Palash Speaks

CAB Turn In SEZ, Buddha V/S Basu

Palash Biswas

( Pl Publish the matter with latest update and send a copy. Contact: Palash C Biswas, c/o Mrs Arati Roy, Gostokanan, Kolkata- 700110, India. Phone: 91-33-25659551.)

Buddhadev Bhattacharya and Viman Bose led the Bengali comrades in the Polit Bureau and Central Committee of Marxist Communist Party of India to pull the legs of Jyoti Basu, when the Nation wanted him as Prime Minister. subhash Chakrabarti has been leading the Basu supporters. Basu later said that it was a historical blunder. It followed a heated debate nationwide in the party and beyond.

The battleline already drawn, Basu was replaced by Buddhadev with an intiative introduced by generation next JNU Palat grassrootless leaders of the party.

Buddhadev has declared a war against Jyoti Basu annihiliting his achievement in land reforms and rural development. Nandigaram and singur happens to be the climax of the Marxist Mahabharat.

A team comprising a senior Tata Motors executive and officials of West Bengal Industrial Development Corporation (WBIDC) and West Bengal Consultancy (WBCL) was gheraoed on Monday in Singur by Trinamool Congress members. The team was, however, rescued by the police who helped them reach the local WBIDC office at Singur. The police said the team had gone to the Gopalpur Gram Panchayat area to finalise a trip to Jamshedpur by local panchayat members. On the other hand, the elections for the post of Cricket Association of Bengal (CA president took a dramatic political turn on Saturday night. The confrontation between Bhattacharjee and Chakraborty over CAB elections had been brewing for quite some time.Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, however, refused to comment on the development.Indian cricket star Saurav Ganguly, on Sunday, said, “Let something be announced officially and then only I would comment.” The CPI (M) has also decided to observe `Nandigram Divas' on January 27, when meetings will be organised across the State.Six people were killed in group clashes in Nandigram on January 6 and 7 — the first casualties in the State over the issue of land acquisition for industry. The violence erupted following rumours of imminent land acquisition to set up a Special Economic Zone in the area after the local Haldia Development Authority issued a notification for site selection. Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee later said that issuing the notification was wrong.

Putting at rest speculations about the possibility of Chakraborty throwing in his hat for the Feb 1 CAB elections, the minister said he would fight the polls if Mukherjee remained in the arena.

'I will fight if Mukherjee fights. If he steps aside I will step aside. Till July next a consensus candidate can officiate,' the Bengali news channel Kolkata TV quoted Chakraborty as saying Tuesday.

Asked if he would contest despite Bose’s advice, Chakraborty said: “It’s true that Bimanda did not give me the go-ahead. But I am confident that I will be able to convince him that I should contest. I shall once again talk to him. After all, nobody will accept that Mukherjee is a better candidate than me.”

“I believe I will get the chief minister’s blessings also,” he added. Unlike last time, Bhattacharjee has not associated himself with this election.

But Chakraborty added that “if somebody other than Mukherjee is chosen as a unanimous candidate, I will not contest”.

Jyoti Basu and Subhash chakrabarti led to voice dissent in party and front on land aquisition issue. Buddhadev enjoyed the JNU return support and did care very little to lsten what Basu and chakrabarti said. It is party discipline that Basu could not wage a war against the Capitalist Marxist CM of Bengal. But the CAB feud has given him an opportunity to revenge. And the game started. Let us watch the Tamasha. There are already signs that those opposed to the Left Front's industrialisation plans intend to take their movement to fresh areas in south Bengal like Bhangur in South 24 Parganas where the Salim Group proposes to construct an expressway.

Ironically, in a bid to take the Left Front Government's agenda for greater industrialisation to the grass-roots, the State leadership of the Communist Party of India [Marxist] has decided to launch an extensive six-week pro-industry campaign across West Bengal from Monday. Pamphlets on the industrial policy will also be distributed in villages and towns in the State. The campaign is expected to help counter the opposition to the State Government's industrialisation plans from the principal Opposition parties, who have been joined in their protests by certain Naxalite groups and whose leaders were recently felicitated by the Trinamool Congress for closing ranks with the party in its movement against the acquisition of farmland for industry in the State.

Last night, the editor of Vinnomat, Biplab Pal called me from USA and said that he is a supporter of Bhattacharya in his way to development. But what happened in Bengal it is quite autocratic, he agrees. He sees lack of transparency and procedural administrative mistakes are responsible for the riot led by indiscriminate land acquistion. He said that generation next do not want to cling to ideology as they want to go ahead and want to compete in the global world. We discussed in details so many matters related to Bengal. I am impressed that he thinks of Bengal from USA. He opined that the educated Bengalies are very selfish and selfcentred. Media and literature cater entertainment only. There is no space for serious dialogue. he agreed that annihilition of democratic institutions would lead to anarchy. He voiced the concern that generation next lacks the commitment and indepth study of seventies.

Seeing the things in Bengal he said that the opposition will be wiped out in thde next elections as the previleged decision making part of the society would not like to put stakes on discredited opposition. He says that we do not see beyond leftist rule. Whatever may be the ideology, there must be a democratic process, he insisted.

I alredy wrote that had I been mamta Bannerjee, I would have demanded a commission headed by Jyoti Basu to finish the stand off. What opposition thinks on this, it is immaterial. I had been supporting the left. I send every article to the polit Bureau, Chief Minister and chiefsecretary, west bengal. The party and government knows me well. I shared dias with many ministers on fifferent occasions including Mr chakrabarti. In fact, we have to depend on Buddhadev and his government as a deprived refugee Bengali lot thrown out of Bengal. The government, party, media and people supported us in our agitaion in Uttaranchal. It is due to Buddhadev`s initiative that the citizenship of Bengali refugees in Uttaranchal had been protected. So I had been in regular contact with them. I had been in contact with Mahashweta devi, Ratan Basu Majumdar and others who lead the protest. Left front chairman visited our Bengali rehabilatiton colonies in Udham singh Nagar Uttaranchal recently. Somnath Chatterjee, Basudev Acharya and hannan Molla were always present whenever refugees from Uttaranchal go to New delhi on agitation. We arrnged a lokotsav on 20th and 21xst February in Netaji Indoor stadium with full support from the sports minister. Chakrabarti is always available in matters relating sports and culture.

But the party seems not to be interested in Jyoti Basu at all. He is used only when the partyy needs a storng defence.However,NaThe government is going slow in Nandigram because it can afford to, state CPM secretary Biman Bose suggested .“No acquisition process has been initiated there,” Bose said. Neither would it begin anytime soon because the Salim Group will develop the special economic zone (SEZ) in the last leg of a 12-year project.

The 12-year plan includes building a 100-km expressway spanning the two 24-Parganas and a bridge across the river Haldi. The road and the bridge would improve Calcutta’s connectivity with Haldia and neighbouring Nandigram. “Nandigram and the rest of East Midnapore would come up for acquisition in the last leg of the SEZ projects to be developed by the Indonesian group,” Bose added.

He made it clear that the government would go for gradual acquisition of land in tune with the progress of the other projects to avoid farmers’ resistance.

A Haldia Development Authority notification identifying 29 mouzas to be taken over immediately in Nandigram and Khejuri blocks had trigg-ered violent clashes last week.

The first part of the 12-year project would begin at Barasat in North 24-Parganas from where the expressway will start. Land acquisition would be done in phases and places in South 24-Parganas such as Bhangar, Baruipur and Raichak, where the bridge ends, would be touched later. The road would lead to the bridge across the Haldi.

“Nandigram would come (up for acquisition) after the road and bridge are comple-ted. The alignment of many roads might change. No timeframe for acquisition has been worked out yet,’’ Bose said.

He declined to clarify whether “last phase” meant land in Nandigram would be acquired four-five years later. “The government will make the decision when the time comes.’’

A section of the party wants the acquisition of around 40,000 acres for various Salim projects deferred till next year’s panchayat polls.

Releasing a campaign tit- led “Its not agriculture vs industry but industry on the basis of agriculture”, Bose said no ceiling on the number of SEZs in the state had been fixed.

Bengal Govt, CPI(M) still divided on SEZ issue

Sutirtho Patranobis writes from New Delhi, January 15, 2007

What the CPI(M) central leadership proposes, the Left Front-ruled West Bengal may not necessarily agree to, especially if the issue is that of Special Economic Zones (SEZs).In a glossy book titled 'Doing Business in West Bengal', which the state government distributed among NRI investors at the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas held recently, it has promised the same benefits to potential SEZ investors that the CPI(M) has repeatedly asked the Centre, citing huge financial losses, to withdraw or amend.In the book, benefits on SEZs are given under various categories like 'benefits to developer', 'benefits to units set up in SEZs', and 'certain key benefits in West Bengal for SEZ units'.One of the main sops being handed out by the West Bengal government - staunchly opposed by the CPI(M) in notes submitted to the UPA government - is the "100 per cent exemption on profits and gains for 10 consecutive years out of a block of 15 years."

In the note submitted to the UPA, the CPI(M) had said that tax holidays would result "in a revenue loss of Rs 1,75,487 crore against an estimated investment of Rs 3,60,000 crore. The justifiability of the tax largesse to big business under the SEZ policy needs to be thoroughly debated."

The Bengal government has also promised service tax exemption to both the service provider and the developer in an SEZ. The CPI(M) note was against this too. "These policies will simply encourage investors, including those in financial services, to move away from other locations in India to SEZ areas with no benefit to the economy and substantial revenue loss."

Now basu replies with a proxy war.

West Bengal Sports minister Subhas Chakraborty made the surprise announcement of his candidature for the post of president of the Cricket Association of Bengal vacated by Jagmohan Dalmiya, but shortly afterwards his party, the CPI(M), debarred him from doing so. Chakraborty, who is currently in Bangalore, told a local television channel here, that he would contest the election if Kolkata police chief Prasun Mukherjee was his rival and ruled out seeking permission from his party. Mukherjee, who has already announced his candidature had been supported by Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhatacharjee against Dalmiya in the CAB election held in July last year. Mukherjee, however, had lost. Within hours of the Sports Minister`s announcement, the CPI(M) spiked his guns.

But it seems that the Kolkata Police commissioner has got the green signal from Chief Minister as he filed his nomination without waiting Subhash chakrabarti`s return. Chakrabarti has warned the party, if Prasun is there in the maidan, he will contest whatsoever may come in the way. This warning means nothing for Bhattacharya.

State party secretary Biman Bose told newsmen here, "I have told Subhas that he can`t contest." Bose said the party`s stand was that it had no role in the CAB election. "We had stated this in the earlier election to CAB president`s post and we are reiterating this now." Asked about his view on the city police chief, the chosen candidate of the Chief Minister, Bose said the police and administration must be proactive to maintain law and order. To another question if the issue would be treated as a `closed chapter`, Bose said that it would be discussed in the party. "I can`t take a decision on my own. Whatever decision is required, is to be taken collectively." The Chief Minister avoided comment as did the police chief. The post fell vacant with Dalmiya`s resignation after he was expelled for life by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) necessitating the CAB presidential election.
PWD Minister Kshiti Goswami, Water Investigations Minister Nandagopal Bhattacharya and Fire Services Minister Pratim Chatterjee earlier came out in support of Chakraborty`s candidature. However, Municipal Affairs Minister Ashok Bhattacharya said he would neither support nor oppose Chakraborty`s move. The election for the post of CAB president is scheduled for February one. The last date for filing of nomination papers is January 24.

In July 2006, when Bhattacharjee fielded Mukherjee against the erstwhile CAB president, Jagmohan Dalmia, the decision was criticised by Chakraborty, who then commented that it was unfair to capture power in CAB through a police officer. However, Dalmia defeated Mukherjee by six votes. The chief minister described Dalmia’s win as the win of the evil force and vowed to continue his fight to oust Dalmia from CAB.

It was then decided that CPI(M), as a party, would not get involved in any affairs of any sports organisation. Meanwhile, Dalmia had to vacate his post of CAB president last month, after Board for Cricket Control of India (BCCI) suspended his BCCI membership for life.

Former CAB president, Biswanath Dutta, agreed to take charge of CAB for the interim period. But Dutta decided to opt out when Bhattacharjee again fielded Mukherjee.

Chemical Hub In Haldia

Meanwhile,the Union Government had agreed to grant a chemical hub to West Bengal in Haldia. However, the state Chief Minister has been lobbying to convert it into a PCPIR in a bid to attract greater investments in the State. The Centre seems ready to invest upto Rs 4,000 crore for the infrastructural development of the PCIPR for which a minimum of 25,000 hectares of land is required. Now the final decision of sanction for a PCPIR for Bengal was now pending with the Union Cabinet. The Union Minister suggested to the West Bengal Government to steer clear of the land acquisition process and leave it to the investors to deal with the farmers directly.

Families of Nandigram victims starving

New Delhi: Despite promises of financial help by political parties and the Bhumi Uchhed Pratirodh Committee, which is spearheading the anti-land acquisition agitation in Nandigram, the families of two of the six people killed in the violence are starving, the father of one of the deceased told PTI.
Nisikanta Mandal, father of Bharat Mandal who was killed along with Biswajit Maity, said that Bharat's three daughters, their mother and he himself had gone without food for several days as his son was the only bread winner in the family.He said that political parties like the Trinamool Congress, BJP, CPI and the BUPC had assured them of monetary help, but since nothing came their way.Mandal claimed that his daughter-in-law even had to beg to make ends meet, but failed in that too.

Orissa villagers beat up Tata surveyors. Ihe protest escalates . It is Orrissa now. We have to see it happening all over India.

Bhubaneswar, Jan 17 (IANS) At least three land surveyors working for Tata Steel were beaten up Wednesday in Orissa's Jajpur district by angry villagers who fear the company's proposed steel plant in the region would displace them.The incident took place at about 1.40 p.m. near Kalamatia village in Kalinganagar industrial complex, some 60 km from the district headquarters of Jajpur, when a team of GO Design, a private firm hired by the Tatas, was conducting contour surveys without informing the district administration, District Collector Arabinda Padhi told IANS.

At least 40 people of about three villages, Gadapur, Chandia and Baligotha, gathered at the site and attacked the surveyors and beat them up with sticks, he said.

There were about five surveyors though only three sustained injuries, the official said.

"I have strictly instructed Tata Steel not to send any of its employees or experts to the troublesome land after the Kalinga Nagar incident," he said.

"Although the situation is normal now, we have deployed police force in the area immediately after the incident," said Padhi who was camping at the spot.

At least 13 tribals were killed and several injured when police opened fired on hundreds of tribal agitators in the Kalinga Nagar industrial complex on Jan 2, 2006, located at a distance of about 100 km from state capital Bhubaneswar.

The tribals had clashed with police to protest against the construction of a boundary wall by Tata Steel.They have blocked a highway since the day of the Kalinganagar firing. The police and district officials have failed in lifting the blockade despite several attempts.

One person killed at Nandigram

A Trinamool Congress activist and a representative of the farmer's body spearheading the agitation against acquisiton of land for the proposed SEZ at Nandigram in East Midnapur district was killed by miscreants triggering a bandh in the area today.
Arup Das, the Trinamool worker and a prominent representative of Bhumi Uchched Pratirodh Committee, spearheading the movement against the proposed SEZ, was hit with sharp weapons by miscreants at Tengua bazar and died on the spot last night.
Das was returning home to his house in Kandoposhora village at night after attending a meeting of the Trinamool and the Bhumi Uchched Pratirodh Committee, Superintendent of Police, Ashok Dutta said. Police recovered the body from near his house early this morning. The Committee has called a 12-hour bandh from 6 a.M. today in protest against the killing. Violence against land acquisition had already claimed six lives in Nandigram on January 8.
The CPI(M) had yesterday said that the West Bengal government would go slow on work for setting up Indonesia-based Salim group's projects at Nandigram which had met with stiff resistance, close on the heels of the Singur agitation against acquisition of farming land for the Tata Motors project.

Tensions in Nandigram, Trinamool Cong calls bandh
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Wednesday, January 17, 2007 (Nandigram):

There is tension in West Bengal's Nandigram after a Trinamool Congress supporter was shot dead in the area on Tuesday.Villagers have decided to stop all traffic in protest and the Trinamool Congress has called a 12-hour bandh in Nandigram.

Mamata Banerjee discharged from clinic: NDTV
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Wednesday, January 17, 2007 (Kolkata):Trinamool Congress leader Mamata Banerjee was released from a Kolkata nursing home on Wednesday, 20 days after she was admitted there following her hunger strike on the Singur issue.The Trinamool head has been advised to rest and continue treatment for all medical problems arising from her 25-day hunger strike.Mamata has been detected with gall bladder stones and will need to undergo surgery once she recovers fully. The Trinamool leader said that she had been away from home for 45 days and was very keen to get back.

She, however, did not confirm whether she would be travelling to Nandigram as early as this Sunday.

CBI, forensic teams probe death of woman in Singur
Singur, Jan. 17 ): Teams from the CBI and the Central Forensic Science Laboratory today visited Bajemelia in Singur to probe the killing of anti-land acquisition activist Tapasi Malik on December 18.
Both teams, comprising 10 members each, visited the spot where Malik's body was found and met villagers and her father Manoranjan Malik. CBI team leader A K Sahay told reporters the agency had taken up the case on January 12 and expected its investigation would be over shortly. Sahay said Malik's father had said he had no faith in the CID's investigation. Malik was allegedly gang-raped and murdered by unidentified miscreants at Bajemelia on December 18.

Buddhadeb sends letters to scholars on Nandigram, Singur

New Delhi, Jan 15: With scholars and civil society members criticising West Bengal government's land acquisition policy, Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharya has sought to allay their fears by sending letters to them explaining his government's stand on industrialisation.

The letter, seen as a bid to counteract the negative publicity generated by the Nandigram violence, explains in detail the land acquisition process and is a "word-to-word" repetition of what the West Bengal government has been saying all along, sources said.

The notification by the Haldia Development Authority, of which CPI(M) MP Lakshman Seth is the chairman, for a special economic zone to be set up by the Salim Group of Indonesia had triggered violence in Nandigram that left six people dead.

With the situation going out of hand, the Chief Minister had announced the withdrawal of a notification for acquisition of land for setting up a chemical hub.

The proposed Tata car plant at Singur had also triggered protests from various quarters, especially from Trinamool Congress leader Mamta Bannerjee.

On acquisition of farm land, CPI(M) is of the view that acquisition of fertile land should be kept at the minimum and should be made only when it becomes inevitable. It would be ideal to acquire non-agricultural land rather than fertile multi-crop land, the party policy says.

Scholars and personalities like Sumit Sarkar, Arundhati Roy, Justice Rajinder Sacharm Praful Bidwai and Yogendra Yadav had last week issued a statement expressing concern over the violence and called for a halt in forcible acquisition of land in the state.

Yavatmal farmers protest relief package: NDTV
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Wednesday, January 17, 2007 (Yavatmal):A group of farmers in Yavatmal protested half-naked outside the office of the Divisional Commissioner of the district.The farmers were protesting against the inadequacy of the PM's relief package provided to them. They also alleged that the relief package was of benefit only to the banks and politicians and not for them.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had allocated Rs 3,750 crore to the affected farmers from Yavatmal district.

Clashes over land acquisition at Singur

Tuesday, January 16, 2007 (Dankuni):Trinamool Congress activists have torn down a segment of the fencing wire of Tata Motors land at Singur in West Bengal. Trinamool leaders marched to the controversial site to renew their protests against the proposed Tata Motors factory there.

Prohibitory orders are still in place in Singur, which disallows the assembly of groups. The orders were issued after violent clashes over the issue of land acquisition for the TATA plant.

How India can be a part of global markets

BS Reporter in Mumbai

January 17, 2007 11:53 IST
India should consider permitting hedge funds a direct entry, if it wants its capital markets to be a part of the global markets and see more foreign inflow, a renowned US-based economist has said.
"If you (India) want to be a part of the global markets, you have to bear this cost (of having hedge funds in the market). Hedge funds have to be there if you want to be integrated with the global trend. Otherwise instances like some development taking place in Thailand and foreign investors selling stocks here would continue to place," Marti G Subrahmanyam, Professor of Finance and Economics, Stern School of Business, New York University, said in Mumbai.

Prof Marti delivered a special address on investments in hedge funds at the Annual Capital Markets Conference organised by industry body Ficci.

Marti opined even though, the source of the money coming to the hedge funds is not revealed, it is wrong just to restrict their entry just because of this.

"There absolutely no need to stop hedge funds entry just because you don't know the source from where the money came. Essentially, the economy needs foreign capital and these funds could bring it in huge sizes," he told reporters on the sidelines of the function.

Hedge funds, though not allowed officially, are increasingly seen to be active in the Indian markets through the participatory notes issued by foreign institutional investors.

Global hedge funds are seeking direct India entry and are learned to have sought short-spanned licenses from Sebi, under which the regulator could review performance of the concerned hedge funds and renew their licences each year.

However, the hedge funds are also criticised for creating in volatility in the market. Asked about it, Professor Marti said that volatility definitely continues to be an issue of concern. But, the regulators could deal with it.

"There are regulatory methods whereby this could be dealt or you could put some investment cap on the. But, if you want to trace source of each money coming through the hedge funds, it is impossible. You have to ensure that the money is not coming from illegal businesses like drug-peddling," he said.

Leave land acquisition to investors, Paswan tells State Govt

Express News Service

Kolkata, January 16: West Bengal figures among the top destinations for setting up a Petroleum, Chemicals and Petrochemicals Investment Regions (PCPIR), said Union Minister for Chemicals and Fertilisers Ram Vilas Paswan. The minister, who was in Kolkata to attend several functions, said the final decision of sanction for a PCPIR for Bengal was now pending with the Union Cabinet.

Paswan said the Group of Ministers on PCPIR met yesterday and forwarded Bengal’s demand for a PCPIR. Earlier, the Centre had agreed to grant a chemical hub to West Bengal in Haldia. But Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee has been lobbying hard to convert it into a PCPIR, which will attract greater investments in the State. Paswan, however, observed that a minimum of 25,000 hectares of land was required for any PCPIR. He said the Centre was ready to invest upto Rs 4,000 crore for the infrastructural development.

His other suggestion to the West Bengal Government was that it should steer clear of the land acquisition process and leave it to the investors to deal with the farmers directly. The government should only come in when it is implementing the project, he said.

Among the many ongoing projects of the Union Ministry, West Bengal is likely to derive large benefits. After IISCO’s revival package, it is Bengal Chemicals & Pharmaceuticals Limited (BCPL) that has received the Centre’s funding. Among the proposed new centres of the National Institute of Pharmaceutical Education and Research (NIPER), Kolkata is also a contender.

“We are also eager to re-open the fertiliser plants at Haldia and Durgapur that were shut down with other such units in 2002. The proposal is now with the Cabinet,” said Paswan. He added that the Centre was also keen on reviving the Kulti Iron Works, but has not yet received any proposal from the State Government. “I am optimistic about the Kulti unit. But it is upto the State Government to propose it. We are ready to take it up,” Paswan said.

NTPC project hits land hurdle
VISHVENDU JAIPURIAR
Hazaribagh, Jan. 16: While Singur in Bengal has been hogging the headlines, a people’s movement is brewing unnoticed in this Jharkhand district, where thousands of acres of land are being acquired for a host of coal-mining projects and a super-thermal power station.

But aggressive resistance by villagers, mobilised not by political parties but by social activists, has stalled most public hearings, mandatory under the law before acquiring land. The flare-ups so far have been relatively minor but the situation appears to be getting out of control, especially following the midnight drama here on the night of January 5.

The next day was fixed for a public hearing here for NTPC’s Pakri-Barwadih coal-mining project. While the project site is 42 km from Hazaribagh town, past experience, when people did not allow the hearing to take place, had prompted the company to hold it at the district headquarters this time.

NTPC is accused of transporting around 150 villagers to Hazaribagh the previous day. Arrangements were made for their stay. A rival group of villagers too arrived at the headquarters to oppose the acquisition, apprehending that the next day they might be physically prevented from travelling to Hazaribagh.

The social activists leading the resistance claim that they were informed over the telephone at 11 pm, by a villager enjoying NTPC’s hospitality, that they had been asked to assemble at the collectorate. Apprehending that the officials were planning a stage-managed “public hearing”, this group of villagers, numbering 150 or more, ran through the night and stormed the collectorate.

They confess that they did not find any villager there. But their explanation is that once information reached the collectorate that the rival group was marching towards it, the pro-acquisition villagers were allowed to melt away. But they did find a NTPC general manager and other officials there and saw the meeting room ready with banners and public address systems. “What were the officials doing at the collectorate at midnight,” ask the activists.

The police arrived only after an hour and ordered the belligerent villagers to disperse. The people, claim activists, finally left around 3 am after the police furnished a written guarantee that NTPC officials would not return.

But the next day, when the people went back to the collectorate for the meeting, there was no sign of any official. The villagers left the venue after 2 pm and put up a roadblock to give vent to their frustration. They had arrived at Hazaribagh on November 23 last year also for the hearing, which again was called off at the last moment.

Member-secretary of the state pollution control board, S.K. Singh, claimed that for a public hearing to be valid, it has to be held during daytime and in the presence of a representative each of the board and the district administration.

NTPC officials claimed coal mafia and other vested interests were instigating the people because they do not want the project to come up. But a majority of the people in Barkagaon, they said, were supportive.

CAB Turn In SEZ, Buddha V/S Basu Palash Biswas ( Pl Publish the matter with latest update and send a copy. Contact: Palash C Biswas, c/o Mrs Arati Roy, Gostokanan, Kolkata- 700110, India. Phone: 91-33-25659551.) Buddhadev Bhattacharya and Viman Bose led the Bengali comrades in the Polit Bureau and Central Committee of Marxist Communist Party of India to pull the legs of Jyoti Basu, when the Nation wanted him as Prime Minister. subhash Chakrabarti has been leading the Basu supporters. Basu later said that it was a historical blunder. It followed a heated debate nationwide in the party and beyond. The battleline already drawn, Basu was replaced by Buddhadev with an intiative introduced by generation next JNU Palat grassrootless leaders of the party. Buddhadev has declared a war against Jyoti Basu annihiliting his achievement in land reforms and rural development. Nandigaram and singur happens to be the climax of the Marxist Mahabharat. A team comprising a senior Tata Motors executive and officials of West Bengal Industrial Development Corporation (WBIDC) and West Bengal Consultancy (WBCL) was gheraoed on Monday in Singur by Trinamool Congress members. The team was, however, rescued by the police who helped them reach the local WBIDC office at Singur. The police said the team had gone to the Gopalpur Gram Panchayat area to finalise a trip to Jamshedpur by local panchayat members. On the other hand, the elections for the post of Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) president took a dramatic political turn on Saturday night. The confrontation between Bhattacharjee and Chakraborty over CAB elections had been brewing for quite some time.Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, however, refused to comment on the development.Indian cricket star Saurav Ganguly, on Sunday, said, ?Let something be announced officially and then only I would comment.? The CPI (M) has also decided to observe `Nandigram Divas' on January 27, when meetings will be organised across the State.Six people were killed in group clashes in Nandigram on January 6 and 7 ? the first casualties in the State over the issue of land acquisition for industry. The violence erupted following rumours of imminent land acquisition to set up a Special Economic Zone in the area after the local Haldia Development Authority issued a notification for site selection. Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee later said that issuing the notification was wrong. Putting at rest speculations about the possibility of Chakraborty throwing in his hat for the Feb 1 CAB elections, the minister said he would fight the polls if Mukherjee remained in the arena. 'I will fight if Mukherjee fights. If he steps aside I will step aside. Till July next a consensus candidate can officiate,' the Bengali news channel Kolkata TV quoted Chakraborty as saying Tuesday. Asked if he would contest despite Bose?s advice, Chakraborty said: ?It?s true that Bimanda did not give me the go-ahead. But I am confident that I will be able to convince him that I should contest. I shall once again talk to him. After all, nobody will accept that Mukherjee is a better candidate than me.? ?I believe I will get the chief minister?s blessings also,? he added. Unlike last time, Bhattacharjee has not associated himself with this election. But Chakraborty added that ?if somebody other than Mukherjee is chosen as a unanimous candidate, I will not contest?. Jyoti Basu and Subhash chakrabarti led to voice dissent in party and front on land aquisition issue. Buddhadev enjoyed the JNU return support and did care very little to lsten what Basu and chakrabarti said. It is party discipline that Basu could not wage a war against the Capitalist Marxist CM of Bengal. But the CAB feud has given him an opportunity to revenge. And the game started. Let us watch the Tamasha. There are already signs that those opposed to the Left Front's industrialisation plans intend to take their movement to fresh areas in south Bengal like Bhangur in South 24 Parganas where the Salim Group proposes to construct an expressway. Ironically, in a bid to take the Left Front Government's agenda for greater industrialisation to the grass-roots, the State leadership of the Communist Party of India [Marxist] has decided to launch an extensive six-week pro-industry campaign across West Bengal from Monday. Pamphlets on the industrial policy will also be distributed in villages and towns in the State. The campaign is expected to help counter the opposition to the State Government's industrialisation plans from the principal Opposition parties, who have been joined in their protests by certain Naxalite groups and whose leaders were recently felicitated by the Trinamool Congress for closing ranks with the party in its movement against the acquisition of farmland for industry in the State. Last night, the editor of Vinnomat, Biplab Pal called me from USA and said that he is a supporter of Bhattacharya in his way to development. But what happened in Bengal it is quite autocratic, he agrees. He sees lack of transparency and procedural administrative mistakes are responsible for the riot led by indiscriminate land acquistion. He said that generation next do not want to cling to ideology as they want to go ahead and want to compete in the global world. We discussed in details so many matters related to Bengal. I am impressed that he thinks of Bengal from USA. He opined that the educated Bengalies are very selfish and selfcentred. Media and literature cater entertainment only. There is no space for serious dialogue. he agreed that annihilition of democratic institutions would lead to anarchy. He voiced the concern that generation next lacks the commitment and indepth study of seventies. Seeing the things in Bengal he said that the opposition will be wiped out in thde next elections as the previleged decision making part of the society would not like to put stakes on discredited opposition. He says that we do not see beyond leftist rule. Whatever may be the ideology, there must be a democratic process, he insisted. I alredy wrote that had I been mamta Bannerjee, I would have demanded a commission headed by Jyoti Basu to finish the stand off. What opposition thinks on this, it is immaterial. I had been supporting the left. I send every article to the polit Bureau, Chief Minister and chiefsecretary, west bengal. The party and government knows me well. I shared dias with many ministers on fifferent occasions including Mr chakrabarti. In fact, we have to depend on Buddhadev and his government as a deprived refugee Bengali lot thrown out of Bengal. The government, party, media and people supported us in our agitaion in Uttaranchal. It is due to Buddhadev`s initiative that the citizenship of Bengali refugees in Uttaranchal had been protected. So I had been in regular contact with them. I had been in contact with Mahashweta devi, Ratan Basu Majumdar and others who lead the protest. Left front chairman visited our Bengali rehabilatiton colonies in Udham singh Nagar Uttaranchal recently. Somnath Chatterjee, Basudev Acharya and hannan Molla were always present whenever refugees from Uttaranchal go to New delhi on agitation. We arrnged a lokotsav on 20th and 21xst February in Netaji Indoor stadium with full support from the sports minister. Chakrabarti is always available in matters relating sports and culture. But the party seems not to be interested in Jyoti Basu at all. He is used only when the partyy needs a storng defence.However,NaThe government is going slow in Nandigram because it can afford to, state CPM secretary Biman Bose suggested .?No acquisition process has been initiated there,? Bose said. Neither would it begin anytime soon because the Salim Group will develop the special economic zone (SEZ) in the last leg of a 12-year project. The 12-year plan includes building a 100-km expressway spanning the two 24-Parganas and a bridge across the river Haldi. The road and the bridge would improve Calcutta?s connectivity with Haldia and neighbouring Nandigram. ?Nandigram and the rest of East Midnapore would come up for acquisition in the last leg of the SEZ projects to be developed by the Indonesian group,? Bose added. He made it clear that the government would go for gradual acquisition of land in tune with the progress of the other projects to avoid farmers? resistance. A Haldia Development Authority notification identifying 29 mouzas to be taken over immediately in Nandigram and Khejuri blocks had trigg-ered violent clashes last week. The first part of the 12-year project would begin at Barasat in North 24-Parganas from where the expressway will start. Land acquisition would be done in phases and places in South 24-Parganas such as Bhangar, Baruipur and Raichak, where the bridge ends, would be touched later. The road would lead to the bridge across the Haldi. ?Nandigram would come (up for acquisition) after the road and bridge are comple-ted. The alignment of many roads might change. No timeframe for acquisition has been worked out yet,?? Bose said. He declined to clarify whether ?last phase? meant land in Nandigram would be acquired four-five years later. ?The government will make the decision when the time comes.?? A section of the party wants the acquisition of around 40,000 acres for various Salim projects deferred till next year?s panchayat polls. Releasing a campaign tit- led ?Its not agriculture vs industry but industry on the basis of agriculture?, Bose said no ceiling on the number of SEZs in the state had been fixed. Bengal Govt, CPI(M) still divided on SEZ issue Sutirtho Patranobis writes from New Delhi, January 15, 2007 What the CPI(M) central leadership proposes, the Left Front-ruled West Bengal may not necessarily agree to, especially if the issue is that of Special Economic Zones (SEZs).In a glossy book titled 'Doing Business in West Bengal', which the state government distributed among NRI investors at the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas held recently, it has promised the same benefits to potential SEZ investors that the CPI(M) has repeatedly asked the Centre, citing huge financial losses, to withdraw or amend.In the book, benefits on SEZs are given under various categories like 'benefits to developer', 'benefits to units set up in SEZs', and 'certain key benefits in West Bengal for SEZ units'.One of the main sops being handed out by the West Bengal government - staunchly opposed by the CPI(M) in notes submitted to the UPA government - is the "100 per cent exemption on profits and gains for 10 consecutive years out of a block of 15 years." In the note submitted to the UPA, the CPI(M) had said that tax holidays would result "in a revenue loss of Rs 1,75,487 crore against an estimated investment of Rs 3,60,000 crore. The justifiability of the tax largesse to big business under the SEZ policy needs to be thoroughly debated." The Bengal government has also promised service tax exemption to both the service provider and the developer in an SEZ. The CPI(M) note was against this too. "These policies will simply encourage investors, including those in financial services, to move away from other locations in India to SEZ areas with no benefit to the economy and substantial revenue loss." Now basu replies with a proxy war. West Bengal Sports minister Subhas Chakraborty made the surprise announcement of his candidature for the post of president of the Cricket Association of Bengal vacated by Jagmohan Dalmiya, but shortly afterwards his party, the CPI(M), debarred him from doing so. Chakraborty, who is currently in Bangalore, told a local television channel here, that he would contest the election if Kolkata police chief Prasun Mukherjee was his rival and ruled out seeking permission from his party. Mukherjee, who has already announced his candidature had been supported by Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhatacharjee against Dalmiya in the CAB election held in July last year. Mukherjee, however, had lost. Within hours of the Sports Minister`s announcement, the CPI(M) spiked his guns. But it seems that the Kolkata Police commissioner has got the green signal from Chief Minister as he filed his nomination without waiting Subhash chakrabarti`s return. Chakrabarti has warned the party, if Prasun is there in the maidan, he will contest whatsoever may come in the way. This warning means nothing for Bhattacharya. State party secretary Biman Bose told newsmen here, "I have told Subhas that he can`t contest." Bose said the party`s stand was that it had no role in the CAB election. "We had stated this in the earlier election to CAB president`s post and we are reiterating this now." Asked about his view on the city police chief, the chosen candidate of the Chief Minister, Bose said the police and administration must be proactive to maintain law and order. To another question if the issue would be treated as a `closed chapter`, Bose said that it would be discussed in the party. "I can`t take a decision on my own. Whatever decision is required, is to be taken collectively." The Chief Minister avoided comment as did the police chief. The post fell vacant with Dalmiya`s resignation after he was expelled for life by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) necessitating the CAB presidential election. PWD Minister Kshiti Goswami, Water Investigations Minister Nandagopal Bhattacharya and Fire Services Minister Pratim Chatterjee earlier came out in support of Chakraborty`s candidature. However, Municipal Affairs Minister Ashok Bhattacharya said he would neither support nor oppose Chakraborty`s move. The election for the post of CAB president is scheduled for February one. The last date for filing of nomination papers is January 24. In July 2006, when Bhattacharjee fielded Mukherjee against the erstwhile CAB president, Jagmohan Dalmia, the decision was criticised by Chakraborty, who then commented that it was unfair to capture power in CAB through a police officer. However, Dalmia defeated Mukherjee by six votes. The chief minister described Dalmia?s win as the win of the evil force and vowed to continue his fight to oust Dalmia from CAB. It was then decided that CPI(M), as a party, would not get involved in any affairs of any sports organisation. Meanwhile, Dalmia had to vacate his post of CAB president last month, after Board for Cricket Control of India (BCCI) suspended his BCCI membership for life. Former CAB president, Biswanath Dutta, agreed to take charge of CAB for the interim period. But Dutta decided to opt out when Bhattacharjee again fielded Mukherjee. Chemical Hub In Haldia Meanwhile,the Union Government had agreed to grant a chemical hub to West Bengal in Haldia. However, the state Chief Minister has been lobbying to convert it into a PCPIR in a bid to attract greater investments in the State. The Centre seems ready to invest upto Rs 4,000 crore for the infrastructural development of the PCIPR for which a minimum of 25,000 hectares of land is required. Now the final decision of sanction for a PCPIR for Bengal was now pending with the Union Cabinet. The Union Minister suggested to the West Bengal Government to steer clear of the land acquisition process and leave it to the investors to deal with the farmers directly. Families of Nandigram victims starving New Delhi: Despite promises of financial help by political parties and the Bhumi Uchhed Pratirodh Committee, which is spearheading the anti-land acquisition agitation in Nandigram, the families of two of the six people killed in the violence are starving, the father of one of the deceased told PTI. Nisikanta Mandal, father of Bharat Mandal who was killed along with Biswajit Maity, said that Bharat's three daughters, their mother and he himself had gone without food for several days as his son was the only bread winner in the family.He said that political parties like the Trinamool Congress, BJP, CPI and the BUPC had assured them of monetary help, but since nothing came their way.Mandal claimed that his daughter-in-law even had to beg to make ends meet, but failed in that too. Orissa villagers beat up Tata surveyors. Ihe protest escalates . It is Orrissa now. We have to see it happening all over India. Bhubaneswar, Jan 17 (IANS) At least three land surveyors working for Tata Steel were beaten up Wednesday in Orissa's Jajpur district by angry villagers who fear the company's proposed steel plant in the region would displace them.The incident took place at about 1.40 p.m. near Kalamatia village in Kalinganagar industrial complex, some 60 km from the district headquarters of Jajpur, when a team of GO Design, a private firm hired by the Tatas, was conducting contour surveys without informing the district administration, District Collector Arabinda Padhi told IANS. At least 40 people of about three villages, Gadapur, Chandia and Baligotha, gathered at the site and attacked the surveyors and beat them up with sticks, he said. There were about five surveyors though only three sustained injuries, the official said. "I have strictly instructed Tata Steel not to send any of its employees or experts to the troublesome land after the Kalinga Nagar incident," he said. "Although the situation is normal now, we have deployed police force in the area immediately after the incident," said Padhi who was camping at the spot. At least 13 tribals were killed and several injured when police opened fired on hundreds of tribal agitators in the Kalinga Nagar industrial complex on Jan 2, 2006, located at a distance of about 100 km from state capital Bhubaneswar. The tribals had clashed with police to protest against the construction of a boundary wall by Tata Steel.They have blocked a highway since the day of the Kalinganagar firing. The police and district officials have failed in lifting the blockade despite several attempts. One person killed at Nandigram A Trinamool Congress activist and a representative of the farmer's body spearheading the agitation against acquisiton of land for the proposed SEZ at Nandigram in East Midnapur district was killed by miscreants triggering a bandh in the area today. Arup Das, the Trinamool worker and a prominent representative of Bhumi Uchched Pratirodh Committee, spearheading the movement against the proposed SEZ, was hit with sharp weapons by miscreants at Tengua bazar and died on the spot last night. Das was returning home to his house in Kandoposhora village at night after attending a meeting of the Trinamool and the Bhumi Uchched Pratirodh Committee, Superintendent of Police, Ashok Dutta said. Police recovered the body from near his house early this morning. The Committee has called a 12-hour bandh from 6 a.M. today in protest against the killing. Violence against land acquisition had already claimed six lives in Nandigram on January 8. The CPI(M) had yesterday said that the West Bengal government would go slow on work for setting up Indonesia-based Salim group's projects at Nandigram which had met with stiff resistance, close on the heels of the Singur agitation against acquisition of farming land for the Tata Motors project. Tensions in Nandigram, Trinamool Cong calls bandh -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Wednesday, January 17, 2007 (Nandigram): There is tension in West Bengal's Nandigram after a Trinamool Congress supporter was shot dead in the area on Tuesday.Villagers have decided to stop all traffic in protest and the Trinamool Congress has called a 12-hour bandh in Nandigram. Mamata Banerjee discharged from clinic: NDTV -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Wednesday, January 17, 2007 (Kolkata):Trinamool Congress leader Mamata Banerjee was released from a Kolkata nursing home on Wednesday, 20 days after she was admitted there following her hunger strike on the Singur issue.The Trinamool head has been advised to rest and continue treatment for all medical problems arising from her 25-day hunger strike.Mamata has been detected with gall bladder stones and will need to undergo surgery once she recovers fully. The Trinamool leader said that she had been away from home for 45 days and was very keen to get back. She, however, did not confirm whether she would be travelling to Nandigram as early as this Sunday. CBI, forensic teams probe death of woman in Singur Singur, Jan. 17 ): Teams from the CBI and the Central Forensic Science Laboratory today visited Bajemelia in Singur to probe the killing of anti-land acquisition activist Tapasi Malik on December 18. Both teams, comprising 10 members each, visited the spot where Malik's body was found and met villagers and her father Manoranjan Malik. CBI team leader A K Sahay told reporters the agency had taken up the case on January 12 and expected its investigation would be over shortly. Sahay said Malik's father had said he had no faith in the CID's investigation. Malik was allegedly gang-raped and murdered by unidentified miscreants at Bajemelia on December 18. Buddhadeb sends letters to scholars on Nandigram, Singur New Delhi, Jan 15: With scholars and civil society members criticising West Bengal government's land acquisition policy, Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharya has sought to allay their fears by sending letters to them explaining his government's stand on industrialisation. The letter, seen as a bid to counteract the negative publicity generated by the Nandigram violence, explains in detail the land acquisition process and is a "word-to-word" repetition of what the West Bengal government has been saying all along, sources said. The notification by the Haldia Development Authority, of which CPI(M) MP Lakshman Seth is the chairman, for a special economic zone to be set up by the Salim Group of Indonesia had triggered violence in Nandigram that left six people dead. With the situation going out of hand, the Chief Minister had announced the withdrawal of a notification for acquisition of land for setting up a chemical hub. The proposed Tata car plant at Singur had also triggered protests from various quarters, especially from Trinamool Congress leader Mamta Bannerjee. On acquisition of farm land, CPI(M) is of the view that acquisition of fertile land should be kept at the minimum and should be made only when it becomes inevitable. It would be ideal to acquire non-agricultural land rather than fertile multi-crop land, the party policy says. Scholars and personalities like Sumit Sarkar, Arundhati Roy, Justice Rajinder Sacharm Praful Bidwai and Yogendra Yadav had last week issued a statement expressing concern over the violence and called for a halt in forcible acquisition of land in the state. Yavatmal farmers protest relief package: NDTV -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Wednesday, January 17, 2007 (Yavatmal):A group of farmers in Yavatmal protested half-naked outside the office of the Divisional Commissioner of the district.The farmers were protesting against the inadequacy of the PM's relief package provided to them. They also alleged that the relief package was of benefit only to the banks and politicians and not for them. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had allocated Rs 3,750 crore to the affected farmers from Yavatmal district. Clashes over land acquisition at Singur Tuesday, January 16, 2007 (Dankuni):Trinamool Congress activists have torn down a segment of the fencing wire of Tata Motors land at Singur in West Bengal. Trinamool leaders marched to the controversial site to renew their protests against the proposed Tata Motors factory there. Prohibitory orders are still in place in Singur, which disallows the assembly of groups. The orders were issued after violent clashes over the issue of land acquisition for the TATA plant. How India can be a part of global markets BS Reporter in Mumbai January 17, 2007 11:53 IST India should consider permitting hedge funds a direct entry, if it wants its capital markets to be a part of the global markets and see more foreign inflow, a renowned US-based economist has said. "If you (India) want to be a part of the global markets, you have to bear this cost (of having hedge funds in the market). Hedge funds have to be there if you want to be integrated with the global trend. Otherwise instances like some development taking place in Thailand and foreign investors selling stocks here would continue to place," Marti G Subrahmanyam, Professor of Finance and Economics, Stern School of Business, New York University, said in Mumbai. Prof Marti delivered a special address on investments in hedge funds at the Annual Capital Markets Conference organised by industry body Ficci. Marti opined even though, the source of the money coming to the hedge funds is not revealed, it is wrong just to restrict their entry just because of this. "There absolutely no need to stop hedge funds entry just because you don't know the source from where the money came. Essentially, the economy needs foreign capital and these funds could bring it in huge sizes," he told reporters on the sidelines of the function. Hedge funds, though not allowed officially, are increasingly seen to be active in the Indian markets through the participatory notes issued by foreign institutional investors. Global hedge funds are seeking direct India entry and are learned to have sought short-spanned licenses from Sebi, under which the regulator could review performance of the concerned hedge funds and renew their licences each year. However, the hedge funds are also criticised for creating in volatility in the market. Asked about it, Professor Marti said that volatility definitely continues to be an issue of concern. But, the regulators could deal with it. "There are regulatory methods whereby this could be dealt or you could put some investment cap on the. But, if you want to trace source of each money coming through the hedge funds, it is impossible. You have to ensure that the money is not coming from illegal businesses like drug-peddling," he said. Leave land acquisition to investors, Paswan tells State Govt Express News Service Kolkata, January 16: West Bengal figures among the top destinations for setting up a Petroleum, Chemicals and Petrochemicals Investment Regions (PCPIR), said Union Minister for Chemicals and Fertilisers Ram Vilas Paswan. The minister, who was in Kolkata to attend several functions, said the final decision of sanction for a PCPIR for Bengal was now pending with the Union Cabinet. Paswan said the Group of Ministers on PCPIR met yesterday and forwarded Bengal?s demand for a PCPIR. Earlier, the Centre had agreed to grant a chemical hub to West Bengal in Haldia. But Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee has been lobbying hard to convert it into a PCPIR, which will attract greater investments in the State. Paswan, however, observed that a minimum of 25,000 hectares of land was required for any PCPIR. He said the Centre was ready to invest upto Rs 4,000 crore for the infrastructural development. His other suggestion to the West Bengal Government was that it should steer clear of the land acquisition process and leave it to the investors to deal with the farmers directly. The government should only come in when it is implementing the project, he said. Among the many ongoing projects of the Union Ministry, West Bengal is likely to derive large benefits. After IISCO?s revival package, it is Bengal Chemicals & Pharmaceuticals Limited (BCPL) that has received the Centre?s funding. Among the proposed new centres of the National Institute of Pharmaceutical Education and Research (NIPER), Kolkata is also a contender. ?We are also eager to re-open the fertiliser plants at Haldia and Durgapur that were shut down with other such units in 2002. The proposal is now with the Cabinet,? said Paswan. He added that the Centre was also keen on reviving the Kulti Iron Works, but has not yet received any proposal from the State Government. ?I am optimistic about the Kulti unit. But it is upto the State Government to propose it. We are ready to take it up,? Paswan said. NTPC project hits land hurdle VISHVENDU JAIPURIAR Hazaribagh, Jan. 16: While Singur in Bengal has been hogging the headlines, a people?s movement is brewing unnoticed in this Jharkhand district, where thousands of acres of land are being acquired for a host of coal-mining projects and a super-thermal power station. But aggressive resistance by villagers, mobilised not by political parties but by social activists, has stalled most public hearings, mandatory under the law before acquiring land. The flare-ups so far have been relatively minor but the situation appears to be getting out of control, especially following the midnight drama here on the night of January 5. The next day was fixed for a public hearing here for NTPC?s Pakri-Barwadih coal-mining project. While the project site is 42 km from Hazaribagh town, past experience, when people did not allow the hearing to take place, had prompted the company to hold it at the district headquarters this time. NTPC is accused of transporting around 150 villagers to Hazaribagh the previous day. Arrangements were made for their stay. A rival group of villagers too arrived at the headquarters to oppose the acquisition, apprehending that the next day they might be physically prevented from travelling to Hazaribagh. The social activists leading the resistance claim that they were informed over the telephone at 11 pm, by a villager enjoying NTPC?s hospitality, that they had been asked to assemble at the collectorate. Apprehending that the officials were planning a stage-managed ?public hearing?, this group of villagers, numbering 150 or more, ran through the night and stormed the collectorate. They confess that they did not find any villager there. But their explanation is that once information reached the collectorate that the rival group was marching towards it, the pro-acquisition villagers were allowed to melt away. But they did find a NTPC general manager and other officials there and saw the meeting room ready with banners and public address systems. ?What were the officials doing at the collectorate at midnight,? ask the activists. The police arrived only after an hour and ordered the belligerent villagers to disperse. The people, claim activists, finally left around 3 am after the police furnished a written guarantee that NTPC officials would not return. But the next day, when the people went back to the collectorate for the meeting, there was no sign of any official. The villagers left the venue after 2 pm and put up a roadblock to give vent to their frustration. They had arrived at Hazaribagh on November 23 last year also for the hearing, which again was called off at the last moment. Member-secretary of the state pollution control board, S.K. Singh, claimed that for a public hearing to be valid, it has to be held during daytime and in the presence of a representative each of the board and the district administration. NTPC officials claimed coal mafia and other vested interests were instigating the people because they do not want the project to come up. But a majority of the people in Barkagaon, they said, were supportive.

Speak Out

Palash Biswas

Friends you have to speak out.Singur peasnt women drove out Tata Officials and police. they had to run. This is the scenerio is going repeated everywhere in India. Local resistance is always targeted to the related state government, but it is very tragic as well as ironical that we spare Dr Manmohan singh and the centre , originally responsible for all this nonsense. Left could have come to help the peasants and proletariates in India, but the red is turned Green for corporate feudal imperialism and so called capitalist development devastating rural india. Since 1998, no less than twenty five thousand peasants have chosen death. Now they chose Resistance. and yes, resistance is the only answer.

C.K. Vishwanath asks: What is the difference between the bourgeoise-landlord classes of india and cpim politics?The class politicsof the cpim is going to be an aggressive pro-business
politics.Prabhat patnaik and his democracy as site of class struggle is not giving much enthusiasm forindian working classes.

Fresh protests, rallies rock Nandigram

NANDIGRAM: A day after a successful peace meeting, tension again built up on Sunday as fresh roads were dug up and anti-CPI(M) rallies were organised by the activists opposing land acquisition in Nandigram. The Bhumi Uchhed Pratirodh Committee (BUPC), spearheading the protest against acquisition of farmland for a Special Economic Zone here in East Midnapore district, declined to abide by the decisions taken at Saturday’s peace meeting.

Sheikh Sufiyan, convenor of the BUPC, said the CPI(M) had given the charge of looking into the Nandigram affair to its district secretaries Tarun Roy and Dipak Sarkar and the agitators were objecting to the inclusion of the two.

Mr Roy and Mr Sarkar, Mr Sufiyan alleged, were behind a number of killings earlier in the district. This has led to stoppage of repairing of roads that had been dug up after violence claimed the lives of six persons in Nandigram block on January 7. Repair of roads had been decided upon at the peace meeting.

Moreover, two new roads were dug up since last night at Jalpai and Gopimohanpur, said local CPI MLA Illias Mohammad. On Saturday, police entered the villages at Nandigram for the first time after the violence started.

The peace meeting was attended by BUPC, comprising among others Trinamool Congress, Congress, Naxalites, SUCI and other political parties, SDO Shankar Haldar, BDO Ashok Sarkar and the local police station officer-in-charge. The meeting set up a 16-member committee to bring about peace in the villages comprising the Nandigram block that witnessed bloody clashes over acquisition of farmland for setting up the SEZ by the Salim Group of Indonesia.

Later, Left Front chairman and senior CPI(M) leader Biman Bose told newsmen at Sutahata that the news of appointment of Roy and Sarkar was not correct and that Lakshman Seth (MP) would continue to be in charge of the affairs at Nandigram. He said the West Bengal government will carry forward its programme of industrialisation.

Leaflets on the government’s programme will be distributed among common people and farmers in the district in general and Nadigram specifically, he added.

Govt to go slow on SEZ approvals

See the hypocricy of the ruling system:

TIMES NEWS NETWORK[ FRIDAY, JANUARY 12, 2007 09:32:30 PM]

NEW DELHI: The government may put a temporary halt on in-principle approvals for special economic zones where land has not been acquired till a new rehabilitation package is finalised. As of now, there are 166 proposals which have received in-principle approvals but are hanging in balance due to unclear land acquisition norms. The board of approval for special economic zones (SEZs), however, will meet on January 19 to take up proposals for projects where land has already been acquired by developers.

A new rehabilitation policy is being finalised by the rural development ministry which will replace the national policy for resettlement & rehabilitation--2003. The new policy, unlike the previous one, will be mandatory.

Congress President Sonia Gandhi met commerce and industry minister Kamal Nath earlier this week to voice her concerns on displacement of farmers and small businesses due to the land acquisition process. Ms Gandhi's intervention is important in the wake of violent protests in Nandigram, West Bengal, where a chemical SEZ is being built by the Indonesia Salem group.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has already promised that a new rehabilitation policy will be in place in the next three months. According to the draft rehab proposal prepared by the rural development ministry, a developer planning to undertake a new project or expansion of an existing project which involves physical displacement of 400 or more families in plain areas or 200 or more families in tribal or hilly areas, will have to prepare a social impact assessment (SIA) report and submit it to the agency prescribed.

The proposal further states that compensation award should be declared, full compensation amount paid and adequate resettlement carried out before ouster of the affected families. It also lays down details about the compensation package to be given to various categories of oustees.

Apart from the 166 in-principle approvals given by the government till date, a total of 51 SEZs have been notified while formal clearance has been given to 237 proposals

Pune likely to get 10 IT SEZs soon

GOURI AGTEY ATHALE

TIMES NEWS NETWORK[ MONDAY, JANUARY 15, 2007 04:51:29 AM]

PUNE: The special economic zone (SEZ) mania, currently raging across the country, is likely to see 10 such zones for IT/ITeS in Pune alone receiving approvals, according to a report by real estate consultants Cushman and Wakefield.

Should these approvals come through, 556 acres would open up for potential development. Which in turn means that over the next three-four years the city could add over two crore sq feet of office space. As a starter, year 2007 could see the addition of 15 lakh sq ft in retail space alone, thanks to the demand for malls which are now coming up across the city.

While these are the findings of Cushman, government officials are talking of similar figures. Maharashtra industries commissioner K Shivaji recently said that the state expects to sign memorandum of understandings worth Rs 33,000 crore in 2007-08, doing in one year what it did in 18 months.

“The government of Maharashtra signed MoUs worth Rs 33,000 crore in the past 18 months. We expect to sign MoUs of a similar amount in just one year (2007-08),” Mr Shivaji said.

Moreover, the state has the highest number of approved SEZs at 72 and the state could touch the 100-mark, he added. The Cushman report titled `Marketbeat India fourth quarter 2006, an overview of the Pune office market’ notes that in the October-December 2006 quarter, the city absorbed close to 5 lakh sq ft of commercial space.

IT and ITeS companies have committed to about 5 lakh sq ft in SEZs and about 6.4 lakh sq ft within Software Technology Projects of India (STPI) in 2007. IT and ITeS sectors accounted for 90% of the total space absorption in Pune, it added. On the supply side, the report says 40 lakh sq ft was added to the city’s commercial space in 2006.

Real estate consultants have estimated that this could rise to 9-10 million sq ft this calendar year. Of this, 5 million sq ft will be for SEZ projects and about 3 million in STPI projects. The balance will be used for corporate offices across the city.

Given this huge addition of commercial space, the demand gap is being bridged with the inevitable fall out: a lowering of lease rentals.

The rise in rentals in the October-December 2006 period over the immediately preceding quarter, July-September 2006, has been 5-10% for IT and ITeS companies. Rentals for non-IT office space has been higher at 10-17%.

Base monthly rents in the Camp/Bund Garden road area for office space are estimated to be in the range of Rs 55-65 per sq ft. In Aundh, these are about Rs 40-44 per sq ft, while in the Kalyaninagar and Hadapsar areas they are reported at Rs 38-40 per sq ft and Rs 30-34 per sq ft, respectively.

MG Road and JM Road continue to attract higher rentals, with the base monthly rentals, respectively, at Rs 150-200 per sq ft and Rs 140-170 per sq ft. In Aundh, these are in the range of Rs 110-130 per sq ft per month.

Trinamool road blockades sends traffic haywire in WB

Kolkata, Jan 15: Traffic was on Monday dislocated in the metropolis and elsewhere in West Bengal due to road blockade put up by Trinamool Congress on the Singur issue, the fourth time in the past three weeks.

Blockades were put up at important street intersections for nearly an hour from 1 pm by party supporters, police said.

Howrah bridge, a key lifeline of the metropolis, was also blockaded compelling the people to avail the ferry service across the Hooghly river, the police said.

Obstruction to traffic was reported from Baidyabati, Uttarpara and some other areas in South Bengal with Trinamool workers squatting on the road.

In the city, hundreds of Trinamool Congress supporters marched through the streets and blocked roads at different places here between 1 and 2 pm to protest the Left Front government's move to acquire farmland for industries.

Senior Trinamool Congress MLAs, including Sobhandeb Chattopadhyya, who is the president of the labour wing of the party, participated in the March.

Trinamool Congress set up the roadblock to drum up support for its planned march tomorrow in protest against prohibitory order in Singur where the proposed site for the Tata Motors' small car project is located.

Experts urge restraint in land acquisition

TIMES NEWS NETWORK[ MONDAY, JANUARY 08, 2007 11:55:23 PM]

KOLKATA: If anything, the political backlash over state-driven farmland acquisition in West Bengal looks set to rise even as Singur’s aftershocks echo in distant Nandigram. Perhaps, it comes as no surprise that instead of deploring the year’s first bandh, leading business houses and B-school pundits feel the “state government needs to exercise greater caution” before pressing ahead with its ambitious land acquisition bid for industrial ventures.

ET spoke to a cross-section of the city’s business community to get a fix on the pulse in the wake of the upsurge in violence over farmland acquisition in the state. That the West Bengal government should tread carefully on the land acquisition and resolve tricky issues like compensation to land-losers, was the universal refrain.

Here’s what Prof Anindya Sen, Dean, programme initiatives at the Indian Institute of Management, Calcutta, had to say. “People had begun to accept Singur. But Nandigram seems to be a different case. Hence, the state government needs to carefully look into the compensation packages as well as alternative livelihood options. Opposition parties also need to understand that unless they change their tactics, the process of industrialisation in West Bengal will receive a setback.”

A first-year IIM-C student Vijay Anand Menon, however, felt that corporates willing to test the waters in West Bengal would pull out if the prevalent bandh culture doesn’t change fast.

“It appears that the government had been working on the assumption that all its ctions will be accepted by the public at large. The ruling party should seek a consensus on the controversial land acquisition issue. It also needs to demonstrate the benefits of industrialisation before buying land from farmers,” said A K Doshi, partner with city based chartered accountant firm Doshi Chatterjee Bagri & Co.

Echoing similar sentiments, Keventer Group chairman M K Jalan said: “When commoners realise that the projects will benefit them, these incidents of violence will come to a stop.” The group is planning to acquire some 3,000 acres of land to execute the Kulpi mini port and SEZ in partnership with DP World.

“We just hope it gets resolved soon. Some kind of a better understanding on what should be the way forward for growth and development of the state prevails,” Harshavardhan Neotia, managing director, Ambuja Realty Group, said.

When contacted, Dhunseri group chairman C.K. Dhanuka did not mince words. “The issue is being unnecessary politicised. Political parties of all shades and colour are busy getting political mileage out of the land acquisition issue in West Bengal. I strongly feel that chief minister should now play a ‘googly’. He should make a formal announcement to abandon all the upcoming industrial projects in the state including the auto unit of Tata Motors. Let the opposition parties feel the backlash,” he said.

Incidentally, JSW Steel is clearly unfazed by the developments and sent in their invite on the MoA ceremony to be held in Kolkata on Thursday.

Streets in the metropolis wore a deserted look as most private buses, mini buses and taxis remained off the roads. Only some state-run buses and trams were plying. Metro services, however, remained normal.

Though transport was few and far between senior officials and executives of chartered accountant firms and manufacturing companies did report for work. Train services too were affected.

“What surprised me today was that the government did not seem to have put in enough effort to provide transport services. And this after Subhas Chakraborty gave his assurances that besides running state buses, he would speak to private operators to run private buses as well,” said Dr Sen. Police and administration needs to be toned up as well so that they can step in and diffuse the tension as soon as possible.

WB paper on farm products may hit Doha round: G33

TIMES NEWS NETWORK[ SATURDAY, JANUARY 13, 2007 02:15:08 AM]

NEW DELHI: The G33 group of developing countries, which includes India and 46 other nations, has warned the World Bank that its “misleading” paper on potential implications of agricultural special products (SPs) on poor countries could have adverse consequences for the Doha round of negotiations of the World Trade Organization.

SPs are the products to be excluded from tariff reduction commitments by developing countries as per the formula agreed to by WTO members as part of the ongoing negotiations.

The World Bank paper, co-authored by Maros Ivanic and Will Martin, which was first published in November last year, has inferred that raising agricultural prices substantially through SPs would create large increases in poverty — sufficient in some cases to undo decades of development progress — and push the already poor deeper into poverty.

Following strong protests from G33 members, the authors have recently come out with a re-worked paper, but have been unable to appease the group. The G33 countries claim that even the revised draft paper remains essentially the same, with the slight difference that instead of assuming a direct price increase of 50%, it assumes unjustifiably high import substitution elasticities to get a similar effect on prices.

According to an official release, the G33 has repeatedly explained that the aim of SPs is not to raise prices of qualifying products over an extended period of time. Rather, SPs are a flexibility intended to enable developing countries to address externally generated shocks that could disrupt incomes and food security, particularly for low-income and resource-poor agricultural producers.

G33 members had conveyed to the World Bank that there would be a serious reputation risk for the world body in promoting such a paper based on fundamentally flawed assumptions and methodology ignoring the reality of the prevailing agrarian structures in most developing countries.

It pointed out that the Ivanic-Martin paper ignores the reality of price declines, price volatility and predatory competition, including dumping of heavily subsidised products, which raises the risk levels of developing countries without providing an adequate safety mechanism or flexibility to deal with the adverse impacts of trade policy changes for their vulnerable agricultural sectors.

People's Democracy
(Weekly Organ of the Communist Party of India (Marxist)

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Vol. XXXI No. 02 January 14, 2007

`BUDDHADEB’S SPEECH AT GANASHAKTI FUNCTION

‘We Are Committed To Making Industrial Progress’

The following is the full text of the speech made by CPI(M) Polit Bureau member and West Bengal chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee at the function commemorating 40 years of Ganashakti newspaper, held recently in Kolkata.

TODAY is truly an important day for our Party and for the Left movement. Our Party organ Ganashakti has crossed forty years. At the very beginning, I would like to pay my homage to Comrades Muzaffar Ahmad, Promode Dasgupta, Saroj Mukherjee, and Anil Biswas. We have come through traversing difficult roads, through much blood, sweat, and tears. We have not bowed our heads low. We have kept our head high. The people of the state know that Ganashakti is afraid of neither spirits nor God. Ganashakti is committed to the people. We shall keep our head high for the interest of the people.

I shall keep my address limited to the discussion that has been held by the Party on the recent developments in agriculture and industry in the country and in the state.

The Left Front government in Bengal was not built up in a day. Our Front is neither the UPA nor the NDA. The Left Front has been built up through many struggles. We have to go back to the past developments. The two United Front governments of 1967 and 1969 lasted respectively for nine and 13 months. However, the most important event of the state took place then. There were statewide land movements, a strike against landlordism, and land struggle in the fields. We recall with regard Comrade Harekrishna Konar. He was then our Party leader, leader of the Krishak Sabha, and a minister in the government. The struggle organised and brought together the kisans of Bengal. There was a change in the political situation. We recall where the land struggle sent the Congress and with what strength the Left arose. Having achieved this success, we could hold on to it and safeguard it.

CONSOLIDATING THE SUCCESSES

We have consolidated the success of the Left Front government set up in 1977, and we must give it a legal characteristic. Today 78 per cent of the land in Bengal is with the marginal farmers. There is no parallel instance in the whole of the country. There are landlords who own hundreds and thousands of acres of land in Rajasthan, Bihar and in north India. We could organise land reforms through united struggles. We have also been benefited by the results. Not that it has changed the political equation, and the power balance, but it has also brought success to the agricultural system. We are the topmost in the country in the production of paddy and vegetables. The success has been brought in by the struggle of the kisans. The Left Front government has consolidated this success further.

When in abroad I am asked from time-to-time, what is the secret behind the seven consecutive electoral successes? I tell them, ‘come to Bengal. It is better if you move around the villages during election.’ Election is like a festival to the rural poor in the villages. They know what Left is and what Congress is. This frame of mind cannot be changed. This is our political power. More than the success in increasing paddy production, it is the fact of our having been able to rouse this power.

Nevertheless, gradually with the passage of time, we have come to realise that how long can we cling on to the successes of the land movement and of the agricultural production. Land is being gradually fragmented. With the death of the father, the land is divided among the successors. Thus, land reforms are coming to halt at one place. Kisans find it difficult to receive remunerative prices. Prices of seeds, fertilisers, and of irrigated water are all going up. Will kisans get the proper prices? The state will see 15 million MT of paddy produced. We shall procure 2.1 million MT of paddy to give support price. Potato crop will be ready, so will be vegetables: will the kisan get the remunerative price? There is an uncertainty.

MOVING FORWARD

68 per cent of the state’s population are engaged in agriculture. This is certainly in excess. Thus, we shall not be able to stand on the agricultural success alone. If we do, we shall not be able to hold on to the success. We have to move forward. We have to transform our economic thinking. That would be to consolidate our agricultural success and go forward towards industrialisation.

The role of agriculture in the state production is 26 per cent, that of industry 24 per cent, and that of services 50 per cent. Shall we stand only here? Is this the end of history? Can we hold on to our success if we stand here? We think not! We have to consolidate the success in agriculture and go quickly towards industrialisation. There are thousands of men and women in need of jobs in towns and villages. There is a surplus manpower in agriculture. There would no new employment created if we do not go in for industrialisation.

The question that would come in on the issue of setting up industries is where shall the industries be set up? There is 62 per cent of agricultural land in our state. The opposition talk about fallow land for factories. The land where there is no cropping in this state is a mere one per cent while there is 17 per cent fallow land in the country. The state has 13 per cent forest cover where interference neither will be nor ought to be possible. The rest 24 per cent comprises townships and industries. Shall we stand here at one place with 62 per cent agricultural land and 24 per cent urban and industrial land? Do we not want new cities and industries? From agriculture to industry, from villages to cities — this is civilisation. We Marxists never deny this aim. We too want this to happen.

There is 62 per cent agricultural land in the state. The total area is 5.4 million hectares or 13.5 million acres. Agricultural land would have to be utilised if we want to set up industries. The attempt should be to use as little fertile land as possible. The self-dependence on food that we have achieved must be maintained. The rice we eat is produced in this state. We must not lag behind in pisciculture, and in the production of vegetables. If we say that we would not venture into agricultural land, the history of Bengal will end here and now. History never stands still. If we stand in one place, history will never absolve us. Go forward we must.

Many of you have heard what the opposition have to say about Singur. You know about Singur that this car manufacturing unit was to have been set up in Uttaranchal. After the project was brought over here, and after having a look at several potential places, it has been decided to set up the factory at Singur. Some amount of agricultural land is being needed. What is the basic issue? What is the price of the agricultural crop produced in those land plots, and how many are the man-days created, and how many man-days will be created once the factory starts production, and what will be the price generated? This is the yardstick. The factory of the future will produce many more man-days than the agricultural economy of the present. This is something our opposition would not realise and understand. They would not understand the basics of economics because they want to oppose for the sake of opposition.

MAINTAINING BALANCE

That 68 per cent of the population is yet involved with agriculture is a sign of backwardness of the society. We must rise above this. However, we have to do this by maintaining balance. What we lose, and what we gain —this must be considered. We must try to provide the maximum amount of price for the land he loses and the maximum possible rehabilitation. They are happy at the compensation they have received at Singur. Nine lakh of rupees for a single crop land per acre, and 12 lakh of rupees of a double-crop land per acre — this is a rate that has never been given or shall be given anywhere in the country. However, what do we do on the question of rehabilitation? There are so many people who are dependent on land at Singur, and how many of them can be provided employment at Singur, directly or indirectly, and ensure that their income goes up?

A survey work that is going on is almost completed. It is being seen how many are involved with the agricultural economy at Singur, what are the levels of income of small landholders, recorded and unrecorded bargadars, khet mazdoors, rickshaw van pullers, and of the people of every level, and how to bring in a section of them directly through providing training in factories. It is not easy to become a worker from having been a peasant —but this is progress. The main factory will stand on 700 acres of land. There would ancillary industries in 300 acres.

Many would receive hands-on training for employment. Many new jobs will be created in the factory. Those who do not have the opportunity to receive hands-on employment in the factory will find jobs in the economic activities that shall commence in the surrounding area including in the shops and establishments that would grow up. It is the moral responsibility of the state government to see that every person in the area where land has been taken over is employed.

ON SEZs

There has been much publicity given to Singur. You have heard from Comrade Prakash Karat regarding our standpoint on SEZs. On December 9, I said during discussion with the prime minister at a meeting of the NDC that there are hundreds of SEZs being set in the country, why so many. China started with six. We have already exceeded 300. The government of India must think and decide on where and how many SEZs should be set up in such sectors as iron-and-steel, petrochemical, shipping, and basic industries. In Bengal, we have thought about the Haldia Petrochemicals where we see a possibility.

However, SEZs are not for the business of real estates. SEZs are for industries. Thus, 50 per cent of the area must be kept aside for factories. There should be such social infrastructure for the employees like schools, residential blocks, hospitals, and playing grounds. The question here is if there are SEZs set up all over the country, must we not set up SEZs here too. Shall we not move forward? Thus, we have plans to set up SEZs in a measured way. There would be a chemical hub. There would be an electronics complex in north Bengal. There are four-five proposals pending with us. We would not go beyond this. The SEZs would see industrial work alone.

What Bengal needs most today is manufacturing industries. We have emphasised on iron-and-steel, chemicals, petrochemicals, leather, cement, engineering, and other industries. We are attaching importance to small and medium industries because there would be more employment generated. However, this is the 21st century. Manufacturing industries alone would not do here. We additionally need knowledge-based industry. If such knowledge-based industries as information-technology and bio-technology lag behind, we shall fall behind as well. We have started out on information technology late in the state. However, the rate of progress that we have chalked up is greater than that at the national level. The new generation of the state will hold aloft the torch of the 21st century. We can change the look of the state with the help of these human resources. That is why big concerns evince interest in information technology and bio-technology in our state. We have stressed on manufacturing industries but we do not belittle knowledge-based industries.

Certainly, there is need for improved infrastructure for industries. We need lots of big roads and bridges. We require sea ports and new airports. We cannot avoid the West, but East has brought before us many possibilities. The new policy of the government of India is ‘Look East.’ Japan and China are coming. China is setting up a big thermal power-plant at Sagardighi. Singapore and Indonesia are coming. If want to work with East and South-East Asia, we shall need more ports, and more airports. The Dumdum airport is proving insufficient, we need a new airport. We need many high-standard roads. We need road connectivity in all the industrial centres. We need roads linking up north with south Bengal, Kolkata with Haldia, Kolkata, with Kalyani, and Kolkata and Uluberia. Why is China in a position to attract so much foreign investment? This is because they have been able to set up huge infrastructural facilities. India lags quite a way behind.

Thus, we have to preserve the success of the long peasants’ movement, consolidate the success emanating out of it, and go in for industrialisation on its basis. That is our future. Thousands upon thousands of young men and women looking for employment look to us: they will build this century. We are committed to the people who have supported us and have put us to office. The trust they have reposed in us must be honoured. We have to do whatever it is possible for us to do. With this pledge, and with best wishes to you all, I end my address.

Land acquisition: Nandigram bodes ill for all

Subir Roy

January 10, 2007

The turmoil in the Nandigram area of southern West Bengal over the acquisition of agricultural land for industrialisation is likely to have a major impact on the future of not just the state but the entire country.

Several people have been killed in the violence so far and the area, covering three panchayats in East Medinipur district, seems to be in the grip of a popular revolt. For a period it was a no go area for the state police, with roads dug up and culverts broken to prevent outsiders from coming in.

This development, coming close on the heels of the state government's victory over the Trinamool Congress on land acquisition in Singur for the Tata car project in another district of West Bengal closer to Kolkata, is likely to set the clock back for the entire country, making it hugely more difficult to acquire agricultural land for industrial and urban projects.

SEZs: Advani urges PM for all-party meet
This, in turn, is likely to have a significant impact on the economic future of the country as at stake is the state's ability to acquire peacefully large tracts of agricultural land, without which rapid industrialisation and orderly urbanisation will be impossible. This is aside of the huge investments which are dependent on the special economic zones taking off.

Since land acquisition is so critical, it is necessary to find out why the West Bengal government won in Singur and appears to be up against a wall in Nandigram. Singur, which mainly grows paddy, is much closer and well connected with Kolkata, with virtually every family having a commuting wage earner.

The agricultural ethos has already partially given way to working for a salary. Nandigram, on the other had, is totally rural with a negligible salaried class and the farmers' identity deeply connected to land. For them the common fear is that if they lose their land they will end up begging on the streets of Kolkata.

Plus, Nandigram extensively cultivates paan (betel leaf) as a commercial crop. Its paan is said to be the best in West Bengal. Parts of Nandigram are low-lying, making paan cultivation, whose creepers grow on stilts, a virtue out of a necessity.

What is even more significant is the peculiar politics of Midnapur. Violence is its currency of settlement for running political feuds, which get intertwined questions of honour, the same as in Bihar. Plus, there is a spillover of Naxalite influence from adjoining areas of Purulia and Bankura districts. As if this was not enough, there is a substantial Muslim population, which very quickly takes on a siege mentality.

Recently there was a local flare-up over the pulse polio vaccination campaign. In the nearby area of Keshpur, some years ago the Trinamool Congress workers drove away left activists. The left has now regained entry and the Trinamool workers have made common cause with the Naxalites. There has been also a strong mobilisation of arms in the area, courtesy the Naxalites.

This is the tinderbox in which arrived a communication from the Haldia Development Authority, indicating that three panchayats which overlay Nandigram were part of the extensive tracts earmarked for a chemicals SEZ around the nearby port of Haldia, a ship

Speak Out Palash Biswas Friends you have to speak out.Singur peasnt women drove out Tata Officials and police. they had to run. This is the scenerio is going repeated everywhere in India. Local resistance is always targeted to the related state government, but it is very tragic as well as ironical that we spare Dr Manmohan singh and the centre , originally responsible for all this nonsense. Left could have come to help the peasants and proletariates in India, but the red is turned Green for corporate feudal imperialism and so called capitalist development devastating rural india. Since 1998, no less than twenty five thousand peasants have chosen death. Now they chose Resistance. and yes, resistance is the only answer. C.K. Vishwanath asks: What is the difference between the bourgeoise-landlord classes of india and cpim politics?The class politicsof the cpim is going to be an aggressive pro-business politics.Prabhat patnaik and his democracy as site of class struggle is not giving much enthusiasm forindian working classes. Fresh protests, rallies rock Nandigram NANDIGRAM: A day after a successful peace meeting, tension again built up on Sunday as fresh roads were dug up and anti-CPI(M) rallies were organised by the activists opposing land acquisition in Nandigram. The Bhumi Uchhed Pratirodh Committee (BUPC), spearheading the protest against acquisition of farmland for a Special Economic Zone here in East Midnapore district, declined to abide by the decisions taken at Saturday?s peace meeting. Sheikh Sufiyan, convenor of the BUPC, said the CPI(M) had given the charge of looking into the Nandigram affair to its district secretaries Tarun Roy and Dipak Sarkar and the agitators were objecting to the inclusion of the two. Mr Roy and Mr Sarkar, Mr Sufiyan alleged, were behind a number of killings earlier in the district. This has led to stoppage of repairing of roads that had been dug up after violence claimed the lives of six persons in Nandigram block on January 7. Repair of roads had been decided upon at the peace meeting. Moreover, two new roads were dug up since last night at Jalpai and Gopimohanpur, said local CPI MLA Illias Mohammad. On Saturday, police entered the villages at Nandigram for the first time after the violence started. The peace meeting was attended by BUPC, comprising among others Trinamool Congress, Congress, Naxalites, SUCI and other political parties, SDO Shankar Haldar, BDO Ashok Sarkar and the local police station officer-in-charge. The meeting set up a 16-member committee to bring about peace in the villages comprising the Nandigram block that witnessed bloody clashes over acquisition of farmland for setting up the SEZ by the Salim Group of Indonesia. Later, Left Front chairman and senior CPI(M) leader Biman Bose told newsmen at Sutahata that the news of appointment of Roy and Sarkar was not correct and that Lakshman Seth (MP) would continue to be in charge of the affairs at Nandigram. He said the West Bengal government will carry forward its programme of industrialisation. Leaflets on the government?s programme will be distributed among common people and farmers in the district in general and Nadigram specifically, he added. Govt to go slow on SEZ approvals See the hypocricy of the ruling system: TIMES NEWS NETWORK[ FRIDAY, JANUARY 12, 2007 09:32:30 PM] NEW DELHI: The government may put a temporary halt on in-principle approvals for special economic zones where land has not been acquired till a new rehabilitation package is finalised. As of now, there are 166 proposals which have received in-principle approvals but are hanging in balance due to unclear land acquisition norms. The board of approval for special economic zones (SEZs), however, will meet on January 19 to take up proposals for projects where land has already been acquired by developers. A new rehabilitation policy is being finalised by the rural development ministry which will replace the national policy for resettlement & rehabilitation--2003. The new policy, unlike the previous one, will be mandatory. Congress President Sonia Gandhi met commerce and industry minister Kamal Nath earlier this week to voice her concerns on displacement of farmers and small businesses due to the land acquisition process. Ms Gandhi's intervention is important in the wake of violent protests in Nandigram, West Bengal, where a chemical SEZ is being built by the Indonesia Salem group. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has already promised that a new rehabilitation policy will be in place in the next three months. According to the draft rehab proposal prepared by the rural development ministry, a developer planning to undertake a new project or expansion of an existing project which involves physical displacement of 400 or more families in plain areas or 200 or more families in tribal or hilly areas, will have to prepare a social impact assessment (SIA) report and submit it to the agency prescribed. The proposal further states that compensation award should be declared, full compensation amount paid and adequate resettlement carried out before ouster of the affected families. It also lays down details about the compensation package to be given to various categories of oustees. Apart from the 166 in-principle approvals given by the government till date, a total of 51 SEZs have been notified while formal clearance has been given to 237 proposals Pune likely to get 10 IT SEZs soon GOURI AGTEY ATHALE TIMES NEWS NETWORK[ MONDAY, JANUARY 15, 2007 04:51:29 AM] PUNE: The special economic zone (SEZ) mania, currently raging across the country, is likely to see 10 such zones for IT/ITeS in Pune alone receiving approvals, according to a report by real estate consultants Cushman and Wakefield. Should these approvals come through, 556 acres would open up for potential development. Which in turn means that over the next three-four years the city could add over two crore sq feet of office space. As a starter, year 2007 could see the addition of 15 lakh sq ft in retail space alone, thanks to the demand for malls which are now coming up across the city. While these are the findings of Cushman, government officials are talking of similar figures. Maharashtra industries commissioner K Shivaji recently said that the state expects to sign memorandum of understandings worth Rs 33,000 crore in 2007-08, doing in one year what it did in 18 months. ?The government of Maharashtra signed MoUs worth Rs 33,000 crore in the past 18 months. We expect to sign MoUs of a similar amount in just one year (2007-08),? Mr Shivaji said. Moreover, the state has the highest number of approved SEZs at 72 and the state could touch the 100-mark, he added. The Cushman report titled `Marketbeat India fourth quarter 2006, an overview of the Pune office market? notes that in the October-December 2006 quarter, the city absorbed close to 5 lakh sq ft of commercial space. IT and ITeS companies have committed to about 5 lakh sq ft in SEZs and about 6.4 lakh sq ft within Software Technology Projects of India (STPI) in 2007. IT and ITeS sectors accounted for 90% of the total space absorption in Pune, it added. On the supply side, the report says 40 lakh sq ft was added to the city?s commercial space in 2006. Real estate consultants have estimated that this could rise to 9-10 million sq ft this calendar year. Of this, 5 million sq ft will be for SEZ projects and about 3 million in STPI projects. The balance will be used for corporate offices across the city. Given this huge addition of commercial space, the demand gap is being bridged with the inevitable fall out: a lowering of lease rentals. The rise in rentals in the October-December 2006 period over the immediately preceding quarter, July-September 2006, has been 5-10% for IT and ITeS companies. Rentals for non-IT office space has been higher at 10-17%. Base monthly rents in the Camp/Bund Garden road area for office space are estimated to be in the range of Rs 55-65 per sq ft. In Aundh, these are about Rs 40-44 per sq ft, while in the Kalyaninagar and Hadapsar areas they are reported at Rs 38-40 per sq ft and Rs 30-34 per sq ft, respectively. MG Road and JM Road continue to attract higher rentals, with the base monthly rentals, respectively, at Rs 150-200 per sq ft and Rs 140-170 per sq ft. In Aundh, these are in the range of Rs 110-130 per sq ft per month. Trinamool road blockades sends traffic haywire in WB Kolkata, Jan 15: Traffic was on Monday dislocated in the metropolis and elsewhere in West Bengal due to road blockade put up by Trinamool Congress on the Singur issue, the fourth time in the past three weeks. Blockades were put up at important street intersections for nearly an hour from 1 pm by party supporters, police said. Howrah bridge, a key lifeline of the metropolis, was also blockaded compelling the people to avail the ferry service across the Hooghly river, the police said. Obstruction to traffic was reported from Baidyabati, Uttarpara and some other areas in South Bengal with Trinamool workers squatting on the road. In the city, hundreds of Trinamool Congress supporters marched through the streets and blocked roads at different places here between 1 and 2 pm to protest the Left Front government's move to acquire farmland for industries. Senior Trinamool Congress MLAs, including Sobhandeb Chattopadhyya, who is the president of the labour wing of the party, participated in the March. Trinamool Congress set up the roadblock to drum up support for its planned march tomorrow in protest against prohibitory order in Singur where the proposed site for the Tata Motors' small car project is located. Experts urge restraint in land acquisition TIMES NEWS NETWORK[ MONDAY, JANUARY 08, 2007 11:55:23 PM] KOLKATA: If anything, the political backlash over state-driven farmland acquisition in West Bengal looks set to rise even as Singur?s aftershocks echo in distant Nandigram. Perhaps, it comes as no surprise that instead of deploring the year?s first bandh, leading business houses and B-school pundits feel the ?state government needs to exercise greater caution? before pressing ahead with its ambitious land acquisition bid for industrial ventures. ET spoke to a cross-section of the city?s business community to get a fix on the pulse in the wake of the upsurge in violence over farmland acquisition in the state. That the West Bengal government should tread carefully on the land acquisition and resolve tricky issues like compensation to land-losers, was the universal refrain. Here?s what Prof Anindya Sen, Dean, programme initiatives at the Indian Institute of Management, Calcutta, had to say. ?People had begun to accept Singur. But Nandigram seems to be a different case. Hence, the state government needs to carefully look into the compensation packages as well as alternative livelihood options. Opposition parties also need to understand that unless they change their tactics, the process of industrialisation in West Bengal will receive a setback.? A first-year IIM-C student Vijay Anand Menon, however, felt that corporates willing to test the waters in West Bengal would pull out if the prevalent bandh culture doesn?t change fast. ?It appears that the government had been working on the assumption that all its ctions will be accepted by the public at large. The ruling party should seek a consensus on the controversial land acquisition issue. It also needs to demonstrate the benefits of industrialisation before buying land from farmers,? said A K Doshi, partner with city based chartered accountant firm Doshi Chatterjee Bagri & Co. Echoing similar sentiments, Keventer Group chairman M K Jalan said: ?When commoners realise that the projects will benefit them, these incidents of violence will come to a stop.? The group is planning to acquire some 3,000 acres of land to execute the Kulpi mini port and SEZ in partnership with DP World. ?We just hope it gets resolved soon. Some kind of a better understanding on what should be the way forward for growth and development of the state prevails,? Harshavardhan Neotia, managing director, Ambuja Realty Group, said. When contacted, Dhunseri group chairman C.K. Dhanuka did not mince words. ?The issue is being unnecessary politicised. Political parties of all shades and colour are busy getting political mileage out of the land acquisition issue in West Bengal. I strongly feel that chief minister should now play a ?googly?. He should make a formal announcement to abandon all the upc