Land acquisition woes haunt MIDC, hamper expansion plans
Escalating land cost and opposition to the proposed land acquisition are major hurdles.
Escalating land cost and growing opposition to the proposed land acquisition by the Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation (MIDC) are major hurdles to further industrialisation of Pune district which has developed into a major industrial hub over the years.
Pimpri-Chinchwad, Chakan (I-V), Talegaon (I-III), Ranjangaon (I-III) and Baramati (I-II) are the major industrial areas developed by MIDC in Pune district. Stiff opposition from local residents seems to be plaguing MIDC in all these areas other than PCMC, which by far has been one of most successful cases of land acquisition for industries in the district.
MIDC acquires land from either private entities or government agencies. In case of private entities, it currently pays at the rate of Rs 1.76 crore per hectare of land along with 15 per cent of the developed land. Development charges are deducted from the compensation paid by the MIDC to the original land holders. Preference is given to barren land on records over irrigated fertile land.
Land acquisition for Pimpri-Chinchwad Industrial Estate had happened long back. MIDC had acquired 1,224 hectares (HR) and 12 Are land in the area. All the acquired land has been handed over to industries and it now houses industrial estates of Chinchwad, Bhosari, etc.
Of the five phases of Chakan industrial estate, acquisition and handing over of land is compete for phase I, III and III (259.334 HR, 376.516 HR and 140.16 HR). Also, MIDC has finished acquisition of 71.48 HR of land designated for Chakan III additional. 1436.15 HR of land was earmarked for Chakan phase II of which the MIDC is in possession of 1256.65 HR. Chakan, it might be recalled, houses major automobile companies like Volkswagen, Mercedes Benz etc.
Protest by farmers in the affected villages had resulted in MIDC failing to acquire any land parcel for Chakan V. A total of 762.32 HR of land has been earmarked for this phase. Recently, Swabhimani Shetkari Sanghatana (SSS) led by MP Raju Shetti has started opposing the land acquisition process in these area, asking the MIDC to remove their rights from the land records of the farmer.
Land acquisition for Talegaon I (578.102 HR) has been completed but MIDC has faced stiff opposition from the local villagers when it came to land acquisition for the other two phases. In fact, of the 454.986 HR of land earmarked for Talegaon II, only 267.56 HR of land has been acquired. Acquisition has been stopped further due to protest by the villagers. High compensation demand from the villagers has dissuaded MIDC from acquiring any parcel for the 94.57 HR of land earmarked for Talegaon III.
Strong protests from villagers since 2011 has again dissuaded MIDC from acquiring 668.79 HR of land earmarked for Baramati phase II. MIDC has, however, acquired and handed over 752.48 HR of land. Other than Ranajangaon II, land parcels for the other two phases have been successfully completed.
According to Anant Sardeshmukh, director general of Mahratta Chamber of Industries Commerce and Agriculture (MCCIA), the deadlock in procuring right piece of land was a major issue which has to be addressed immediately. “A few months ago, there was a proposal of a Taiwanese company to set up its facility in Pune, but the land shown to them was below par. In order to attract right investments, this issue has to be resolved fast,” he said.
Partha Sarathi Biwas is an Assistant Editor with The Indian Express with 10+ years of experience in ... Read More
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