Skip to main content

Land ceiling bill meant to "help" industrialists set up shop, easily sell land: Internal Gujarat govt note

By Rajiv Shah
An internal Gujarat government note, prepared by the state revenue department and in possession of Counterview, has admitted that the recent amendments to the state’s land various ceiling Acts are meant to “enable the industrialist to speedily establish industry”, in such a way that the industrialist could “purchase” the land for industrial purpose “without prior permission of the district collector.”
In order to do this, it said, it has amended Section 63 AA of Mumbai Tenancy Administration and Agriculture Land Act, 1948; Section 55 of Saurashtra Gharkhed, Tenancy Administration and Agriculture Land Act, 1949; and Section 89-A of Mumbai Tenancy Administration and Agriculture Land (Vidarbh Pradesh and Kutch region), 1958.
The amendments await President Pranab Kumar Mukherjee’s nod before they could become legal entities. The Gujarat governor refused to sign the amendments, and instead sent them to the Government of India for approval, as they invited wide-scale criticism of favouring industry at the cost of farmers.
The internal note says, “According to the prevailing provisions, a certificate is given by the collector to the purchaser of the agriculture land for industrial purpose”, and “the industrial activity has to be started within three years and production of goods /providing services has to be done within five years.”
Pointing towards the current hassle, the note says, “The government, after having considered the price paid for the purchase of the land, would pay compensation and enter the land of such industry in the government account and can dispose the land” if there is a “failure in starting the industrial activity within three years and production of the goods/providing services within five years.”
Giving reasons why “legal amendments” had become necessary, the note says, currently, “bona fide industrialists are facing difficulties/hardships due to the less time period limitation to start the industry.” And, “due to the changing circumstances and not starting the industry timely, the industrialist cannot sell such purchased private lands and, thus, despite of the circumstances beyond control, they cannot sell the land and end up with economic crises.”
Secondly, according to the note, “There is also no clear provision for the industrial park”, nor is there any “clear provision that the after having purchased the land for the industrial park, the land is developed and can be sold to other industrial units. Thus, it was found, is a necessity to make provision in the law for industrial park.”
In order to avoid these difficulties, the note says, “If the purchaser of the land wishes, he can give an equity/part in the proportion of the cost of the land to the farmer selling the land. This is just an enabling provision, vide which an opportunity of mutual partnership is created between the industrialist and the farmer and this would create ‘win-win’ situation for both which would provide the motivational force in the industrial development of the state.”
Then, the note states, a new provision of starting industrial activity under which the “time limit of starting production or providing services be totally five years, and on the basis of the application of the industrialist, such time period can be further extended for the period for two years (one year at a time) without charging any amount.”
But if, during this period, which totals “seven years, including the extension period”, the industry is not started, “a provision is made to extend such time limit for the period of three years by charging 50 per cent of the amount of jantri.” Jantri is the government assessment of the value of land, revised periodically, and is generally very low compared to the market rate.
Further, says the note, “If the industrialist cannot start the production/provide services for whatever reasons, he can sell such self-purchased land for industrial purpose. Interestingly, this can be done “after three years”, on payment of an amount to the state government – 40 per cent of the jantri between three to five years, 60 per cent of the jantri between five and seven years, and 100 per cent of the jantri for more than seven years.
Coming to the need for industrial parks, which are being developed in Gujarat “in order to make the industrial development of the state”, the note says, the existing laws do not allow the promoter to “sell the plots of such industrial park to another industrialist”, hence the government's “goal of development of such industrial parks, is not fulfilled.”
Under the new provisions, the note says, “The lands purchased for the purpose of industrial park could be sold to other industrial units.” Of course, the developer has to create “infrastructure facilities subject to the terms and conditions decided by the Industrial Commissioner” within three years after the purchase of the land, but if he “fails to fulfill the conditions, “the government could take over the land after paying the compensation as decided by the government.”

Comments

TRENDING

Importance of Bangladesh for India amidst 'growing might' of China in South Asia

By Samara Ashrat*  The basic key factor behind the geopolitical importance of Bangladesh is its geographical location. The country shares land borders with Myanmar and India. Due to its geographical position, Bangladesh is a natural link between South Asia and Southeast Asia.  The country is also a vital geopolitical ally to India, in that it has the potential to facilitate greater integration between Northeast India and Mainland India. Not only that, due to its open access to the Bay of Bengal, Bangladesh has become significant to both China and the US.

Unlike other revolutionaries, Hindutva icon wrote 5 mercy petitions to British masters

By Shamsul Islam*  The Hindutva icon VD Savarkar of the RSS-BJP rulers of India submitted not one, two,or three but five mercy petitions to the British masters! Savarkarites argue: “There are no evidences to prove that Savarkar collaborated with the British for his release from jail. In fact, his appeal for release was a ruse. He was well aware of the political developments outside and wanted to be part of it. So he kept requesting for his release. But the British authorities did not trust him a bit” (YD Phadke, ‘A complex Hero’, "The Indian Expres"s, August 31, 2004)

Swami Vivekananda's views on caste and sexuality were 'painfully' regressive

By Bhaskar Sur* Swami Vivekananda now belongs more to the modern Hindu mythology than reality. It makes a daunting job to discover the real human being who knew unemployment, humiliation of losing a teaching job for 'incompetence', longed in vain for the bliss of a happy conjugal life only to suffer the consequent frustration.

Buddhist shrines were 'massively destroyed' by Brahmanical rulers: Historian DN Jha

Nalanda mahavihara By Our Representative Prominent historian DN Jha, an expert in India's ancient and medieval past, in his new book , "Against the Grain: Notes on Identity, Intolerance and History", in a sharp critique of "Hindutva ideologues", who look at the ancient period of Indian history as "a golden age marked by social harmony, devoid of any religious violence", has said, "Demolition and desecration of rival religious establishments, and the appropriation of their idols, was not uncommon in India before the advent of Islam".

'BBC film shows only tip of iceberg': Sanjiv Bhatt's daughter speaks at top US press club

By Our Representative   The United States' premier journalists' organisation, the National Press Club (NPC), has come down heavily on Prime Minister Narendra Modi for recent "attacks on journalists in India." Speaking at the screening of an episode of the BBC documentary “India: The Modi Question,” banned in India, in the club premises, NPC President Eileen O’Reilly said, “Since Modi came to power we have watched with frustration and disappointment as his regime has suppressed the rights of its citizens to a free and independent news media."

Chinese pressure? Left stateless, Rohingya crisis result of Myanmar citizenship law

By Dr Shakuntala Bhabani*  A 22-member team of Myanmar immigration officials visited Rohingya refugee camps in Cox's Bazar to verify more than 400 Rohingya refugees as part of a pilot repatriation project. Does it hold out any hope for the forcibly displaced people to return to their ancestral homes in the Rakhine state of Myanmar? Only time will tell.

China ties up with India, Bangladesh to repatriate Rohingyas; Myanmar unwilling

By Harunur Rasid*  We now have a new hope, thanks to news reports that were published in the Bangladeshi dailies recently. Myanmar has suddenly taken initiatives to repatriate Rohingyas. As part of this initiative, diplomats from eight countries posted in Yangon were flown to Rakhine last week. Among them were diplomats from Bangladesh, India and China.

40,000 Odisha adolescent girls ask CM: Why is scheme to fight malnutrition on paper?

By Our Representative  In unique a postcard campaign to combat malnutrition, aimed at providing dietary diversity, considered crucial during adolescence, especially among girls, signed by about 40,000 adolescent girls from over 10,000 villages, have reminded Odisha chief minister Naveen Patnaik that his government's Scheme for Adolescent Girls (SAG), which converged with Pradhan Mantri Poshan Shakti Nirman  ( POSHAN ) 2.0 in 2021, is not being implemented in the State.

Natural farming: Hamirpur leads the way to 'huge improvement' in nutrition, livelihood

By Bharat Dogra*  Santosh is a dedicated farmer who along with his wife Chunni Devi worked very hard in recent months to convert a small patch of unproductive land into a lush green, multi-layer vegetable garden. This has ensured year-round supply of organically grown vegetables to his family as well as fetched several thousand rupees in cash sales.

Over-stressed? As Naveen Patnaik turns frail, Odisha 'moves closer' to leadership crisis

By Sudhansu R Das  Not a single leader in Odisha is visible in the horizon who can replace Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik. He has ruled Odisha for nearly two and half decades. His father, Biju Patnaik, had built Odisha; he was a daring pilot who saved the life of Indonesia’s Prime Minister Sjahrir and President Sukarno when the Dutch army blocked their exit.