Skidding into trouble

Sudipta Datta
Posted: Sunday, Sep 07, 2008 at 2216 hrs IST
Updated: Sunday, Sep 07, 2008 at 2216 hrs IST

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: is 86,87,521 ha. The area not available for cultivation is 16,360,38 ha; other uncultivable land excluding current fallows is 119,146 ha.

According to one estimate, land belonging to 500 sick industries adds up to more than 40,000 acres. Already, chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee has been talking about an “attractive economic package” for all farmers affected by land acquisition. As part of the package, each farmer who has given land will get an extra 10% of the compensation amount as an annual pension for a period of 10-15 years. In case the pension scheme fails to break the deadlock, the government is also ready to offer a “land for land” deal.

Pullout “disastrous”

“May God forbid it” — that’s how Assocham secretary general DS Rawat reacts when asked about the Tata pullout possibility. “If the Tatas pull out of Singur, it will have a major negative impact on the industrial climate of West Bengal. Especially now, when it is doing extremely well, the Singur setback will hamper the tempo and gusto with which the state is moving towards faster industrialisation,” he insists.

Gautam Thapar, chairman & CEO, Avantha Group, says with the Nano project putting India’s manufacturing capabilities on the world map, a pullout will “severely tarnish India’s image as an investment destination.” For Berger Paints MD Subir Bose, if the Tatas leave, “no other investor will touch West Bengal ever.” The people of West Bengal, says Bose, “must feel proud the Tatas chose Bengal over any other destination for a product the whole world is waiting to see… and do everything necessary to keep them back.”

With the Tatas threatening to quit because of the volatile environment — and an October deadline for the Nano looming large — the spotlight is as much on as the other projects in the pipeline as Singur .

Stuck in the mud

For example, a slew of projects announced by Indonesia’s Salim Group, one of the largest investors in the state, are on hold because of land acquisition problems for two years and more. Consider this. An agreement was signed between the West Bengal government, WBIDC and New Kolkata International Development Pvt Ltd (SPV promoted by Salim Group, Universal Success Group and Unitech) on July 31, 2006. The first hurdle came when a chemical industrial estate, including a chemical SEZ, was announced over 10,000 acres at Nandigram. When this led to violent protests on the ground, the government agreed to shift...

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