11-12-2007, 10:11 PM
X-posted...
<!--QuoteBegin-"ramana"+-->QUOTE("ramana")<!--QuoteEBegin-->Pioneer Op-Ed, 13 Nov., 2007
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<b>An avoidable crisis </b>
If the Left Front Government in West Bengal had allowed Tata Motors to buy land directly from the owners, the subsequent violence could have been avoided, writes Nitish Sengupta
I had occasion to glance at a recent interview of my friend, Nobel laureate Amartya Sen, on prohibiting the use of agricultural land for industry. I am afraid, apart from the need for industrial priorities of West Bengal, and the destructive role played by the CPI(M) and other Left parties in the early days of their rule, leading to de-industrialisation of what was by far the finest industrial base in the country, I am unable to agree with the views.
First, one should compare with the largescale industrialisation that took place in the 19th century and the early 20th century, when land was available in plenty, and the present position of West Bengal where available land is very limited, in particular agricultural land, and the pressure of population on land is heavy. In the past few years there has been phenomenal growth in industry and the services sector, but agriculture has notoriously lagged behind. This is leading to a kind of problem like India having to import things such as pulses, onions and many other articles of everyday use from other countries.
Agriculture has to be given priority and that leads us to the question of preserving fertile land. West Bengal has plenty of infertile and fallow land in West Midnapore, Bankura, Burdwan, Birbhum and Purulia. Why cannot industries be located in these regions after improving the lines of communication between Kolkata and the hinterland?
I cannot agree with the view that the Tata plant had necessarily to be located at Singur. Mr Sen has spoken a lot about Kolkata's cultural life and the need for locating the plant near the State capital so that officers who come from outside would be able to sample its rich cultural life. But he seems to have forgotten that Singur is not adjacent to Kolkata. In fact, it would take the same amount of time to journey from Singur to the heart of Kolkata as from the Kharagpur area.
Much has been said about the desire to stay close to Kolkata Port. It is not realised that now a days hardly 10 ships come to this port in a year. Haldia has become the real port for Kolkata. Had the land for the Tata plant been located in the area between Karagpur and Jhargram or near Durgapur, it could be very close to Haldia Port.
The real issue centres on how desirable it is for the Government to acquire land and then hand it over to industrialists. If only the Tatas had been encouraged to buy land directly from the farmers, as was done by the first generation industrialists in the 19th century and the early 20th century, much of the problem would have been solved.
Why was it decided that the Government should acquire the land to make it available to the Tata Motors. This led to many questions which are left unanswered. Mr Sen himself admits that the value of the land would have been different, had it been freely made available for industry.
Mr Sen has not been given the correct picture of what happened in Nandigram, when he commented that some Opposition parties have now created free regions where they would not allow any one to enter. He did not realise that it is the present ruling party of West Bengal which created such pocket boroughs all over the State, located conveniently in districts where the CPI(M) cadre would call shots in every matter. These pockets are totally dominated by the CPI(M) cadre, with police as their handmaid. Nobody is allowed to speak freely or move about independently or engage in activities without permission of the local CPI(M) boss, popularly called local secretary or zonal secretary.
If some of the political parties today are, for practical purposes, controlling Nandigram, the CPI(M) have at least for a generation controlled pockets like Khejuri, Keshpur or Arambag. In the case of Nandigram, a mistake was committed when the Haldia Development Authority issued notices for acquisition of land, whereas the district magistrate, the lawful authority, pleaded ignorance in this matter.
There is nothing wrong in a chemical hub, but the Government should have done a certain amount of homework -- ascertaining how many parties were interested in setting up chemical units there. If largescale acquisition is allowed without this homework, there is a fear that eventually the land would be used only for real estate development. After all, real estate development has now become a big industry -- bigger than many of the so-called industries -- and it is a pity that the Government's name is dragged into it.
Mr Sen has criticised the practice of the Government telling the industry to go only in certain locations favoured by the State. But he does not seem to realise that this was the exact pattern of industrial licencing system that prevailed between 1951 and 1991 and that, under this arrangement, the Government decided where any industrial plant should be located. It was only after de-licencing started in 1991 that it became possible for entrepreneurs and industrialists to choose locations which are suited to their requirements.
Market economy was introduced by the PV Narsimha Rao Government in 1991 and, as one can see, it worked miracles by pushing India in the front rank of developed nations -- a far cry from the miserable position in which the country was in the days of licence raj. Unfortunately, the rulers do not realise this.
If the Government had allowed Tata Motors to buy land directly from the owners, much of the misunderstanding could have been avoided. Finally, a serious complication in West Bengal is the large number of sharecroppers who would continue to have their right even after the buyer and the landowner have concluded their deal. No attention was given to this aspect in Singur.
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<!--QuoteBegin-"ramana"+-->QUOTE("ramana")<!--QuoteEBegin-->Pioneer Op-Ed, 13 Nov., 2007
<!--QuoteBegin--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->
<b>An avoidable crisis </b>
If the Left Front Government in West Bengal had allowed Tata Motors to buy land directly from the owners, the subsequent violence could have been avoided, writes Nitish Sengupta
I had occasion to glance at a recent interview of my friend, Nobel laureate Amartya Sen, on prohibiting the use of agricultural land for industry. I am afraid, apart from the need for industrial priorities of West Bengal, and the destructive role played by the CPI(M) and other Left parties in the early days of their rule, leading to de-industrialisation of what was by far the finest industrial base in the country, I am unable to agree with the views.
First, one should compare with the largescale industrialisation that took place in the 19th century and the early 20th century, when land was available in plenty, and the present position of West Bengal where available land is very limited, in particular agricultural land, and the pressure of population on land is heavy. In the past few years there has been phenomenal growth in industry and the services sector, but agriculture has notoriously lagged behind. This is leading to a kind of problem like India having to import things such as pulses, onions and many other articles of everyday use from other countries.
Agriculture has to be given priority and that leads us to the question of preserving fertile land. West Bengal has plenty of infertile and fallow land in West Midnapore, Bankura, Burdwan, Birbhum and Purulia. Why cannot industries be located in these regions after improving the lines of communication between Kolkata and the hinterland?
I cannot agree with the view that the Tata plant had necessarily to be located at Singur. Mr Sen has spoken a lot about Kolkata's cultural life and the need for locating the plant near the State capital so that officers who come from outside would be able to sample its rich cultural life. But he seems to have forgotten that Singur is not adjacent to Kolkata. In fact, it would take the same amount of time to journey from Singur to the heart of Kolkata as from the Kharagpur area.
Much has been said about the desire to stay close to Kolkata Port. It is not realised that now a days hardly 10 ships come to this port in a year. Haldia has become the real port for Kolkata. Had the land for the Tata plant been located in the area between Karagpur and Jhargram or near Durgapur, it could be very close to Haldia Port.
The real issue centres on how desirable it is for the Government to acquire land and then hand it over to industrialists. If only the Tatas had been encouraged to buy land directly from the farmers, as was done by the first generation industrialists in the 19th century and the early 20th century, much of the problem would have been solved.
Why was it decided that the Government should acquire the land to make it available to the Tata Motors. This led to many questions which are left unanswered. Mr Sen himself admits that the value of the land would have been different, had it been freely made available for industry.
Mr Sen has not been given the correct picture of what happened in Nandigram, when he commented that some Opposition parties have now created free regions where they would not allow any one to enter. He did not realise that it is the present ruling party of West Bengal which created such pocket boroughs all over the State, located conveniently in districts where the CPI(M) cadre would call shots in every matter. These pockets are totally dominated by the CPI(M) cadre, with police as their handmaid. Nobody is allowed to speak freely or move about independently or engage in activities without permission of the local CPI(M) boss, popularly called local secretary or zonal secretary.
If some of the political parties today are, for practical purposes, controlling Nandigram, the CPI(M) have at least for a generation controlled pockets like Khejuri, Keshpur or Arambag. In the case of Nandigram, a mistake was committed when the Haldia Development Authority issued notices for acquisition of land, whereas the district magistrate, the lawful authority, pleaded ignorance in this matter.
There is nothing wrong in a chemical hub, but the Government should have done a certain amount of homework -- ascertaining how many parties were interested in setting up chemical units there. If largescale acquisition is allowed without this homework, there is a fear that eventually the land would be used only for real estate development. After all, real estate development has now become a big industry -- bigger than many of the so-called industries -- and it is a pity that the Government's name is dragged into it.
Mr Sen has criticised the practice of the Government telling the industry to go only in certain locations favoured by the State. But he does not seem to realise that this was the exact pattern of industrial licencing system that prevailed between 1951 and 1991 and that, under this arrangement, the Government decided where any industrial plant should be located. It was only after de-licencing started in 1991 that it became possible for entrepreneurs and industrialists to choose locations which are suited to their requirements.
Market economy was introduced by the PV Narsimha Rao Government in 1991 and, as one can see, it worked miracles by pushing India in the front rank of developed nations -- a far cry from the miserable position in which the country was in the days of licence raj. Unfortunately, the rulers do not realise this.
If the Government had allowed Tata Motors to buy land directly from the owners, much of the misunderstanding could have been avoided. Finally, a serious complication in West Bengal is the large number of sharecroppers who would continue to have their right even after the buyer and the landowner have concluded their deal. No attention was given to this aspect in Singur.
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