Jharkhand amends Rehab policy, allows direct dealing
Ranchi: Soon industrial houses would be able to negotiate directly with landowners in Jharkhand for land to set up their industrial units in the mineral-rich Indian state. The Government of Jharkhand has brought in an amendment to the recently approved Rehabilitation and Resettlement Policy (R&R Policy), which allows the industrial units to deal with land owners directly. However, those who directly deal with the company officials and sell their land after mutual agreement could not claim for compensation under existing framework of the R&R Policy. This was recently clarified jointly by Land Reforms and Industries Secretaries RS Poddar and KK Khandelwal at the investors meeting held in Ranchi in the light of an incident related to roughing up surveyors of Bhushan Power and Steel in Potka locality of East Singhbhum. Three surveyors of the company were held hostages by local villagers on September 12, when they had gone to study the land to be acquired for its upcoming Rs 12,000 crore steel plant in the area. The secretaries said that the policy amendments would benefit the industries dealing in production of steel, power, cement and aluminum. The companies could have the right of acquiring 70 per cent land through mutual agreement with the landowners, while the rest 30 per cent would be provided by the government, they said. delay and expedite the process of industrialisation. In Santhal Parganas, where land is not transferable, the state government will acquire the same for upcoming project," Poddar said. Officials of prominent industrial houses like ArcelorMittal, Tata Steel, Essar, Jindal Steel and Power, Hindalco, Abhijit group, who have proposed an investment to the tune of Rs 6 lakh crore, attended the investors meet, organised first by the Shibu Soren government. Under the existing R&R policy, a family is entitled for getting Rs 1.5 lakh per annum against an acre of land, besides other benefits like employment, housing and social security.
