Kolkata: The Suvendu Adhikari govt may not repeal the land ceiling law, as was reportedly being considered to facilitate industrialisation, and may instead opt for a “time-bound” relaxation of the norm for industrial and other critical projects.The govt’s change of stand was articulated by Subrata Gupta, adviser to CM Adhikari, on the sidelines of Indo-Pacific Economic Conclave organised by Bengal Chamber of Commerce & Industry on Friday.“It (the provision on land ceiling) cannot be removed altogether. Rather, a time-bound approach can be taken for relaxation of Section 14Y (of West Bengal Land Reforms Act),” Gupta told TOI. Under the section, no family can own more than 24 acres of land in rural areas.A special approval is required if someone wants to possess land in excess of the ceiling.Gupta said the removal of Section 14Y may lead to rampant land hoarding. Flagging Bengal’s high population per square feet land, 1,100 compared with the national average of 430, he said, “Our land-to-population is three times the national average and 5-6 times the ratio in some states. Most of the land here is fertile. So we have to be cautious.”The adviser also stressed the need to include compensation norms for ‘bargadars’ and ‘pattadars’ (landless peasants hired by absentee landlords) in the new land policy to be adopted by the Bengal govt.On the land-pooling policy the BJP govt is set to adopt, Gupta said, “The policy has been very successful in Haryana and Gujarat. We have to see how it works here.” Land-pooling is a voluntary industrial development model where private landowners contribute a portion of their land for infrastructure development and, in return, receive smaller, fully serviced plots of significantly higher market value elsewhere.At the economic conclave, Gupta said, “We want chambers and industry bodies to develop industrial parks. The govt will facilitate the process.” The state has identified 3-4 land parcels, which will be auctioned to industry bodies and chambers for setting up industrial parks. “In industrial parks, one should look for vertical development as Bengal is a land-scarce state,” he said.
