Mamata's land purchase model invokes sense of dejà vu

Initially WBIDC was supposed to acquire land for project it later decided against it, and went for direct purchase

Last week, the Mamata Banerjee- government announced that state agencies like the West Bengal Industrial Infrastructure Development Corporation (WBIIDC) will purchase land from farmers for developing industrial parks, in a bid to resolve the knotty issue of land acquisition. Unfortunately, however, the so-called solution to the land puzzle is neither new nor has been successful in its past endeavours.

Consider the case of Tata Metaliks. On February 26, 2005, Buddhadeb Bhattcharjee, who was then the Chief of Minister of Bengal, had promised Tata Metaliks that the state would allocate land on a priority basis to the company for its diversification project. The company, accordingly, had applied for land on March 15, 2005.

Though initially the West Bengal Industrial Development Corporation was supposed to acquire the land for the project, it later decided against it, and went for direct purchase.

In the beginning, the company was looking for 500 acres of contiguous land, though subsequently it was scaled down to 350 acres.

But issues with land titles made buying 350 acres a problem, as well. Finally, the land requirement was settled at 300 acres.

Land prices in the interim more than doubled and the company was asked to pay the higher price. When WBIDC started purchasing the land in 2006, prices were at Rs 3.5-4.5 lakh an acres, which went up to Rs 8-9 lakh an acres in three years' time.

By 2009, WBIDC had managed to acquire just 190 acres. It was too little and way too late. The Karnataka government had already confirmed 900 acres and Tata Metaliks scrapped the project that would have attracted an investment of around Rs 800 crore.

There have been other failed attempts from private companies towards direct purchase. For instance, the Indian Foundry Association, was purchasing land directly for a foundry park, but ran into problems and finally had to seek the state government’s help.

Most of the private companies that have not resorted to muscle power, have faced roadblocks in purchasing land from farmers. What makes direct purchase especially difficult in the state is the character of the land. Around 68 per cent of Bengal’s total land mass is agricultural land. The state government has roughly 23,000 acres vested with it, but it is scattered across 18 districts.

Moreover, the spectacular land reforms carried out by the Left Front has reduced the average land holding in the state. Figures spell out the reason: small and marginal farmers own 43 per cent of the total agricultural land in Bengal and they account for 90 per cent of the rural farming households.