Did Reliance shortchange farmers in land acquisition?

Did Reliance shortchange farmers in land acquisition?
17 Sep 2008, 0618 hrs IST, Subodh Varma & Dipak Kumar Dash,TNN



NEW DELHI: What happens when the biggest corporate entity of the country sets out to establish the grand daddy of all SEZs? And, that too in the SEZ capital of the country, Gurgaon, which has an incredible 52 SEZ proposals in the pipeline?

The Reliance sponsored 25,000 acre SEZ, hailed as the Shenzen of India, should have been a cakewalk — the state government was a junior partner, the legendary Reliance coffers were in play, the farmers were well habituated to selling off their land for industrial use and huge job opportunities were promised.

But after two nerve-wracking years, the dust is just settling down as the first segment of 1300 acres of land (5% of the total) was recently enclosed with razor-wire rolls. This land belonged to farmers of five villages — Khandsa, Narsingpur, Mohammedpur, Gadauli Khurd and Harsaru. It was taken over by the Haryana State Industrial and Infrastructure Development Corporation (HSIIDC) in 2004.

Then, after the Congress government came to power in the state in 2005, the area was turned over to the Reliance SEZ. After much protests and haggling, a deal was reached. The farmers got Rs 20.5 lakh per acre as compensation. As a sweetener, Reliance agreed to pay Rs 33,000 per year as a kind of ground rent, for the next 33 years. They also promised a job for each of the affected families.

The remaining 23,700 acres stretch into Jhajjhar district. Rajiv Arora, managing director of HSIIDC, says that about 7000 acres have been acquired by Reliance which is directly negotiating with the farmers in this vast swathe land. So, a whole lot of running around is on the cards, before the full SEZ materializes.

Meanwhile, life in the five villages appears unchanged on the surface, but reveals a seething change within. Landowners of the five villages are a dispirited lot. They have a knot of frustrations and resentments in their hearts, made up of different threads.

The biggest grouse, that simmers across the board, is that even the sweetened deal gives nothing to the farmers compared to current prices of land in the area. Adding up the annuity for 33 years and the lump sum payment gives a total cost of Rs 30 lakh per acre.

But in the neighbouring village of Gadauli Kalan, real estate companies are snapping up plots at hold your breath Rs 3 crore per acre, says Harish, a resident of Gadauli.

The other resentment surfaces almost inadvertently. Harish’s family owned 4 acres. So they got over Rs 80 lakh. Most of it (compensation amount) was taken away by the women, he says peevishly. Women? Under the amended Hindu Succession Act, female heirs are to be given an equal share in property, he explains.

Harish’s land was in the name of his late grandfather. So, compensation was divided up between his father, three aunts and three uncles. His father got one seventh of the total, that is, about Rs 11 lakhs. Whatever we have got, we are investing in business, he says dejectedly. Since the women get married and move out of the village, the money also flows out, and is seen as a dead loss.

Many have invested in either land in more remote areas or in a flat or plot in Gurgaon itself. Hari Ram owned 4 acres. Acting jointly with his family, he has bought land in Firozepur Zirka, in neighbouring Mewat district, and given it out to sharecroppers. They give him a third of the produce. Cultivation yields straw and other agricultural residues that are given to cattle as fodder. With no land, it is difficult to sustain cattle, he says.

There are about 100 landless Dalit families in Gadauli, one fifth of its total population. Rajesh, a Dalit, is worried that the his small house might be taken away. ‘‘They have completely enclosed our mohalla with the fence. Can they force us out?’’ he presses for an answer.

Dalit men and women used to work as laborers in the fields. But work was never regular and ill-paid. So they also worked in nearby industrial units. Now, with cultivation practically finished, most are working in factories. Even their women get work in garment export units, rues a Jat ex-land-owner. Young men from about 250 families of the total 500 families whose land was acquired are being provided training by Reliance in personality development and computer operation. They are paid Rs 6000-8000 per month. This training has been on for more than a year now.

Nobody knows whether they will be absorbed by the SEZ or not. The parents say that if they had got some diploma or certificate they could have got employment elsewhere. Sources in Reliance say that they are making these youth employable.

In 2005, residents of the five villages had formed a committee to fight against the takeover. But the movement has now collapsed as the fence got built under police protection, and compensation cheques were distributed. However, the committee has filed a PIL in the High Court in Chandigarh challenging the acquisition. Surinder Singh, an advocate, and former Chairman of the committee said, Our issue is that the government took over the land claiming public purpose under the Land Acquisition Act, but it was handed over to a private party. Also the compensation is too meager. Like most villagers, he is not too optimistic about the case.

The only optimism shown by anybody in the villages is by the private security guards manning the new fence. Ram Chander (name changed to protect job) says that there are about 800 guards in all. They have got this job as part of the deal to sell off their land near Jhajjhar. He claims to have got about Rs 70 lakh per acre. Making four marks in the dust with his lathi, he smiles and says, Suppose you have four acres. One of them is rocky and useless.. We get rid of it. But we hold on to the rest. There is a twinkle in his eyes as he adds, For some time, at least.



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