In order to use tenanted land for setting up of projects for community or public purpose, the Goa government has introduced the Goa Land Use (Regulation) Bill, 2024 seeking amendment to Section 3 of Goa
The contentious issue of land acquisition for industry cannot be resolved justly without a "precautionary principle' approach that respects livelihood rights. GOING by the number and intensity of protests against displacement under way in numerous States, land acquisition for industrial, mining and infrastructure projects has become India's single most contentious issue. Land is now the main site of struggle as popular movements confront predatory capital, which can only accumulate through dispossession. At stake are thousands of square kilometres of land on which at least a few million livelihoods depend. For instance, the Special Economic Zones (SEZs) which have received formal or "in-principle' approval will alone need over 2,000 square kilometre. If the even larger swathes typically involved in mining leases, plots earmarked for industry, and areas claimed by highway development, and above all, by suburban housing
Rehab, clearances a bother in Jharkhand, Orissa, Chhattisgarh. Tata Steel's greenfield projects in Jharkhand, Orissa and Chhattisgarh have been delayed by about 12 to 16 months due to issues over land acquisition and resettlement, the company's executives said. The company plans to invest about Rs 90,000 crore in the three projects, which will have a total capacity of 23 million tonnes. Speaking to journalists today on the sidelines of Steelrise 2008, a three-day conference, the company's Chief Operating Officer H M Nerurkar said that all the projects were delayed. Construction work has not started on the first project, which was to go on stream in Kalinganagar (six million tonnes). About 400 families are yet to be re-settled for the project. Equipment costing about Rs 10,000 crore had already been ordered for the Kalinganagar plant, said Amit Chatterjee, advisor to Tata Steel Managing Director B Muthuraman. The project would be spared some cost overruns as the equipment was ordered some time back. Still, the equipment is expected to come this year and there could be penalties if it was not cleared in time from the ports. Nerurkar was optimistic about the construction work starting by March-end. In Orissa, the company is yet to get recommendation for iron ore mines for its project in the state. The state government was assessing the mines that Tata Steel already has there, Nerurukar said. The scenario is no better for the company's proposed five million tonnes plant in Chhattisgarh. According to Varun Jha, vice president, Chhattisgarh project, the first phase is planned to be commissioned by 2011 and the second phase by 2015. But the project has been delayed on account of litigation over mines. About two-thirds of the residents have accepted the compensation package. Investments would depend on when the project would start, Jha said. Addressing a seminar at the steel conference, Partha Sengupta, vice president (corporate services), Tata Steel, who is in charge of the Jharkhand project, pointed out that applications for land acquisitins were made a year and a half ago. However, the state government was yet to announce a rehabilitation and resettlement (R&R) package, which was necessary for land acquisition, he said.
A delegation of slum dwellers of Kusumpur Pahari village here led by Vasant Kunj Municipal Councillor Rakesh Rajora called on Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit on Tuesday urging her to allow the residents to continue living in the village after construction of rehabilitation flats for them. Speaking on the occasion, Mr. Rajora observed: "The villagers have been living here for the past 35 years with their families. The Government has a policy of providing a two-room flat to each family on payment of Rs.2 lakh. While Rs.1 lakh will be paid by the residents, the remaining Rs.1 lakh will be granted as a loan that will be recovered in instalments spread over 25 years.' According to Mr. Rajora, besides rehabilitating the residents, the Chief Minister should also ensure provision of basic civic amenities like electricity, drinking water, dispensary and a community centre in the area. Addressing the gathering, Ms. Dikshit encouraged the residents to make sure of educating their girl children and said the Government would deposit Rs.10,000 in the name of the girl children born in the families residing in Kusum Pahari village. "When the girl reaches 18 years of age, this amount would increase to Rs.1 lakh which could be utilised in furthering the education of the child.' The Chief Minister advised the gathering to not only educate their girl child but also train them in vocational skills such as computers, embroidery and tailoring so that they would have no problem in seeking employment when they grow up.
West Godavari collector G. Jayalakshmi called for coordination among revenue and irrigation authorities to expedite land acquisition and rehabilitation works to complete the execution of Polavaram Indira Sagar project. Taking part in a review meeting on the progress of the project works here on Monday, she asked officials and agencies involved in the construction works to take up construction of houses to provide rehabilitation to project-affected persons. She said that the government argeted construction of 4,000 houses estimated to cost Rs 16 crore. The collector asked contracting agencies to supply iron, sand, cement, bricks and other required material to take up construction of houses and assured them that the government would pay the amount for supplying the material. The collector said land acquisition for the construction of project head works was almost compl-ete. She advised contracting agencies not to use delay in land acquisition as a pretext to delay the execution of the project. She dir-ected the executive engine-ers to come up with line sk-etches and other details of the project by February 27.
An 18-month to two-year delay is expected in the Mumbai airport slum rehabilitation programme to find alternative land to relocate and resettle approximately 80,000 slum-dwellers, who have encroached on 276 acres of airport land. The delay will seriously impact the expansion and modernisation of the country's second-busiest airport. The GVK-led consortium, which is modernising the airport, had appointed Housing Development and Infrastructure Ltd (HDIL) to work out a slum resettlement programme to identify alternative land and relocate people in four phases. Once free, this airport land was to be used to augment the runway system and, therefore, increase the airport's ability to handle more passengers. The first phase of the slum resettlement was to be completed in 18 months with a deadline of April 2009 and the second phase by October 2009. The target date for the final phase was October 2011. But HDIL's managing director, Sarang Wadhawan, told Business Standard: "It will be at least two-and-a-half years before the first slum-dweller is shifted.' What this means is that the relocation of slum dwellers even of the first phase can only begin only in late 2010. The delay is chiefly because HDIL is keen to take all stakeholders, especially the local administration, on board its plans. The company has asked for time to make a presentation on the programme. "It is important to take the corporators, councillors and NGOs into confidence,' said Wadhawan. The slum rehab policy demands that at least 70 per cent of the affected dwellers give the developer consent to move. The survey work to identify the exact number of slum -dwellers is yet to begin but the company said it had already identified the land for slum resettlement from its land reserves. It has earmarked 147.5 acres, nearly 6 per cent of its vast land bank in the city, for the project. Under regulations, the relocation has to take place around the airport and each family, irrespective of size, is to be given a dwelling of 225 sq foot.
A cow for Rs 89,000, a pig for Rs 12,000 and a goat, Rs 19,000. These are not fictional prices dreamt up by some livestock dealer. These are the prices businessmen have quoted for supplying
The Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC), which has been under criticism for delay in executing various development projects, has however received praise from the World Bank for its rehabilitation of the project affected people (PAP). Municipal Commissioner Praveensinh Pardeshi had recently made a presentation of the PMC initiative at a meeting of all the municipal commissioners of the selected cities under Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) with the World Bank officers.
Think Kalahandi and you think famine, abject poverty and misery. These were exactly my thoughts as I set out on a visit to Lanjigarh, a picturesque town surrounded by the Niyamgiri range in the Kalahandi district of Orissa. As we (BT lensman and I) get down from our eight-seater private jet at Utkela airstrip, at least 50 pairs of curious eyes greet the rarely-seen machine and us. What brings us to Lanjigarh is Vedanta Alumina's refinery project that has hit a
Bears have been rehabilitated in several countries of the world. However, it is surprising that in India rehabilitation of bears has not been practiced before. One of the limitations must surely be the very few areas left in the country where carnivores can be put back.
Minerals are a valuable natural resource being the vital raw material for infrastructure, capital goods and basic industries. As a major resource for development the extraction and management of minerals has to be integrated into the overall strategy of the country's economic development. The exploitation of minerals has to be guided by long-term national goals and perspectives.
