Land dispute brews in Left Front govt

Notwithstanding the minister’s pessimism,the commissioner general of land reforms,P K Agarwal,has written to the principal secretaries of all the state departments to hand over the unused land lying with them.

“There is a severe dearth of land all around. While it has become a bone of contention between the ruling party and the Opposition,many state government departments and in some cases some Central government departments are sitting over prime,high quality lands. It’s a matter of concern as they don’t want to part with their land,” one Land Department official told The Indian Express.

The department of panchayat has already replied to the Land Department saying that it has no unused land at its disposal.

While Durgapur Steel Plant has 750 acres of unused land,2,000 acres of land belonging to West Bengal Industrial Infrastructure Development Corporation are lying unused at Bolpur in Birbhum district.

“We are taking up the matter with the concerned authorities. If our efforts fail we will take it up with the chief minister so that he can exert pressure on those departments,” the official added.

Bengal firms up improved rehabilitation policy
The Left Front government has said that it is currently formulating an improved rehabilitation and compensation policy for the people displaced by industrial projects.

The new rehabilitation and compensation policy,which would take care of the interests of the farming community,share-croppers,wage earners and owners of agricultural land,will be placed in the Assembly after giving it a final shape,state Industry Minister Nirupam Sen said on Tuesday. “Land being a crucial input for prospective investors for locating their units in the state,the state government has to address the issue taking into consideration all relevant issues,” he said. He said it was necessary in larger public interest to have state intervention where a very large quantum of land was involved for setting up of any industrial unit. PTI