Leftist Hypocricy: Dual Policy On SEZ, Land Acquision and Nuclear Deal
Palash Biswas
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Bengal site bags first nuclear nod and Land acquisition challenge lies ahead. CPIM leaders eslewhere in the country are vocal enough to resist land acqisition and in fact, the party is actively involved in peasants movemnt everywhere out of Bengal. The party demands law amendment to protect peasant interests in special zone areas. But Bengal capitalist leftist poet chief minister Buddhadev Bhattachary has declared that he is ready to give away one fourth of Bengal land. Haldia is already a SEZ. North Bengal gets another one. On May 31, the state cabinet gave the nod for acquisition of 36,325 acre of land for various projects. With more proposals coming in, the figure has now crossed 70,000 acre.
North and 24 parganas have been victimised for capitalist development. Howrah is given to Salem and Barasat has to be handed over to him for Barasat Roychowk Express way. Singur situated in Hugli has become the epicentre of resistance and now residents of Haripur, which is part of East Midnapore district, are already protesting.In addition, the land-use board is preparing a map with inputs from the agriculture, land and land reforms, commerce and industries and urban development departments, which will give a clear picture of the nature of land under every mouza. This will give the government a blueprint for industrialisation . West Bengal Industrial Development Corporation (WBIDC) is also planning to acquire land in three backward districts Purulia, Bankura and West Midnapore.

Meanwhile, About 4,000 families in Majlapur, Rangmalapur, Samraibari and Mankaraipur villages fear eviction. Villagers had prevented the committee from visiting the site last week. Land acquisition — for a nuclear plant or otherwise — is a sensitive issue in Bengal.

“There is a thriving fish-drying industry in Haripur. Where will our fishermen dry their fish? That is the only source of income for the villagers,” said Sandip Singha, secretary of the local fishermen’s body.

On Nov. 19 Bengal moved a step closer to finding a place on the country’s nuclear map after the central site selection committee said it would recommend Haripur in Contai, about 200 km from here, as a location for the eastern region’s first nuclear power plant.
Despite stiff opposition from some quarters, the first nuclear power plant in West Bengal may just come up in Midnapore East or so says the chief minister.
“The state needs a nuclear power plant and will certainly get it,” Mr Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee said today. “A 12-member site selection team of Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd visited the state and selected Haripur in Midnapore East as site for the plant. Unfortunately, misinformation of supposed damage caused to flora and fauna from plant emissions have been spread by detractors among the masses, so we need to raise public awareness about the matter.”

Another deadly and stupid act from the present CM will cropple the the already fragile environment of WB. If the existing power plants are managed properly by the staff we do not need an 1000 mw extra.

The eminent writer Mahashweta Devi with her agressive writing has come out openly against the victimisation of peasants in Bengal . She is the spokesperson of nonalligned minority Bengali intellegentia. While the media,electronic as well as print, stand united with cpim and its chief minister. The octogenerian hero of Tebhaga and land reforms in Bengal, former Chief minister Jyoti Basu has objections. Subhash Chakrabarti speaks out. Front partners put on notes of dissent . Who do cares? Hypocrite CPIM politboureau putting aside ideology and general ethics supports Buddha blindly.
Thus , a nuclear plant in Haripur is the next phase of Industrialisation of communist Bengal.
If a plant comes up in Bengal, it could be of 6,000-10,000 mw capacity, officials said.
It will need at least six atomic reactors of the capacity of producing 1650 megawatt each. The laft is against Indo Us nuclear deal and considers it against national interests. But Bengal Chief Minister looks forward to the signing of President Bush on the Indo US nuclear Deal law to enable him importing the wanted reactors for the Haripur Nuclear plant.

Selling out land lying with civic bodies would hardly meet the huge demand of land for industry. With industrial proposals coming to West Bengal thick and fast, over 70,000 acres of land needs to be acquired in the coming days. Though several thousand acres of land are lying unused in the districts either as fallow land, or in industrial estates and growth centres acquired and developed by the government industrialists hardly want to go to these places. Land reforms commissioner Sukumar Das says, "It is not reasonable to ask industrialists to set up industries in remote areas without infrastructure. We are trying to find out areas where non-agricultural land is lying unused and where infrastructure might be developed."

“We have found that Haripur has good potential for setting up a nuclear plant,” committee chairman S.K. Jain said after meeting chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee at Writers’ Buildings today. Jain is also chairman of the Nuclear Power Corporation of India.

The chief minister said the committee liked Haripur the most, but added: “We have to convince people about the need for the plant and that there is nothing to fear. We need it urgently in Bengal.”
Besides Bengal, the 12- member committee has visited Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh and Orissa.There are 16 nuclear power plants in India at present that have the capacity of producing 4,000 MW of power. Six more plants, capable of producing 3,000 MW, are in an advanced stage of construction and the government has sanctioned eight others. The committee, in its report, will recommend at least four to five sites, including the one in West Bengal, where nuclear power plants, with the capacity of producing 1,000 megawatt to 1,500 MW of nuclear power, can be built. The other sites are in Gujarat, Orissa and Andhra Pradesh.
In fact, members of the team of selectors set out for the site in Haripur on Friday but were forced to back out in the face of stiff opposition from locals led by Trinamul Congress MLA of south Contai Mr Subhendu Adhikary. More than 150 villagers blocked roads near Juneput and demonstrated against building of the plant. They alleged that the plant would be detrimental to fishing and agriculture, chief occupations of the local population.
Site selection committee chairman Mr SK Jain said the state government offered them seven sites along the coast but they found only two of them, Haripur and Mandarmuni, both in Midnapore East, suitable for construction of the nuclear power plant. Of these, it was decided that Haripur is the best spot. “We need an area of two square kilometres for the plant and another 1.6 km encircling it in all directions which will be the buffer zone. We will place our reports on our findings before the Union government in December,” Mr Jain said.

“We are scouting for sites for nuclear power plants in coastal areas as part of the Centre’s policy. Haripur was selected as a ‘candidate site’,” an official of Nuclear Power Corporation said underplaying people`s resistance.

“A study will now have to be carried out to ensure the proposed plant would not be set up on declared forest land and would not disturb marine fauna. Also, it has to be found out whether the nearest port at Haldia has the capacity to handle heavy machinery and equipment. Last but not the least, how many families would have to be compensated.”

Once this is done, a report will be sent to the Atomic Energy Commission for approval and then to the PMO. “The PMO will take the final decision in consultation with the state government,” the official said.

Farmers protest against cop pickets

KOLKATA, Nov. 19:(Statesman News Service) Farmers opposing land acquisition in Singur today took out a rally against deployment of policemen in five camps, accusing them of “terrorising” villagers under the “influence of CPI-M leaders” to stop them from sowing potatoes.
Anticipating trouble from agitating farmers, the district authorities have thrown a strong security cover in Singur by deploying more than 800 policemen at five “strategic points” while they fence 997 acres. Farmers allege lack of consent on their part.
More than 7,000 farmers including 800 women took out a procession from Bajemelia hospital grounds under the banner of Singur Krishi Jomi Raksha Committee (SKJRC) this evening demanding “immediate withdrawal” of police from Bajemelia, Chagalveri, Khaserveri and Joymollah villages. They also organised sit-ins before the police pickets.
The procession ended at Khaserveri where SCJRC’s convener Mr Becharam Manna addressed the gathering. Supporters of political outfits like CPI-ML, SUCI and CPI-ML New Democracy and members of Association for Protection of Democratic Rights (APDR) also attended.

Left to seek changes in SEZ Act in winter session

The Left will push for amendments in the Special Economic Zones Act during the winter session of Parliament, to put a ban on acquisition of farm land and revise the criteria for processing area and tax benefits for the developers. "We have suggested some changes in the SEZ Act to the government. Hopefully, we will have enough support to amend the Act in the winter session of Parliament," CPM General Secretary Prakash Karat said.

The winter session has begun on November 22.

Karat said Left parties, in a note last month, had asked the UPA government to review the SEZ Act and amend it in line with their suggestions.

"We have identified three main areas - restriction on acquisition of farm land, change in processing area within the zones and a relook at tax exemptions," he said.