It seems the long wait by industry in Jharkhand for a rehabilitation & resettlement (R&R) policy is going to be over soon, if one goes by deputy chief minister Stephen Marandi?s statement.
The announcement of the R&R policy has been hanging fire since mid-2005, the days of the Arjun Munda-led National Democratic Alliance government, when the state had signed several memoranda of understanding (MoU) with corporates who desired to set up steel and other units in Jharkhand.
Promises after promises were made, first by the Munda government and for the last one year by the the Madhu Koda government about the policy being announced ?shortly?.
Talking to FE recently, Marandi, who has been the convenor of the United Progressive Alliance sub-committee on the R&R policy said, ??the committee has handed over the (R&R policy) draft document to the chief minister (Madhu Koda)??.
??The chief minister, after consulting the industries department and others, will send the document to the cabinet,?? added Marandi.
Marandi, who is also the finance minister, expects the policy to reach the cabinet ??within the next 5-10 days??.
On being asked if he saw any further roadblock for the policy?s announcement in the near future, Marandi said, ??I think there shouldn?t be any hindrance ahead??.
Asked what the sub-committee had suggested in the draft policy document, Marandi said he was in favour of allotment of shares in place of cash compensation for the land being given up by the landowner.
??I don?t consider payment of compensation to be a good thing; if a certain percentage is converted into shares (by the company), it may benefit a few generations (of the landowner)??, he said.
According to the deputy chief minister, who is also the state?s finance, commercial taxes and parliamentary affairs minister, tribals had no strong understanding of money; they were also not engaged in doing business and generally were not judicious in spending money. It has also been seen in the past that most tribals had, soon after selling their holdings, migrated to other states for the sake of earning a livelihood.
??I have thus suggested that they (the tribal landowners) should, after negotiations with the company, be initially made shareholders out of a part of the cash compensation to be received by them,?? Marandi said.
The sub-committee has also suggested that the land being given to industry be valued and converted into shares of the company as capital coming from the landowners. ??Things have only been suggested as concepts in the policy and there is no mention of any calculations anywhere,?? he added.
