5 min readSandeshkhaliFeb 24, 2024 01:46 PM IST
First published on: Feb 24, 2024 at 03:55 AM IST
There’s a serpentine queue at the block development office (BDO) in West Bengal’s Sandeshkhali, a village that has been at the epicentre of a political firestorm ever since allegations emerged against TMC leaders of excesses against local residents — from land grabbing to sexual harassment.
Under pressure from the opposition BJP in the state, the West Bengal government initiated an outreach programme six days ago for people to submit any complaints they have at the BDO. Since then, more than 700 applications have poured in.
The state has also started the process of returning land that had allegedly been grabbed by TMC men and converted to fisheries. This, even as villagers ask how salt water land can be re-converted to agricultural land. “We have received over 700 complaints in the last six days. Over 150 were land-related and 70 were money- and extortion-related. We have started the process of identifying and returning land to genuine owners,” Arun Kumar Samanta, block development officer of Sandeshkhali-II Block, told The Indian Express.
This outreach programme is apart from police teams reaching out to women to register complaints of sexual assault. Earlier this month, several women had alleged TMC leader Sheikh Shahjahan’s aides Sibha Prasad Hazra and Uttam Sarkar had been sexually harassing them for years on the pretext of late-night meetings. Both men have been arrested, while Shahjahan is on the run.
“Many complaints said land was forcibly taken from them. Some said land was taken on lease but money was not paid. Then there are applications related to state government services like old age pension, jobs cards, etc,” said Samanta, sitting with other officers in his room and occasionally looking at reports of fresh flare-ups on the television.
“Police are looking into law and order. But we have initiated the process of land return. After receiving a complaint, we process it and our officers go for field visits and inspections. The land is then returned to genuine owners. So far we have identified 60 such land plots and started handing them over,” said Samanta.
He said that when it comes to complaints about extortion, each case is being verified and referred to higher-ups, who will take a call on how to return the money to villagers.
Asked how fisheries (salt water land) can be made agriculture-ready, the BDO said, “You will see that the water is drained in most of the land after it is returned. Then we will have to wait for the rains. After the rains, farmers will be able to cultivate paddy here again.”
Among those who will get their land back is Utpal Maity, whose 3.5 bigha is set to be returned. “The administration identified and demarcated my land yesterday. The land was forcibly taken by Shahjahan and his goons in 2019. But the problem is that salt water drained in the land for years for fisheries. Now its character has changed. To make it fertile, it will take three or more years.”
A senior officer of state agriculture department said Sandeshkhali has around 8,000 hectares of agricultural land, though there is no estimate of much was turned into fisheries over the years. The officer said that paddy and some seasonal vegetables have traditionally been grown here. “Over the years, a large part of the land was transformed into fisheries. But that isn’t reflected in the records,” the officer said.
In the queue outside the BDO was Mahanta Sardar (56). “TMC men forcibly grabbed four bighas of my land. They said they will give me money to lease it, but we didn’t get anything for three years. When I protested, Uttam Sardar threatened to kill me.”
Some complaints were a little more personal, such as the one against Shahjahan’s aide Hazra for not paying a photographer “I used to shoot all his programmes and uploaded the photos to social media. I got money for the first couple of months but have been working without a fee since then. I protested but they threatened me. I am owed at least Rs 50,000,” said Shyamal Patra, 24.
Alaka Sarkar (33), who was also in the queue, said recent developments have given them courage to raise their voice.
Queue at the BDO office in Sandeshkhali on Friday. (Express Photo by Partha Paul) 
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