Industry hails 'public purpose' definition

After being mired in controversies over land acquisition, be it with the Nano car project in Singur or the proposed steel plant by multinational Posco in Orissa, industry bodies have been exerting pressure on the government to bring comprehensive policy to end the tussle between land owners and investors.

“We appreciate infrastructure and industry being included under the definition ‘public purpose’ in the Bill,” said CII Director General Chandrajit Banerjee.

Industry lobbies  warn the government that in the absence of an effective  land acquisition Act, the country has failed to achieve its ambitious nine per cent economic growth target as scores of investment proposals have been stuck for want of sufficient land.
The rehabilitation and resettlement provisions for the displaced has brought respite to the industry. “The new law will hopefully make the environment more conducive for expanding manufacturing capacity and achieving the national target of 25 per cent contribution by manufacturing sector to GDP,” said  FICCI.

Direct land purchase

Dr Rajiv Kumar, secretary general, FICCI said,“The government should provide the enabling framework facilitating  private companies to purchase land directly from the land owners at market price.”

But fear of land owners artificially inflating prices grips industry. “If land cost is high, industry cannot produce cheap goods as it has to pass on the burden to consumers,” said an industrialist.

Industry bodies also want the Bill to provide for setting up land bank corporations to facilitate acquisition and disbursement of land for industrial use.

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