Singur and Nandigram

If the protests in Singur over the Tata Motors factory seemed like a storm, Nandigram is witnessing a hurricane. We should not be surprised. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said that we need a more 'humane' land acquisition policy. That is an understatement. What goes on now in the name of land acquisition - and job creation- is nothing short of a war waged by the state on the downtrodden- mostly dalits and tribals.

If you think this is an exaggeration, read Walter Fernandes' well- researched article on the subject in the Economic and Political Weekly of January 10. Fernandes makes a number of points:

• West Bengal's development projects have uprooted 7 million people of whom only 9% have been resettled. Among other states, the highest level of resettlement is around one-third
• Some states have introduced a Rehabilitation Law, often under pressure from the World Bank which itself is under pressure from human rights activists in the west. West Bengal, despite being Left-ruled, is not one of these states.
• Land acquisition, including for SEZs, is justified on the promise of job creation. But because of high mechanisation, not many jobs are created. Moreover, only a small proportion of the displaced get these jobs. Those displaced lack the skills to get the jobs that are created. The answer would be to invest in training. But who wants to take the trouble?
• The state tries to compensate land owners. Sharecroppers are covered if they are registered (they get 25% of the compensation paid to the landowner). But many are not registered and lose out. The biggest losers are those who are sustained by the rural economy- those who provide services to landowners. They are simply ignored and it is they who constitute the biggest chunk of those deprived of a livelihood as a result of land acquisition.
• The land acquired is far in excess of the needs of the project in question. Fernandes asks: does a car factory need close to a 1000 acres? The question is worth asking because past experience shows that huge amounts of land acquired remain unutilised. This amounts to nothing but a land grab by the influential.
• Compensation is paid on the basis of the average registered price for the last three years. If the price is not registered, you had it. The worst part is that the government-determined compensation is a fraction of the market price. In one instance that Fernandes cites, farmers were paid Rs 3 lakh per acre when the market price was Rs 20 lakh! This is for the owner. Others dependent on the rural economy suffer even more. Why should farm land be acquired for IT companies at below market price so that they can go on to create golf courses and five -star lodging? Former PM Deve Gowda brought up this issue but was mauled by a section of the intelligentsia.

What would be a more humane policy? Well, as some have suggested, the price must be determined through direct bargaining between corporates and the community. The price would include payment to owners of land plus a component that would compensate others who depend on the rural economy.

It's not just that such a solution is fair and humane. The alternative, if the proposed SEZs go through, would result in a mass uprising and more areas passing into the hands of Naxalites. The UPA government is wise to have put SEZs on hold until land acquisition has been thought through.