 Online edition of India's National Newspaper Sunday, Mar 21, 2010 ePaper | Mobile/PDA Version |
|
|
|
|
|
|
| National |
|
News:
ePaper |
Front Page |
National |
Tamil Nadu |
Andhra Pradesh |
Karnataka |
Kerala |
New Delhi |
Other States |
International |
Business |
Sport |
Miscellaneous |
Engagements |
Advts: Retail Plus | Classifieds | Jobs | Obituary |
National
KOLKATA: Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee said here on Saturday that barring few exceptions, the West Bengal government henceforth would “avoid acquiring fertile farmland as much as possible” for the sake of industrialisation. Mr. Bhattacharjee also said that the government already formed a land-bank comprising over 4,000 acres in three districts without any resistance from the land owners. Speaking at a State Summit on ‘The Way Forward' organised by a local television channel, he said: “Learning from the past experiences, we have started formulating a new land acquisition policy according to which it will be ensured that fertile farmland are not touched as much as possible barring few exceptions.” Mr. Bhattacharjee said the new policy advocated giving out “remunerative prices” to the farmers in lieu of the farmland acquired and a “proper region-specific rehabilitation package.” Pointing out that 60 per cent of the State's land was fit for agriculture and only one per cent of it was fallow, he asserted that there was no alternative but to acquire agricultural land for setting up industries. Referring to the trend of stiff resistance being put up by people against land acquisition for the past few years, he said that it was important that a ‘consensus' be reached between the people, the government and the corporate sector to “avoid unnecessary conflicts in future.” Criticising the Opposition for not cooperating with the government, Mr. Bhattacharjee said that repeated attempts to bring the opposition parties in the loop for industrial development were successful. Expressing confidence about the flow of investment and scope of industrialisation in the State, Mr. Bhattacharjee said that contrary to popular belief, investment climate in the State was positive and the investment of Rs.7,500 crore in the year 2009-10 surpassed the amount invested in the previous four financial years. “We have two big industry proposals lying with us — one is for a fertiliser factory in the Bardhaman district and one for a steel plant in the Paschim Medinipur district. While agriculture contributed to 22 per cent of the State Domestic Product this year, industry contributed to just 18 per cent and this is not a happy situation as we want the share of industry to surpass that of agriculture,” he observed.
Printer friendly
page
News:
ePaper |
Front Page |
National |
Tamil Nadu |
Andhra Pradesh |
Karnataka |
Kerala |
New Delhi |
Other States |
International |
Business |
Sport |
Miscellaneous |
Engagements |
|
|
|
The Hindu Group: Home | About Us | Copyright | Archives | Contacts | Subscription Group Sites: The Hindu | The Hindu ePaper | Business Line | Business Line ePaper | Sportstar | Frontline | Publications | eBooks | Images | Ergo | Home |
Copyright © 2010, The
Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of
this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of
The Hindu
|