The way to go

After holding on to it for so long, the West Bengal government looks ready to let the Urban Land Ceiling Act go

After giving 8216;8216;social protection8217;8217; for land in urban areas all these years, the Marxists have finally decided to do away with the idea. Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee has assured Union Urban Development Minister Jaipal Reddy that the Left Front government is considering the issue and has set up a panel to review the Urban Land Ceiling and Regulation Act, 1976.

When the Act was repealed in 1999 in Parliament, the CPIM-led West Bengal government refused to ratify this in the West Bengal Legislative Assembly. 8216;8216;If the Land Ceiling Act is repealed, land brokers will start operating. This will be harmful for the poor as well as the middle class. So we have opposed the Act in the

Assembly,8217;8217; says Ashok Bhattacharya, state Urban Development Minister.

Meanwhile, the government has set up a four-member committee headed by S.S. Chatterjee, former secretary of the Union Urban Poverty Alleviation department. This committee has been asked to submit a report within three months. 8216;8216;We will act according to the decisions taken by the committee. If they decide to repeal the Act, we will go ahead and ratify this in the Assembly,8217;8217; says Bhattacharya.

But CPIM sources said the party is trying to maintain its control over three sectors8212;land, education and health. They are trying to maintain their hold in the name of social control. 8216;8216;We still feel that there should be some kind of social control on urban land,8217;8217; says Bhattacharya.

On the other hand, the real estate business is booming. If a private party has to engage in real estate business in a big way, then it has to enter into a private-public partnership with the government. But the reality is that often, many private parties back out from this kind of partnership.

8216;8216;This Land Ceiling Act is now effective in Kolkata and in Asansol. These kind of partnerships are operating even in Siliguri and Burdwan where these Acts are not effective,8217;8217; says Bhattacharya.

The National Urban Development Mission is repeatedly pressuring the state government to repeal this Act. 8216;8216;We have repeatedly told the Centre that this is a state subject not a central subject. The final decision will be taken by the state government. After a lot of pressure, Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee told Jaipal Reddy that the state is setting up a committee to review the matter,8217;8217; says Bhattacharjee.

It will be interesting to see its findings.