West Bengal BJP chief bats for new land policy for industry, vows to rid investors of fear
"Invest without fear. There will be no obstruction over land and no political interference," the state BJP chief told the business community in Kolkata on May 12th. Bhattacharya clarified that he was not speaking on behalf of the state government.
He said the proposed land policy should or would take a cue from successful models in states such as Haryana and Maharashtra.
Bhattacharya said 82 per cent of land holdings in Bengal belong to small farmers and stressed the need for "industry participation" for the state's economic transformation.
Experts give significance to the statements from state BJP chief when the saffron party has just got into the business of governance. Industrialisation will be on the top of priorities as the state has often suffered due to cheap politics and sheer populism played by the Left parties and the Mamata Banerjee regime. Between communists and the syndicate raj they have passed 49 years of Bengal history and that's pretty good enough to break a state's economic spinal cord.
West Bengal, with a population density of 1,028 per sq km, more than two-and-a-half times the national average, has too many people and too little land.
It has no option but to industrialise.
The BJP state president’s remarks may be interpreted within the context of Singur and Nandigram, the twin land-acquisition disputes that propelled the Trinamool Congress to power and precipitated the decline of the Left Front.
By advocating for the removal of land ceiling restrictions and the introduction of contract farming, Bhattacharya has signalled a distinct departure from the policy framework that has long defined the state’s political and industrial discourse.
Addressing members of a business chamber for the first time since the BJP came to power in Bengal, Mr Samik Bhattacharya also spoke about potentially scrapping the Urban Land Ceiling Act and introducing contract farming, a major demand from industries and corporate houses.
Contract farming is currently not permitted in the state. It is also maintained in certain quarters that West Bengal’s potato farmers’ crisis was linked to the absence of large-scale food-processing and organised procurement systems.
Perhaps 'contract farming' and direct procurement by organised food-processing companies could reduce farmers’ dependence on middlemen and help stabilise prices. "Problems related to land ceiling are a major obstacle, as 85 per cent of land here (in the state) is fragmented. We are thinking about it and may remove those hurdles," he said, assuring the business community.
He acknowledged that land reforms of the past had turned the landless into owners.
But the state failed to reach the next stage of a cooperative movement, the BJP Rajya Sabha MP said.
The first Left Front government, which came to power in 1977, introduced land reforms, a step that the CPI-M claimed weakened landlord dominance in rural Bengal and empowered poor peasants and agricultural workers.
Taking Singur as an example. The region's potentials have been wasted.
Situated on the Howrah–Tarakeswar rail line, the Singur railway station is only 34 km from Howrah Station.
It is 2 km ahead of Kamarkundu Junction, the crossing point of the Howrah–Bardhaman chord and Howrah–Tarakeswar lines. It is also on the Durgapur Expressway/NH 2 connecting with Maheswarpur.
Singur has an unparalleled locational advantage.
A Look Back: And cautious walk 'ahead' :::
After Chief Minister Dr B C Roy’s demise, industry in West Bengal languished for a myriad of reasons.
One major reason - was a militant trade union movement and an anti-business culture promoted by the communists.
The state became notorious for gheraos – the practice, with government connivance, of workers encircling the owner or manager of a company.
The state suffered capital flight.
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