JAIPUR: The Rajasthan Government is going ahead with its proposed move to acquire agricultural land around the capital city of Jaipur for establishment of an IT Park, special economic zone and a World City project. The private parties with whom the State Government had entered into agreements in the past regarding facilitation of their projects by providing land are now pressing for immediate compliance of the deals.

"We are going ahead with the plan on land acquisition. Any kind of delay would harm the interests of Rajasthan,'' Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje said when asked about the progress of the various IT-related projects, announced with much fanfare. "Here it is only 3000 acres of land. In Haryana, Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda is aggressively pursuing investments. He has already met Anil Ambani. The land involved is 15,000 acres when ours is only 3000 acres,'' she noted.

A fortnight ago the State Government's move to acquire farm land along National Highway 8 and NH 11 in the areas adjoining the capital had led to serious differences within the Cabinet with two senior Ministers, Ghanshyam Tiwari and Narpat Singh Rajvi opposing it and a section of the Bharatiya Janata Party leadership in Rajasthan, siding with them. The Ministers that time had opposed a "unilateral'' decision by the Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje on issues like facilitating investors. The indication given was that the issue was not discussed in the Cabinet.

The farmers from the affected areas had sat on a dharna outside the BJP office here in protest against the move. Mr. Tiwari was agitated over the issue as the land earmarked for acquisition for the World City Project proposed to be set up in over 3000 acres by the Mahindra Group came under his Assembly constituency Sanganer. Mr. Rajvi's defiant posture was mostly due to the fact that things were happening behind his back when he is the Industries Minister.

The past week the main Opposition, the Congress, also came out with a statement against the land acquisition plan. Pradesh Congress Committee president B.D. Kalla alleged that the farmers, whose lands were being taken over by the Government, were victims of a conspiracy hatched by the vested interests. The party also sought a clear policy on acquisition of agricultural land.

"We need support from everyone for implementing programmes in the interest of Rajasthan," said Ms. Raje who had then dismissed reports of differences over the land acquisition plan within the Cabinet, said. "We need support from the media more in this particular case," she asserted.

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