KOLKATA: Land use in West Bengal is characterised by its "intensiveness", a report brought out by the State Government says.

"The challenge for land use planning is to achieve concurrently the objectives of protecting and consolidating agriculture, diversifying agricultural production, enhancing rural development and moving firmly towards industrialisation and infrastructural development," the report titled "Status of Land" points out.

Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee has been reiterating the need for industrialisation without endangering food security. The demand for land for industrialisation and urbanisation creates a special responsibility towards agriculture for the State Government. "The State can afford to convert land to non-agricultural purposes only if it is able to enhance agricultural productivity," the report observes.

It suggests that when land is converted for industrial and infrastructural use the social and environmental costs must be considered. Another factor it wants considered is the "impact of land conversion on the present users of the land, particularly when they belong to the working poor." According to it "full and just compensation must be provided for any land that is converted to alternative purposes."

Net sown area

The share of net sown area in the State's total area is about 63 per cent in West Bengal compared to 46 per cent in the country. The share of fallow, uncultivable land and pastures is only one per cent as against 17.6 per cent in the country. This only underlines the fact that the new demand for land for industry and creation of urban spaces is likely to require the diversion of land from other uses — a sore point with those opposing the land acquisition process at Singur in Hooghly district for the proposed car manufacturing project.

The new demand for land calls for the need to reform and update the systems of land statistics in the State. The State Government intends to revamp the statistical system with respect to land use and to undertake a three-pronged medium-term and short-term programme in this regard.

In view of this requirement it has been decided that the State Government will establish an information system based on annual plot-by-plot verification of land tenure, land use, irrigation and cropping.

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