Land acquisition will be among Modi's biggest challenges

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<em>Photo: Reuters</em>

Jun 4, 2014,
Updated Jun 4, 2014 3:38 PM IST

Days before the Narendra Modi-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) won the general elections, Ravi Uppal, Group Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director of Delhi-based Jindal Steel and Power Ltd (JSPL), heaved a sigh of relief. But this had nothing to do with Modi's imminent victory. Uppal was relieved because JSPL's Rs 30,000 crore project at Angul district in Odisha - a six million tonne steel plant - could now finally be fully commissioned.

The project had been ready for the past two years but some of the units could not be commissioned because JSPL was unable to get access to a three km stretch to connect a 25 km pipeline to the nearby Brahmani river. The remaining 22 km of the pipeline had long been laid. The company planned to draw water for the project from the Brahmani river through the pipeline.

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But landowners had refused to give their land for the last mile connectivity. "They would do dharnas. Our requests to state authorities were neglected. We were left helpless," says Uppal. Finally, he managed to convince the local authorities to act. The police kept protesters at bay while the final stretch of pipeline was laid.

Early last year, a large French food equipment manufacturer had bought more than 50 acres of land from farmers in Gujarat to set up a plant. But only to realise later that the land had already been acquired by the state government. The company executives and a handful of lawyers went and met one of Narendra Modi's offi cials and discussed the problem. Modi was then the chief minister of the state.The offi cial ruled that even though the company had bought the land from the farmers, it still had to pay the government prescribed "jantri" or area rate. The legal tangle did not stop the company's work and within six months the land was awarded to them. "The company had to pay more, but the relief was quick. The people in the government are forthcoming and help the industry," says a lawyer who went to Gujarat to get the clearance for the French company.Indeed, to encourage farmers to willingly give their land for industrial projects, the Gujarat government promises to make them "partners" in the developmental projects. The state pays market prices for the land to the displaced. It also provides employment to a member of each family whose land is acquired. "The best answer of acquiring land lies in Modi's Gujarat model - partnership and negotiation. Every community and micro-market needs a different approach," says Lalit Jain, Chairman of Confederation of Real Estate Developers' Associations of India.A recent report by the World Bank and the World Economic Forum - called the Best Practices to Improve the Business Environment across India - mentions that the Gujarat Industrial Development Corporation has made land acquisition in the state simple by using scientifi c methods to determine the market price of the land. It ensures that the landowners are not taken for a ride.In the past couple of years, three major land disputes were reported in the state. But Gujarat's track record appears better than most other states in the countrymost other states in the country.

*The story was written before Gopinath Munde, Minister of Rural Development, passed away in an accident on June 3, 2014.

Follow the authors at: @SunnySen; @sarikamalhotra2; @manukaushik

Days before the Narendra Modi-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) won the general elections, Ravi Uppal, Group Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director of Delhi-based Jindal Steel and Power Ltd (JSPL), heaved a sigh of relief. But this had nothing to do with Modi's imminent victory. Uppal was relieved because JSPL's Rs 30,000 crore project at Angul district in Odisha - a six million tonne steel plant - could now finally be fully commissioned.

The project had been ready for the past two years but some of the units could not be commissioned because JSPL was unable to get access to a three km stretch to connect a 25 km pipeline to the nearby Brahmani river. The remaining 22 km of the pipeline had long been laid. The company planned to draw water for the project from the Brahmani river through the pipeline.

Click here to Enlarge

But landowners had refused to give their land for the last mile connectivity. "They would do dharnas. Our requests to state authorities were neglected. We were left helpless," says Uppal. Finally, he managed to convince the local authorities to act. The police kept protesters at bay while the final stretch of pipeline was laid.

Early last year, a large French food equipment manufacturer had bought more than 50 acres of land from farmers in Gujarat to set up a plant. But only to realise later that the land had already been acquired by the state government. The company executives and a handful of lawyers went and met one of Narendra Modi's offi cials and discussed the problem. Modi was then the chief minister of the state.The offi cial ruled that even though the company had bought the land from the farmers, it still had to pay the government prescribed "jantri" or area rate. The legal tangle did not stop the company's work and within six months the land was awarded to them. "The company had to pay more, but the relief was quick. The people in the government are forthcoming and help the industry," says a lawyer who went to Gujarat to get the clearance for the French company.Indeed, to encourage farmers to willingly give their land for industrial projects, the Gujarat government promises to make them "partners" in the developmental projects. The state pays market prices for the land to the displaced. It also provides employment to a member of each family whose land is acquired. "The best answer of acquiring land lies in Modi's Gujarat model - partnership and negotiation. Every community and micro-market needs a different approach," says Lalit Jain, Chairman of Confederation of Real Estate Developers' Associations of India.A recent report by the World Bank and the World Economic Forum - called the Best Practices to Improve the Business Environment across India - mentions that the Gujarat Industrial Development Corporation has made land acquisition in the state simple by using scientifi c methods to determine the market price of the land. It ensures that the landowners are not taken for a ride.In the past couple of years, three major land disputes were reported in the state. But Gujarat's track record appears better than most other states in the countrymost other states in the country.

*The story was written before Gopinath Munde, Minister of Rural Development, passed away in an accident on June 3, 2014.

Follow the authors at: @SunnySen; @sarikamalhotra2; @manukaushik

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