Displaced farmers to play owners in SEZs

SUBHASH NARAYAN

TIMES NEWS NETWORK[ SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 03, 2007 02:37:27 AM]

NEW DELHI: All that rhetoric over inclusive growth may finally acquire
some teeth, thanks to the Nandigram and Singur controversies. The Union
Cabinet is to consider a proposal that seeks to make farmers—whose lands
are taken away for large-scale industrial projects—a partner in the
equity harvest.

As per the proposal, if the company that takes over the land is unable
to offer agricultural land in lieu, minimum agricultural wages for 750
days will have to be paid in addition to normal compensation for the
land acquired. Also, if the acquirer is a private company and not a
state agency, farmers stand to gain shares of the project at par worth
20% of the wages.

Proposals to these effects are being discussed for amending the
rehabilitation and resettlement (R&R) policy, likely to be considered by
the Cabinet soon. Government sources said these sweeteners could clear
the roadblocks holding up SEZ clearances.

Though the Centre already has an R&R policy, a new policy has been
proposed to improve the compensation component for families displaced by
any project. This has also become important in the wake of stiff
resistance to large-scale acquisition of agricultural land, especially
SEZs.

As per the proposals in the revised R&R policy, the land acquiring
agency, whether a corporate entity or a government agency, would have to
try to compensate the displaced family or individual by providing
adequate land for farming and bear the entire cost of relocation.

If the displaced family has lost jobs, they would have to offer
employment to one member of a nuclear family subject to availability.

Though the proposed R&R Policy would serve as model for projects
requiring acquisition of large tracts of land, states would have the
freedom to offer a better package promised in their own R&R policies.

In order to make the rehabilitation process more equitable, landless
workers would get first preference for work involving construction of
the industrial facilities or SEZs.

The land acquiring entity would also provide grant of Rs 10,000 per
hectare for land development if the displaced family in provided
wasteland. In case of agricultural land, this would be Rs 5,000 per
affected family for agricultural production.

Emergency land acquisition by ministry of defence would be kept out of
the proposed R&R package. However, the new policy would make it
mandatory upon acquiring companies to build in the entire cost of R&R
initiatives in the total project cost.

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