They have promised shares, so does that mean I become one of the owners of Jindal?” asks Amol Manna, a 65-year-old farmer. Manna and his nine siblings are one of the 741 families in Salboni block of West Midnapore whose land is being acquired by the Jindals of JSW Steels Ltd against a landmark compensation package. The sub-divisional officer (SDO), out in the fields to initiate a dialogue with the farmers so that the Jindals get a clear picture of the land holdings, brings Manna down to earth with a smile: “No, you will get shares.” Manna says farming here is tough. On the other hand, a good many boys are matriculates and an industry will mean jobs. Manna stays in Kulpheni village but his land is in Bagmari Mouza. Unlike the landowners of Singur, a section of whom are unwilling to part with their holdings despite a good compensation package, Salboni’s farmers are dreaming of becoming shareholders as the Jindals have promised a compensation package that includes cash for the land, shares in the new company against the value of the land and a job for each family. Of the 4,200-odd acres that the Jindals need, only around 570 acres will have to be purchased from farmers since the rest is already vested in the government. The Jindals will set up a new company to implement the Rs 35,000-crore project with a capacity of 12 million tonne a year. District Magistrate Bhabani Prasad Barat said the government has set up a cross-functional team headed by the SDO to verify ownership details and explain the project to all affected villagers. No Jindal official was present today. On Monday, the SDO and his team began the process of going from village to village with copies of government records. At Kalpheni village, almost 40 farmers waited for more than an hour to greet the team. They ensured that their names were there on the list of those whose land will be taken against compensation. The land here sustains just one crop a year, sometimes two, depending on rains. The main crops are sesame (til), potato and mustard, together with some paddy. Most of the landowners in this border district are tribals, scheduled castes and tribes, and other backward classes. The sabhapati of Salboni panchayat samity, Kalpana Parik, who was moving with the SDO’s team, said most of the land is dry and unemployment is high. “Although we have not got anything as yet, we are welcoming the package since it looks good.” The Trinamool Congress, which spearheaded the opposition at Singur last year and followed up with Nandigram, has not opposed the Jindal plant so far. What is happening to peace? The state government and the Trinamool Congress are still silent on the peace talks. Commerce and Industries minister Nirupam Sen, who is working out a package, refused to comment on Monday. When asked, Sen said at the Writers Buildings: “We will come out with the package when something concrete has been decided.” Meanwhile, Mamata Banerjee also kept mum over the issue. Partha Chatterjee, a spokesman for the party, said: “Mamata will speak the last word on what the Trinamool Congress will do.” Banerjee had already indicated on Sunday she was not willing to initiate any dialogue with a government which is headed by Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee. The initial enthusiasm generated over the peace talks seems to be waning with both sides hardening their stands.
