WB govt not to acquire 1,687 acres

West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee has said that her party, Trinamool Congress (TMC) said today that her government will not acquire the 1687 acres because the acquisition will put the livelihoods of many farmers in jeopardy.

“The government has decided to halt the acquisition of 1687 acres because of the fact that the land is necessary to protect farmers’ interests. Of the halt in acquisition, 1013 acres are in Rajarhat,” she informed mediapersons.

Incidentally, Banerjee’s long standing stance on the issue of acquisition has been that the government would not acquire land forcefully, for public or private purposes. Also for private industry the government would not acquire land at all.

“We are giving a hope to farmers, who are dependant heavily on the land for their survival. It is because of this we have also taken over 997 acres in Singur and will return land to unwilling farmers,” she said.

The land policy which has been formed by a two member committee headed by Debabrata Bandopadhyay, had recommended last week that the government would not acquire land for private industry.

Investors have raised concerns over the land policy, and industrialists including bigwigs like ITC chairman Y C Deveshwar. At the investors’ meet hosted by Banerjee last week, Deveshwar said the investors would face difficulties in acquiring large tracts.