 2011 Results. Election Commission of India. Retrieved 2011-05-19.
16. ^ "Singur". Assembly Elections May 2011 Results. Election Commission of India. Retrieved 2011-05-19.
17. ^ The Statesman 23 December 2006
18. ^ The Statesman 19 December 2007
19. ^ The Statesman 22 January 2007
20. ^ The Indian Express 29 June 2007 CPM local boss arrested for Singur girl's murder
21. ^ The Indian Express 26 May 2007
22. ^ DNA - India - 'Save Singur' turns sour - Daily News & Analysis
23. ^ The Telegraph 22 January 2007
24. ^ The Indian Express November 24, 2006
25. ^ The India Daily February 24 2007 Calcutta High Court says Singur land acquisition appears illegal -all eyes now on communists in West Bengal
26. ^ IBN 10 June 2007: 30 pc Singur farmers not compensated
27. ^ The Times of India 8 June 2007: State files Singur affidavit
28. ^ "Tata pulls out of Singur, blames Trinamool stir - The Financial Express". www.financialexpress.com. Retrieved 2009-03-10.
29. ^ "If Tata pulls out, Trinamool will be solely responsible: CM". Chennai, India: www.hindu.com. 28 September 2008. Retrieved 2009-03-10.
30. ^ [1]
31. ^ [2]

[show]v · d · eHooghly district topics

Categories: Hooghly district | Economy of West Bengal | Politics of West Bengal | 2008 in India | Controversies in India | Tata Group

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IBNLive.com - ‎18 hours ago‎

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Mamata keeps Singur promise

Hindustan Times - ‎20 hours ago‎

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Battle not over, next fight for industry

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Industry hails move, economists cautious

Times of India - ‎13 hours ago‎

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Return of Singur land welcomed, but CPI-M opposes ordinance

TwoCircles.net - ‎2 hours ago‎

By IANS, Kolkata: Barring the CPI-M and its ally RSP, political parties in West Bengal Friday welcomed Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's decision to return 400 acres of land in Singur to unwilling farmers through an ordinance....

Mollah & allies back Singur move

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It's 997 acres, or nothing for Tata Motors

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Mamata Banerjee fulfills an election promise

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Mamata takes back Singur land

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Bengal to acquire 400 acres at Singur to return to farmers

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Light at last for Singur?

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Singur farmers celebrate passing of ordinance to return land

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Ordinance 'takes back' Tata land

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Tatas happy to return Singur land

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Mamata issues ordinance to get 400 acres of land back to farmers

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West Bengal govt issues ordinance to return Singur land to farmers

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PTI | Kolkata | Jun 10, 2011 West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee today said the state government has decided to give recognition to over 10000 unrecognised madrasas in the state. "We have decided to recognise over 10000 hitherto unrecognised ...

The Prime Minister observed that the proposed measures would reduce the compliance burden on industry, an official statement said. It was also decided that the policy has to be formulated by adequately taking care of environment and labour concerns.

He directed that these issues may be further discussed at the ministerial level.

A Committee of Secretaries has been asked to go into the issues and submit its report in a month, the Commerce and Industry Minister, Mr Anand Sharma, said.

Then the policy would be placed before the Cabinet. The draft policy proposes institution of a review mechanism and a high-level committee chaired by Secretary DIPP to regularly monitor policy implementation.

The policy also lays emphasis on creating a Manufacturing Industry Promotion Board, to ensure coordination between Central and State Government. Besides, it encourages access by Indian companies to foreign know-how and develop indigenous technology through fiscal incentives and subsidies.

Exempting new manufacturing investment zones (NMIZs) from some labour laws, despite certain objections by the Labour Ministry, has evoked a strong reaction from some trade unions.

We had stated our position clearly on issues such as 'hire and fire', outsourcing site inspections and a proper exit policy. We will now wait for the Committee of Secretaries (CoS) to take a final call and then react, said a Labour Ministry official.

The draft national manufacturing policy, which got in-principle approval from the Government on Thursday, has now been forwarded to a CoS to iron out labour and environment-related issues.

The meeting, chaired by the Prime Minister, was attended by all stakeholder Ministers, except the Labour Minister.

Terming the policy as "corporate captive", Mr Tapan Sen, General Secretary, Centre of Indian Trade Unions, said, "It is nothing but a bigger version of Special Economic Zones, as the NMIZs will encompass both export-oriented and domestic products."

He said the Government was bent on ensuring land loot, fabulous tax concessions and exemptions from labour laws to corporates, both domestic and foreign and fly-by-night operators through these zones.

The Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh (BMS) said it had submitted a memorandum to the Commerce Ministry in this regard.

The BMS President, Mr Saji Narayanan, said the policy contradicted the Ministry's declared Industrial Policy (1991) clause that no small section of society could corner the gains of growth, leaving workers to bear its pains, and that labour should be an equal partner in progress and prosperity.

It shows that the Ministry wants development of industry at the cost of labour, he said on the Sangh's Web site.

The policy proposes to exempt NMIZs from the Factories Act, the Industrial Disputes Act, the Trade Union Act, the Gratuity Act, the Provident Fund Act and the Employees State Insurance Act.

It proposes a special purpose vehicle and a sinking fund as cushions for workers in case of job loss.

The proposed NMIZs will be set up along the Delhi-Mumbai industrial corridor.

Opposition CPM on Thursday criticised promulgation of ordinance by the West Bengal government for reclaiming 400 acres land at the abandoned site of the Tata Motors in Singur, saying an ordinance could not be passed when the Assembly was in session.

"Assembly session was on. Assembly was not prorogued. When assembly session was on, ordinance cannot be promulgated," leader of opposition Surya Kanta Mishra said commenting on the ordinance.Similar voice was also raised by the former speaker of state Assembly Hasim Abdul Halim.

On the other hand,CPM MLA Abdur Rezzak Mollah backed the Mamata Banerjee government's move to reclaim the Singur land acquired for the Tata Nano factory through an ordinance this evening.

"The government has the right to promulgate an ordinance. The move to reclaim the acquired land is apparently legally tenable. But it has to be ratified by the Assembly within six months,'' the former land and land reforms minister said.

Mollah said the government had to take recourse to an ordinance as it could not invoke a state law that allowed the government to take back land leased out to a company if it was left unused for three years or was used for purposes other than that for which it was bought.

"It would have been difficult to take back the Singur plot on the ground of non-performance or non-compliance with provisions on land use in the lease agreement as the Tatas had completed 80 per cent of the work on the factory much before the (three-year) legal deadline," the CPM leader said.

Mollah said the Tatas could "now claim compensation on the ground that the government had failed to support the completion of the project". He said it was "now up to Mamata how to handle the situation".

"I had always maintained that it was legally possible to reclaim part of the Singur land, especially that earmarked for ancillary units. But they (Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee and Nirupam Sen) didn't pay heed. Had I been allowed to settle the issue, we would not have suffered the electoral debacle this time,'' he said.

Forward Bloc veteran Ashok Ghosh also welcomed Mamata's move. "People will find the new government's initiative to settle the Singur impasse praiseworthy. However, they will be eager to see the outcome of the ordinance,'' Ghosh said.

CPI state secretary Manju Kumar Majumdar said: "We are happy that Mamata has fulfilled her electoral pledge to Singur's unwilling farmers. But we would like to see the implications of the ordinance. It will be good if the government takes back the land legally.''

However,Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said the Governor had signed the ordinance and that the 400 acres would be returned to the owners.

"As for the remaining land that had been acquired, the options are open. It will be set aside for a public purpose which could mean the Tata Group setting up industry there if they so choose to," she said.

"In the event of the Tatas wanting to be compensated without going in for industry on the remaining [approximately] 600 acres, we will have no objection to providing them compensation according to law and through the appointment of an arbitrator," the Chief Minister said. 'Not aware'

However, a Tata Motors spokesperson said: "We are not aware of such a development and we do not want to make any comment unless we have studied the ordinance."

"I am very happy [with the development] and may today be declared Singur Day….The Governor has signed the ordinance," a beaming Ms. Banerjee said pointing out that a promise made to the farmers whose plots had been acquired against their wishes, that the land would be returned to them, was being fulfilled.

The State Government had taken the decision at its first Cabinet meeting to return the 400 acres to "unwilling farmers," she said.

"The ordinance will be passed in the Assembly when it is in session," the Chief Minister said.

Ms. Banerjee was in the forefront of a movement against what she claimed was forcible acquisition of land at Singur.

It finally led to Tata Motors deciding to pull out its Nano project from there in October 2008.

The agitation she led there was a high point in her political ascendancy even as the debate over acquisition of farmland for industry became a major political issue and contributed to her Trinamool Congress' resounding success in the recent Assembly elections.

The new draft manufacturing policy, which got an in-principle nod from a high-level committee headed by Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh, has got thumbs up from various industry bodies.

According to Mr Rajoo Goel, Secretary General, Electronic Industries Association of India, the demand for electronics has been growing steadily.

Strategic, medical, and consumer electronics are estimated to grow to $400 billion by 2020.The Government has been worried about growing import dependence. A clear guideline on manufacturing will help grow clusters, boost employment generation and skill upgradation.

He said the first few manufacturing clusters are likely to come up near existing industrial hubs like NCR, Tamil Nadu, and Gujarat among others.

The Federation of Indian Exports Organisation said that manufacturing had been stagnating around 15-16 per cent of GDP for the last two decades coupled with a recent high unemployment rate of 10.8 per cent.

Mr Ramu S. Deora, President, FIEO, said that the National Investment and Manufacturing Zones (NIMZs) envisaged in the policy should be contiguous with freight corridors/golden quadrilateral to ensure easy off-take of the manufactured output.

Tax concessions suggested must be in line with the stipulations of the direct taxes code to be implemented in April 2012 and may be investment centric.

Mr Harsh Mariwala, President, FICCI, said, "For the first time we are going to have a policy dedicated to the manufacturing sector. Industry welcomes the in-principle nod given by the Prime Minister to the draft and hopes that a final policy will be announced soon within a month".

FICCI has expressed satisfaction over the fact that NMIZs had been identified as a major policy instrument in the policy.

It said that the compliance burden on manufacturers will significantly come down in these zones as a result of proposed simplifications in various regulations and procedures in areas of labour, environment etc.

Currently, manufacturers have to comply with over 70 Acts/rules and file over 100 returns.

Through NMIZs, the Government proposes to make it simpler for the units in the zone to file their returns in a consolidated manner for all the rules/acts and also to reduce the burden of inspections.

FICCI also welcomed the idea of having an insurance policy or sinking fund for settling labour dues at the time of exit. This will encourage entrepreneurs to invest in the manufacturing sector.



Singur Farmers whose land was acquired to set up a small car factory in Singur on Friday applauded passing of an ordinance by the West Bengal [ Images ] government to return land to unwilling farmers.

As soon as the news spread last night, the farmers, mostly belonging to villages in the Beraberi-Purbapara and Gopalnagar-Ghospara clusters, decided to celebrate thedevelopment the next day.

Their faces and hair painted green, the farmers cheered Trinamool Congress [ Images ] leader and convenor of the Krishi Jami Raksha Committee, which spearheaded the anti-land acquisition stir in Singur that had helped Mamata Banerjee [ Images ] ascend to power, as he addresed a gathering of unwilling land-ownersthis morning.

Manna said he and others would now embark on preparing a list of farmers who had refused to receive compensation cheques from the erstwhile government to be submitted to industries minister Partha Chatterjee.

Farmer Manik Das of Beraberi, who had taken part in the land stir and whose six and a half bighas were acquired, said he was happy that their movement had been justified and thanked Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee for her 'kindness' towards them.

"It was only because of her single-minded pursuit of returning land to land-losers like him that justice was done," said another farmer Ratan Ghosh who said he had eked out a living by selling milk and engaging occasionally in day-labour.

However, most of them felt that the land should be made cultivable before being returned as the top soil had been rendered unfit for any agricultural activity due toconstruction work.

The Hooghly district magistrate, Sripriya Rangarajan, said she would proceed with returning land whenever she received direction from the government.

Leader of the Opposition in the state Assembly Surya Kanta Mishra, who met Governor M K Narayanan, observed that the ordinance cannot be promulgated while the House was insession.

Emerging from Raj Bhavan, Mishra, who led a Left delegation, told reporters, "When Assembly is in session, an ordinance cannot be promulgated. A bill has to be moved."

He, however, said they have nothing to say if the state government wanted to amend the law to return land in Singur.

He said the Governor gave them a patient hearing and hoped that he would take steps in this regard according to the Constitution.

The announcement of Mamata Banerjee to take back 997 acres land in Singur through ordinance from Tata Motors has evoked mix reactions among industry circles and economists. Interestingly, the ancillary units of Tata Motors have welcomed the move because of the 'compensation' component. Some of them are even hoping that there could be some other projects in the 600 acres left over. Times of India reports.

Industry bodies, too, were happy with the move. However, a section of economists are confused about the legal implications.

D K Jain, the managing director of Lumax Industries, an automobile lamp manufacturer and Tata Motors ancillary in Singur, made it clear that it will follow the Tata Motors line of action. "We shall follow what Tata Motors asks us to do. If they tell us to take the compensation we shall do that." The joint MD of Shivani Locks, Naresh Kathuria, agreed with Jain and left it to Tara Motors "to decide". "We shall follow," he said.

However, Arvind Kapur, the MD of engine component manufacturer Rico Auto, feels that Mamata's is an "intelligent decision given the situation". "We have done lot of construction. If we get compensation then it is good but the process should be fast," he said. Arvind Walia, MD of mechanical auto component maker Gabriel India, called it a "good development".

Indian Chamber of Commerce president Jayanta Roy called it very good news. "People should be at the centre of any development. In addition to growth, a lot of emphasis should be given to the resettlement process. I hope this will become an acceptable model in the coming days. Whoever has to buy land needs to compensate adequately," he said. Bengal Chamber of Commerce president Sandipan Chakraborty pointed out that the chief minister must have given it serious thought before taking the decision. "We hope that it will be good for both industry and agriculture," he said. Ficci Eastern Regional Council chairman, Gaurav Swarup said, "It's a good move and now the ball started rolling."

Economists were bit confused with the development. Former ISI professor Dipankar Dasgupta said that the "whole thing is now terribly confusing". "I don't understand the legal meaning of it. I knew the land was acquired by the government. How can it reacquire the land? Does it mean that government never acquired it, so the government is acquiring it by issuing an ordinance ? I am now more confused about it than ever," he said.

Economist Sugata Marjit said, "I now need to understand the legal aspect of it. But since the CM has announced it, there must be some breakthrough in the impasse." Ajitava Roychowdhury, professor of economics, Jadavpur University, welcomed the development. "At least this land will be of some use now. The ball has started rolling. The earlier government did not pay much heed to the demands of the farmers while acquiring land," he said.

L&T to be back in Bengal after 34 years
With big project plans, construction and engineering major Larsen & Toubro (L&T) will soon be back in West Bengal after 34 years in the state under the new dispensation.

"I have come to West Bengal after 34 years of lack of economic growth and I heard in Delhi that she (Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee) is full of ideas and is progressive. She works very fast," L&T chairman AM Naik said after meeting the CM at Writers' Buildings, the state secretariat.

 
Naik said he wanted to find out "what role we can play in the changed scenario. She has fantastic ideas".

State finance minister Amit Mitra, who was present at the meeting, said L&T was coming to West Bengal after 34 years "and they are here for big ticket projects".

Mitra said that L&T does not do projects worth below Rs 1,000 crore.

To a question, he said the chief minister had given Naik many ideas on Digha development, promotion of tourism in the Sunderbans and expressway development and the company head returned "highly impressed".

Asked as to when L&T would start working in the state, he said "ideas have been just given and they will now discuss among themselves and ascertain the cost factors, etc.

Mamata's land bank idea, industry cautious

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's proposal to create a land bank as part of reforms in the acquisition process has received a cautious to upbeat response from the industry, with some saying the idea is good but might be difficult to implement.

To show that she means business, Banerjee announced Thursday that an ordnance had been promulgated to hand back 400 acres of land that had been "forcibly acquired" from farmers in Singur.

Soon after taking over the reins, the Trinamool Congress leader declared that a new land policy will be implemented in the state and stressed that there will be no forcible acquisition of land.

A two-member committee of land reforms expert Debabrata Banerjeee and lawyer Soumendranath Basu has been formed to make a survey of unutilised land in the state.

The expert committee will prepare a land map, which will be the basis for creating a land bank.

The land bank will specify the areas where land is available for industries and thus eliminate uncertainties in the acquisition process -- a major factor for industrialisation in Bengal.

Bengal National Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BNCCI) president Sunil Dasgupta said it will be good if the government succeeded in forming the land bank, but said the process could be difficult.

"Both Debabrata Banerjeee and Soumendranath Basu are very experienced land experts. We have full faith in them. It will be easy to create a land map, but forming a land bank in West Bengal will be difficult since plenty of land is not available here," he averred.

He said only two to three percent of total land in the state was unutilised.

Srei Infrastructure Finance Ltd managing director Hemant Kanoria also welcomed the move on the land bank.

"The decision of the government to create a land bank is the right step. There should be segregation between barren land and fertile land. The policy should be different for buying barren land and fertile land. In the case of barren land, owners can cash in by selling it to industrialists," Kanoria told IANS.

The new regime has also decided to return the 400 acres of land taken from farmers "against their will" by the previous Left Front regime for the Tata Motors Nano small car plant at Singur in Hooghly district.

The automobile major was forced to pull out its Nano project from Singur due to protests led by the Trinamool Congress against land acquisition.

On this decision, Kanoria said: "It is very difficult to comment on that. I do not know how it could be returned."

However, whatever land was not required by industry could be returned, he said.

"But I must compliment the way the government is working. The new government is taking the right steps and moving in the right direction," he added.

Kamal Baheti, director of the world's largest tea producer McLeod Russel India Limited, said: "The steps taken by the new government on economic issues are in the right direction. But it is to be seen how the decision of forming a land bank in the state will be implemented."

Returning land at Singur to farmers who had sold it unwillingly was the main agenda of the Trinamool Congress during campaigning for the April-May assembly polls, he said.

"Legal matters are associated with it. But if it happens, it will be good."

"The new government is taking a multi-pronged developmental approach. Creating a land bank was in the Vision Paper of the Trinamool Congress. Having done the hard work, the government is now taking steps to implement it," Patton Group of Companies managing director Sanjay Budhia said.

Stating that the land bank was a very important issue, he said it was part of the process of converting unproductive assets into productive ones.

Asked to comment on the government's decision to return land to Singur's farmers, Budhia, also the chairman of the Confederation of Indian Insustry's National Committee on Exports, said: "It is ultimately the (simultaneous) development of agriculture and industry. If the government has taken the decision, it must have made all the calculations. The government has been adopting a welcome approach."

According to the BNCCI's Dasgupta, "the character of 150 acres to 200 acres of land at Singur has not changed. The government can return that land".


It's 997 acres, or nothing for Tata Motors
BS Reporter / Mumbai June 10, 2011, 0:07 IST
If Mamata Banerjee is sticking to her guns, so would Ratan Tata. Tata Motors, India's largest automaker,is unlikely to scale down its plans and go back to Singur for a smaller plant.

Auto component manufacturers, however, can heave a sigh of relief they will be finally reimbursed for their investments after a three-year wait. Component makers like Exide Batteries, Sona Koyo and Rico Auto were among the many vendors who had followed the Tatas to set up an ancillary components hub in the disputed 400 acres which was next to the mother plant at Singur.

When contacted, a Tata Motors spokesperson said, "We are not aware of such a development, and we do not want to make any comment unless we have studied the Ordinance."

People following the development, however, said that the Tatas still maintain their original stand that without a 997 acre contiguous plot, the plant is not viable. Some even said that the salt-to-software conglomerate may even seek legal option to contest the Ordinance and seek compensation from the West Bengal government. The Tatas had earlier sought a Rs 558-crore compensation from the Left Front government for vacating the entire land parcel.

The Tatas have been consistent with their stand. At the 2009 annual general meeting (AGM) held in Mumbai, Ratan Tata had clarified that it was open to the idea of moving back to Singur even when the company's plant had started manufacturing operations in Gujarat. He had also clarified then that it was not interested in building the plant on a portion of the 997 acres, and instead was keen on getting the entire plot.

During the same AGM, Tata stated, if any party was interested (in buying/transferring the lease), they would do so, with government approval. "Even if the government had an interested party, we are willing to sell it to them too," said Tata and added he did not expect to see any loss with its sale.

Some analysts also are of the view that at a time when Nano sales itself have failed to live up to the initial projections, a second Nano plant may also not make business sense at this point. But the Singur plot, being well connected and having the necessary infrastructure to back a large manufacturing venture, could have had other usage for the group.

In April this year, Tata Motors had in fact renewed the lease for Singur land by another year even after the Nano production was well underway in Sanand, Gujarat. It paid Rs 1 crore to the West Bengal Industrial Development Corporation (WBIDC) after it gained approval from the vendors of the Nano project to renew the lease.

WBIDC is the owner of the entire land while Tata Motors is supposed to pay Rs 1 crore every year for the first five years of its 90 year lease agreement with WBIDC. The amount, however, includes payment made by components companies for land earmarked to them.

When asked if Tata Motors would be paying the lease renewal amount every year for the entire 997 acre next year, a company spokesperson said the lease was renewed earlier this year.

The auto vendors are rejoicing the decision. A Delhi-based auto vendor who had started construction of his plant at Singur before the agitation forced him to leave stated, "We welcome the decision of the West Bengal government. We are happy that the matter is now closed and that we would be reimbursed the amount we had invested there. We had moved out of there just after we had erected the columns and laid the foundation. So the monetary setback was not huge".
http://www.business-standard.com/india/news/its-997-acres-or-nothing-for-tata-motors/438594/

Changes in land Bill to hurt Bengal's industrialisation drive
Ishita Ayan Dutt / Kolkata June 09, 2011, 0:18 IST

The proposed modification of the Land Acquisition (Amendment) Bill is likely to throw the industrialisation drive in West Bengal out of gear, if state governments are given the power to determine the extent of their roles in acquiring land for industries.

The stated position of the Trinamool Congress-led West Bengal government is that no land should be acquired for private projects, but in a competitive scenario, it is West Bengal that is likely to lose out in the long term if the state government decides to opt against facilitating land acquisition.


"We will definitely require government help for land acquisition," Bhushan Steel Managing Director Neeraj Singal said. Bhushan Steel, incidentally, will be setting up a six-million-tonne steel plant at a cost of Rs 30,000 crore, for which the land requirement is 2,500 acres.Notifications for land acquisition had been issued by the erstwhile government, but it is still not clear whether the new government will go ahead with land acquisition for such projects.

"We want to set up the project in Bengal, but if we don't get land then we will not," Singal said. He has already waited long. The memorandum for the project was signed in 2007, right after the Nandigram fiasco. Moreover, the Karnataka government is in the process of acquiring land for Bhushan Steel.

For the Trinamool Congress, land, which resurrected the party, is an all-important issue. "It is Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's position that private companies should directly purchase land from the farmers," a senior Trinamool Congress leader said.

West Bengal, where fallow land is just about one per cent, has faced resistance in both the models: Acquisition by the state (in the case of Singur and Nandigram) and direct purchase by companies or the state.

"I think if the Bill has a provision for the state to play a role, it's a good thing. The state will take care of rehabilitation of project-affected people," the state's previous commerce and industry minister, Nirupam Sen, said.

Sen had tried his hand in purchasing directly from land owners, but in many instances it has not worked. The West Bengal Industrial Development Corporation managed to acquire only about 260 acres for Tata Metaliks against a requirement of 350 acres in Kharagpur, where land was mostly barren.

"The requirement was scaled down from 500 acres to 350 acres, but even that didn't happen within a reasonable timeframe," Tata Metaliks Managing Director Harsh Jha recalled. The project ultimately moved to Karnataka.

"If the land requirement is small like 40-50 hectares, then it is possible for an individual buyer to do the project within a reasonable timeframe and cost. But for much larger projects, unless government-owned, in Bengal where land parcels are small, larger projects may not happen," explained Jha.

The average landholding in West Bengal happens to be one of the lowest, much lower than the national average of 1.41 hectares.

During 2005-2009, West Bengal received investment proposals of Rs 2.37 lakh crore, of which only about 10 per cent has been implemented. The balance will now have to be executed.

http://www.business-standard.com/india/news/changes-in-land-bill-to-hurt-bengal/s-industrialisation-drive/438472/

Battle not over, next fight for industry
Falguni Banerjee, TNN | Jun 10, 2011, 02.20am IST

SINGUR: The news of chief minister Mamata Banerjee announcing an ordinance to return 400 acres to unwilling farmers in Singur triggered a surge of emotions among people on both sides of the political spectrum. While those who had fought with Mamata celebrated, those who had given land willingly reacted with muted disbelief.

The exuberance was all the more heightened because no one had expected this decision to come so soon, or so suddenly. It was only on May 20 that Mamata took over as chief minister and announced the return of land.

Gopalnagar's Mahadeb Das, who had refused to take compensation for his 12-bigha land within the project site, was in tears. "When I waged a battle for this, sure in my belief that land can indeed be returned, the people of the village - even my neighbours - mocked me, saying I need to go to a mental asylum. Today, Mamata Banerjee has proved that we were right. What is law if it is not for the benefit of people? By her action today, Mamata has proved it yet again that the government should act for the people," he said.

Krishi Jami Raksha Committee convenor Becharam Manna said: "Singur had shown the way to the entire country. Here we have proved that if people want they can do anything. What is happening in Noida or Agra? To assert what is their moral right, farmers are even taking bullets. In Singur, we fought for the land in hope that we will rectify the wrong. Mamata Banerjee has proved all sceptics wrong. And mark my words, this will again show the way to similar struggles across the country. Yes, we are jubilant. We will take out processions tomorrow to celebrate it."

Amid the euphoric din in Gopalnagar - the place with the most number of unwilling landowners - stood Bhuban Bagui. He had taken his compensation cheque and now says he feels happy that the others have also got their due. Khaserbheri's Asoke Ghosh said: "I have even been to Jamshedpur and saw the development that an industry like the Nano can bring about. But this land is of our forefathers. We have been living off it for years and will do so in the years to come. How can a one-time compensation sustain us? Money will disappear, not land."

A contrast, however, is very apparent in Joymolla, where most of the inhabitants are marginal farmers who'd given away their small plots of land for the Nano project. Many had been pinning their hopes on a promised job in the Tata factory. A disquiet silence greeted those who came to Joymolla this evening. People refused to speak, unsure of their future now after hoping against all odds these days.

CPM district committee leader Dibakar Das who had assisted in the land acquisition process was very forthright: "Here, in Singur, 80% of the people wanted industry. I am not sure what is there in the ordinance or what result it will have. But we are sure of one thing - if people want industry here we will fight for it."

The political battlelines clearly drawn.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/kolkata-/Battle-not-over-next-fight-for-industry/articleshow/8795036.cms


Bankrupt Bengal in for Rs 2750cr financial boost
Udit Prasanna Mukherji, TNN | Jun 9, 2011, 08.36am IST

KOLKATA: Debt-ridden West Bengal is in for an unexpected financial windfall. Additional revenue from coal cess and incremental income tax collection could help the new government tide over the initial crisis.

Together, the figure could well be close to the proposed initial market borrowing of Rs 3,000 crore the government is going in for.

The exchequer will get about Rs 652 crore as additional revenue from coal cess in 2011-12 while its share of income tax collected from the state would rise by Rs2,100 crore, sources in the government said.

A massive coal price hike earlier this year will see the state's earnings from coal cess double from Rs798 crore to Rs 1,450 crore. Income-tax collection from the state has also jumped by almost 50% - from Rs 15,000 crore to over Rs 22,000 crore - in 2010-11. This is largely due to better tax compliance by corporate houses. It works out to an increase in Rs 7,000 crore in income-tax collection from the state. "A state government generally gets around 30% of the income-tax collection from the state. So, the increase in the state government's share from income tax could be Rs2,100 crore," the sources said.

According to a coal sector expert, Bengal will benefit the most from the recent coal price hike. Coal India revised A & B grade coal prices by almost 100% from Rs 2,200 to Rs 4,000 a tonne in February. The Bengal mines of Eastern Coalfields produce mainly A & B grade coal which is considered top quality. The state has a combination of ad valorem cess of 25% on the value of coal production and a royalty of Rs 5.50-7, depending on coal grade.

The official explained: "First, 12 million tonnes out of 15 million tonnes produced in the state is A & B grade. The hike in prices of these two categories was the maximum in order to get the price closer to the import parity price. Secondly, the cess here is ad valorem (duty in percentage terms on the value of the article). So the price rise will translate into additional revenue for the state."

Bengal is the highest recipient of coal revenue among the states going by per million tonne production. The price prevailing on the last date of the previous fiscal is considered for determining the value of coal for the purpose of cess collection. "The price prevailing on March 31, 2011 was the new price. So the cess this year will be based on the new price," the official added.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/kolkata-/Bankrupt-Bengal-in-for-Rs-2750cr-financial-boost/articleshow/8784309.cms


L&T eyes major projects in West Bengal
BS Reporter & Pti / Kolkata June 7, 2011, 0:12 IST

Construction and engineering major Larsen & Toubro (L&T) is set to go for big projects in West Bengal under the new dispensation.

As a first step to it, the company chairman A M Naik met the state's new Chief Minister and Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee today at Writers' Building, the state secretariat. "I have come to West Bengal after 34 years of lack of economic growth and I heard in Delhi that Banerjee is full of ideas and is progressive. She works very fast," Naik said after the meeting.

 


He also met with the state Finance Minister Amit Mitra and discussed about various projects that can be done in the state. "L&T is looking for large-scale infrastructure projects of above Rs 3,000-4,000 crore in the state — like the one we did in Delhi and Mubai airports," said Debojyoti Chatterjee, L&T spokesperson.

When asked about the company's plans in Bengal, Mitra said, "The chief minister had given Naik many ideas on Digha development, promotion of tourism in the Sunderbans and expressway development and the company head returned highly impressed."

Though the firm had done some projects in the state, Chatterjee said that they are small projects compared to L&T standards. "We have done some small projects like a glass furnace at the Steel Authority of India's (SAIL) Asansol unit, AJC Bose road fly over and ESI hospital in Joka. But all of them ranges between Rs 200-500 crore," he said.

Asked as to when L&T would start working on new projects in the state, Mitra said "ideas have been just given and they will now discuss among themselves and ascertain the cost factors." However, many business personalities are lining up with their best wishes and to get an appointment with its supremo Mamata Banerjee and her associates.

According to the state Industry and Commerce minister Partha Chatterjee, many business honchos like Kris Gopalakrishnan of Infosys and JSW Steel Managing Director Sajjan Jindal have sent letters and want to meet the state ministers. Last week, NTPC chaieman Arup Roy Chowdhury also came and had a meeting with Banerjee.

http://www.business-standard.com/india/news/lt-eyes-major-projects-in-west-bengal/438096/


Light at last for Singur?

ARUNANGSU ROY CHOWDHURY

They fed each other sweets and smeared gulal in exultation after hearing the newly sworn-in West Bengal Chief Minister, Mamata Banerjee, announce that they would get back 400 acres of the land acquired from them for Tata Motor's small car project at Singur.

These were the villagers who had vehemently protested against what they called forcible land acquisition by the previous government and were supported by the Krishi Jibon Jibika Bachao Committee — backed by the All India Trinamool Congress.

The State's new Industry Minister, Partha Chatterjee, declared that the Government would bring into the public domain documents related to the deal between Tata Motors and the previous government. A day later, however, he beat a retreat citing legal issues.

In the meantime, the Tata Group Chairman, Ratan Tata, sent a congratulatory letter to Mamata Banerjee on her party's electoral victory and received her thanks.

The Chief Minister verbally invited the Tata group to resurrect the small car project.

There is confusion among the people of Singur, as also in the rest of the State, as they wonder how the Government would go about the process of returning farmers' land, and whether the land would be cultivatable after whatever groundwork had been done for the car factory. The youth in Singur are still hopeful that their 'Didi' will bring back the factory, and with it employment and economic growth.

The cavernous structure built by Tata Motors, only to be abandoned, stands a forlorn witness to a stillborn project.

http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/features/life/article2090935.ece


Real Estate Regulation Bill getting ready
The much-awaited Real Estate Regulation Bill, 2011, which seeks to protect home-buyers from fly-by-night developers, is under the process of consultation by various ministries.

"The draft Bill is almost being finalised. We have sent the Bill to the Law Ministry for their approval and subsequently we will sending it to other ministries for approval," the Ministry of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation Joint Secretary, Mr S.K. Singh, said today.

Mr Singh, who was speaking to reporters on the sidelines of a RICS event here, said the Bill would go to the Cabinet for approval after all the ministries have vetted it, but declined to give a timeline for placing it in Parliament.

The Bill, which has been drafted taking into account the interests of all stakeholders and real estate developers, would set the tone for reforms in the housing sector.

"The Bill will not cover the pricing of property as the intention is not to strangulate the sector but to make real estate properties easily available," he said.

The Bill is in the making for more than three years now.

Sources in the Housing and Poverty Alleviation Ministry said since land is a state subject and there are many issues involved in the enactment of the Bill. The Centre can only enact a model Bill which can be referred to the state government for its consideration.

There is a demand-supply gap for low cost houses and the purpose of the Bill is to protect the interest of consumers while also taking into account the concerns of stakeholders.

Mr Singh was speaking at the book launch of UK-based self-regulatory body for qualifications and standards, Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS).

RICS today launched the India edition of the 'Red Book' which lays down the mandatory rules for its members.

Singur News

Updates from Singur:

The battle within - singur on the eve of the Panchayat elections, 2008 - May 5, 2008
Malnutrition death in Singur and the Nano-flyover syndrome - February 10, 2008
Protest Rally In Singur Against High Court Verdict - January 22, 2008
Updates on Singur: AIFB wants Tatas to move; Tata's car an "environmental nightmare" - January 6, 2008
Singur sharecropper commits suicide - December 17, 2007
Singur - An update, post land-acquisition, from APDR and Manthan - August 2007. In Bengali.
CPI(M) lies about Tapasi Malik's death - apologist Vijay Prasad disseminates untruths- June 29, 2007
Singur Update from APDR (Association for Protection of Democratic Rights) - June 19, 2007
PAMANGGAS condemns Nandigram massacre, Italian Metal Unions react to Singur - March 14, 2007
Police attack peaceful protesters - A report from MASUM, February 4, 2007

A Timeline of Events

Acquisition of Agricultural Land in Singur and Its Protest — An Incomplete Timeline (May 31 - December, 2006) - By Alita Nandi, Sanhati

Reports

Singur - ways of life, before and after - From Manthan. Translated by Kuver Sinha, Sanhati
Singur: Looking Back, Looking Forward - By Medha Patkar

Analytical pieces

Agrarian Confusion - Singur, farmers' consent, and the Left Front's statistical misrepresentations - By Sankar Ray
U-Turn of Industrial Policy Erodes the Very Base of Agriculture - By Abhijit Guha. Translated by Debarshi Das, Sanhati
Santa Claus visits the Tatas - By Ashok Mitra
Headline Singur - Food self-sufficiency, barren land, fighting unemployment, and other misrepresentations. - By Amitadyuti Kumar
The real debate over economic reforms in India - By Dipankar Basu, Sanhati
Singur and the Official Left's Crisis in India - By Pratyush Chandra, Sanhati
Neoliberalism And Primitive Accumulation In India - By Dipankar Basu and Pratyush Chandra, Sanhati
In the Name of Development - By Somnath Mukherji, Sanhati
Peasant Hares and Capitalist Hounds of Singur - By Sumanta Banerjee
Listen to the Decentralised Voice - By Somnath Mukherji, Sanhati
Special Publication of People's Coalition on Food Sovereignty (PCFS) on Singur - January 2007. PDF file.
Stakeholder analysis wrt land as a resource in the SEZ strategy in Bengal - A paper by Dheeraj Singh, IIM Kolkata. PDF file.
But, Is It "Development"? This 'Development' & "SHILPAYAN" Drive of The CPI(M) Led Govt In Singur, Bangur etc - By S. Das , For A Proletarian Party Journal
Challenging the current development paradigm - A Discussion Paper from Mazdoor Mukti
India's Left Going the Lula Way? - By Praful Bidwai
Land Grab and "Development" Fraud in India - An Analytical Monthly Review article
The poor poetry of industrialization: The Communist Party of India (Marxist) in wonderland - An ACHR report
The Singur Smokescreen : Twists of the Mainstream Media - By Aniruddha Dutta
The sorrows of Singur are typical of India's feudal globalization - By Aseem Srivastava
Singur: where the Left turns right - By Vijayan MJ, Tehelka

Bengali Publications

Analytical booklet on government policy : In the Clutches of Development - Singur, Nandigram
Booklet by female activists : Singur Movement : Our Thoughts, Our Resistance
From Raichowk to Singur - Notes on Industrialisation - By Saikat Bandyopadhyay, Sanhati
An APDR publication in Bengali - Land Acquisition in Singur, A Rights Perspective
Special Bulletin from Mazdoor Kranti Parishad (MKP), December 2006

EPW articles

Land Acquisition and Peasant Resistance at Singur - By Parthasarathi Banerjee. PDF file.
Singur and the Displacement Scenario - By Walter Fernandes. PDF file.

 

• Indian People's Tribunal 2010: Resource Documents

• Sanhati Statement against Operation Green Hunt: National and InternationalSignatories

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• Days and Nights in the Heartland of Rebellion - Gautam Navlakha

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1. Statement on Singur from Sanhati at Sanhati

   Months of unflinching resistance by the people of Singur, especially landless labourers and marginal farmers, against the unjust and violent farm land ...
   sanhati.com/news/1009/ - Cached
2. Booklet by female activists : Singur Movement : Our ... - Sanhati

   SINGUR ANDOLAN : AAMADER BHABNA AAMADER PRATIBAD Edited by : Emancipation Publication. A compilation of articles by women intellectuals and artists. ...
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3. Lalgarh Movement – Mass uprising of adivasis in West Bengal at Sanhati

    - 2 visits - 17/07/10

   The turning point came in the villages of Singur and Nandigram, where blundering .... Under the banner of the Lalgarh Sanhati Mancha and other similar ...
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4. Revisiting Singur at Sanhati

   31 Oct 2010 ... Two features strike the moment one enters Singur through Kamarkundu Railway station, via Ujjal Sangha ground - the Tata Motor enclosure, ...
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5. Peasant Hares and Capitalist Hounds of Singur at Sanhati

   Singur is a test of sorts : For the Left Front government that is very ardently pursuing industrialisation as the only pathway to progress and also for its ...
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6. Singur sharecropper commits suicide at Sanhati

   He is the fifth farmer of Singur to have committed suicide following land acquisition there. Patra took his life at a cowshed adjacent to his house near ...
   sanhati.com/articles/584/ - Cached
7. The Singur Smokescreen : Twists of the Mainstream Media at Sanhati

   In this context, the actions of the police at Singur on Saturday had one major flaw. They were woefully inadequate." ("No velvet glove", TT December 05, ...
   sanhati.com/articles/81/ - Cached - Similar
8. May 20: 400 acres to be returned to Singur farmers | Source ...

   News source: Sanhati| http://www.sify.com/news/400-acres-to-be-returned-to-singur-farmers-mamata-news-national-lfuuOlcjcee.html Kolkata, May 20 (IANS) Hours ...
   www.thenewscollective.org/display-related-news.php?...Singur... - Cached
9. [singur] Sanhati

   Sanhati - In this article you can read about: singur. ... back: Mini Singur enacted in Burdwan, Nandigram remains tense - Yahoo! India News tags: singur ...
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1. Toba Tek Singh, Netaji and Singur - Nandigram

   17 Feb 2007 ... Toba Tek Singh, Netaji and Singur - Nandigram. Palash Biswas. (Contact:Palash Biswas, C/O Mrs Arati Roy, Gosto Kanan,Sodepur, ...
   o3.indiatimes.com/nandigram/archive/2007/02/17/3629375.aspx - Cached
2. FORGET NOT SINGUR! NANDIGRAM!

   29 Jun 2007 ... NANDIGRAM! FORGET NOT SINGUR! NANDIGRAM! Palash Biswas ...
   o3.indiatimes.com/kolkatabase/archive/2007/06/29/4678518.aspx - Cached
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3. chhattisgarh-net : Message: Forget not Singur, Nandigram...

   28 Jun 2007 ... FORGET NOT SINGUR! NANDIGRAM! Palash Biswas Two killed in explosion, PTI reports from Nandigram. Two members of a family, including a woman ...
   groups.yahoo.com/group/chhattisgarh-net/message/6492 - Cached

   WorldWideDemocracy : Message: Gagged Songs of Untouchables, RUDDHA ...‎
   india-unity : Message: Morichjhanpi to Singur Nandigram ...‎
   mukto-mona : Message: Imami Fatwa Against Nandigram Resistance ...‎
   MuktoChinta : Message: Toba Tek Singh, Netaji and Singur Nandigram‎
   

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4. Mangalkot Links to Singur, nandigram and Lalgarh!

   13 Aug 2009 ... Palash biswas द्वारा 13 अगस्त, 2009 1:06:00 AM IST पर पोस्टेड #. Mangalkot Links to Singur, nandigram and Lalgarh! ...
   palashkatha.mywebdunia.com/.../mangalkot_links_to_singur_nandigram_and_lalgarh.html -Cached
5. Bardhaman district blogs

   FORGET NOT SINGUR! NANDIGRAM! Palash Biswas Contact: ... of East Midnapore district today. Police superintendent G Srinivas said the family was engaged ...
   www.whataboutu.com/blogs_Bardhaman+district~11128.html - Cached
6. palashbiswaslive: Bengal Polls: Another View

   30 May 2011 ... Palash Biswas On Unique Identity No1.mpg ... What the series of post-Singur developments (Nandigram, the brazen injustice meted out to ...
   palashbiswaslive.blogspot.com/2011/.../bengal-polls-another-view.html - Cached
7. PROFILES - Kerala Ministers, Kerala Politicians, Kerala Politics ...

   Phone: 91-033-25659551 Email: palashchandrabiswas@gmail.com Aamar Gram, Tomar Gram, Shobar Gram: Nandigram,Nandigram My Village; Your Village; ...
   www.keralaministers.com/...17/Achuthanandan.html?min... - Cached - Similar
8. Mamata Banerjee Blog | Indian Mamata Banerjee Blog | Mamata ...

   Added by : Palash Biswas. Tags : mamata banerjee, gorkha janmukti morcha, kolkata, gorkhaland, ... Tags : west bengal, mamata banerjee, singur, nandigram, ...
   blogs.oneindia.in › Tags - Cached - Similar
9. Pant Nagar Story is different from Singur, Nandigram as Government ...

   5 Sep 2008 ... Palash Biswas http://troubledgalaxydetroyeddreams.blogspot.com/ ....moment if situation like Singur, Nandigram, Navi Mumbai, Noida, ...
   groups.google.com/group/powwow/browse.../3d7d5f413806adf1?... - Cached
10. Palash Biswas Blogs – View Palash Biswas countries regional Blogs ...

    4 Nov 2009 ... View & Post your comments on Palash Biswas Network at ibibo Networks. ...Sickles of Enslavement and they fight back in Singur, Nandigram, ...
    palashbiswas.ibibo.com/Blogs/archive/146909 - Cached

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