Next door to Nandigram, a happy land-acquisition story

It helped that most of the land had been in government books before the project was announced. But more important was the fact that Jindal had offered an attractive package to farmers from whom he had to get some land.

So, as Nandigram burned, the Jindals were moving ahead quietly. They envisage a captive power plant too. The Jindals moved decisively to take over another 50 acres, having taken the farmers into confidence. By December-end, the company hopes to acquire another 70 acres and complete the process of securing around 500 acres directly from the farmers.

Biswadip Gupta, chief executive officer of JSW-Bengal Steel Ltd, the company set up for the project, said that they would need only about 150 acres of ‘patta’ land, which the government would have to acquire on its behalf and later transfer. Under law, companies cannot buy land directly from ‘patta’ holders.

About Salboni, West Bengal Principal Secretary (Commerce & Industry) Sabyasachi Sen says, “There may have been trouble in Nandigram but the Jindal project in Salboni is sailing smoothly. There is absolutely no problem. It is all the more trouble-free because the land acquisition law is not applicable in Salboni. The company is directly purchasing some portion of the required land from the farmers and the rest of the land is vested with the government, so there is no question of any resistance.”

The Jindals were not the only ones happy with their land deal. Videocon, the consumer electronics major, is setting up a steel project at Baraboni near Asansol, for which the company has successfully negotiated with farmers a deal to acquire 2,000 acres. The company is waiting for the state’s green signal to start purchasing land.

At Salboni, the Jindals have offered a novel compensation and rehabilitation package that is a winner not only with the Opposition and the intelligentsia in the state, but is being discussed by various chambers as a model for the national level. The happiest are the villagers.

Sudarshan Chalak, who lives in the Kulpheni village of Salboni, has sold 1.5 bighas for the project for a total of Rs 2 lakh, which he has parked as a fixed deposit in the State Bank of India.

“We earn around Rs 7,000 in a year from the rice that we grow and that includes input costs of Rs 3,500. Now, just the interest will fetch us Rs 20,000 a year, and we also get a job and a share in the company,” says Chalak.

He is certain that after the steel plant comes up, the local economy will boom. He plans to start a business when that happens.

Chalak’s son, 16-year-old Prosenjit, is a Std VIII student. He is the one from the family who would opt for the job in the steel plant, once it comes up.

“In the last 30 years of CPM rule, we had been asking what is going to happen to our children? Will they ever be able to land decent jobs? Now, there seems to be a ray of hope,” says Chalak.

There are around 250 young boys and girls in Chalak’s village who are hoping to get a job at the factory. Even the women of the area hope to move out of their kitchens and contribute to the family income by working for the construction of the factory.

The first person to sign the compensation deal was 60-year-old Nitai Mahato of Jambedia village. He got Rs 15.5 lakh as compensation for his 12.5 bighas, a lot of which was non-cultivable. Son Seemanto has already bought a Bajaj Pulsar motorbike, and the family has used some of the money to pave the courtyard of their mud and thatch hut.

Though the farmers are upbeat about the factory, they are sad about having to give up their land. “The land is like our mother. She has given us a living for the past so many generations. Even the crop this year has been very good. Maybe it’s a parting gift,” said Chalak.

Nishit Mahato of Jambedia village is one of those whose land does not fall within the boundaries of the steel project. But he is not complaining.

“Promoters from Kolkata are coming every day and offering up to Rs 12 lakh for plots that do not cost even Rs 75,000. So even those who did not have to sell their land to the Jindals will eventually get a good price,” says Nitish.

Even the Opposition here does not deny the benefits that would accrue to people from the project.

“The fact that the project is going to benefit the economy of the area and the people living here cannot be denied. But we are slightly concerned that there is no written or legal document to testify the compensation on offer, especially in terms of the company share. We have also sent a deputation to the district magistrate on the issue,” says local Trinamool Congress activist, Mohammed Rafique.

So does the news of Nandigram bother them? Chalak says it is discussed every evening, especially since there is a project lined up for this part as well. “But I do not understand why people are still fighting even after the project has been cancelled. In Salboni, there are no two opinions on the project. We support it wholeheartedly.”

Why the Salboni offer is different

• Rs 1.94 lakh per acre for land vested with Govt (total 4,300 acres)

• Rs 2.75 lakh per acre for land held by farmers (total 560 acres)

• Shares in new company of equal value to amount paid for land. Shares will be locked in trust till commercial production begins

• One job per family, about 750 jobs in all