Jharkhand rehab formula before industries move in

Now, with steel giants like the JSW, Tata and Mittal Steel signing memoranda of understanding (MoUs) with the Jharkhand Government to set up industries, the latter intends to improve things. It is planning to bring in changes to ensure better resettlement opportunities for the displaced families.

The steel firms have envisaged a requirement of about 75,000 acres of land in the state and thousands like Bhagat would face displacement in East Singhbhum, West Singhbhum, Ranchi, Dhanbad, Bokaro, Hazaribagh and Giridih districts.

Among the first proposals made by the state government in this regard is to pay compensation for displacement through account-payee cheques. In fact, the Industries department has also prepared a draft for a ‘Policy on resettlement and rehabilitation for the project-affected families’.

The draft (a copy of which is with The Indian Express), if it gets approved by the state government and the companies for whom the land was to be acquired, will make every displaced family eligible for benefits such as:

• Rs one lakh for homestead land

• 1/10th of an acre of land free of cost for construction of home

• Convertible share/security bond up to a maximum of 50 per cent out of total amount of compensation (The share or the security bond was to be issued to the member of the displaced family by the purchaser company of his land)

• Employment to one member of the displaced family

The draft reports states that one member from each family will have to nominate one member and that member will be provided with vocational training to equip him/her with skills to set up an enterprise or bag a job in the market.

Moreover, unlike the past when the compulsory acquisition of land under the Land Acquisition Act, 1894 displaced people, forcing many of them to give up their homes, assets and means of livelihood, the draft policy proposes to approach the gram sabha for the purchase of land from its members.

‘‘Only when a gram sabha decides by a clear majority to co-partner a project and passes a resolution to that effect, the resolution shall be forwarded by the Deputy Commissioner to the state government mentioning therein that the gram sabha has given its consent to the project’’ reads the report.

Interestingly, in Jharkhand, where panchayat polls are yet to be held due to litigations, gram sabha comprises members who were nominated by the state government officials at the village and block level.