West Bengal's dream of industrialization has turned into a nightmare and also misfired big time with the State Government coming under severe fire from all quarters for letting loose a reign of terror in villages where it seeks to obtain land from the villagers and poor people, by hook or by crook.
This follows the introduction of the Special Economic Zone (SEZ) Act 2006 in India under which State Governments can acquire lands from the people and hand over such large plots of land to big industrialists to set up industrial zones in areas, specifically dedicated to particular item or items. This of course can happen only after fulfilling a whole lot of other provisions under the Act, which again clearly stresses on the issue that 'arable farm lands may not be used' for such purposes.
But the West Bengal Government has started their SEZ phase with some good ideas but with extremely poor executions. For instance, a few months back, it decided to hand over a huge volume of land in one of the State's most arable village called Singur, where multiple cropping system is usually followed. In fact, Singur truly represents what we mean by 'Sonar Bangla' or Golden Bengal, in the correct sense of the term, and is the major vegetable producing region in the State, mainly potatoes (it accounts for more than 70 % of the total potato production in the State). And why all these? So because Tata Motors can set up their Rs. 1 lakh- small car project/ industry over here. It's true that industrialization is the need of the hour but a car plant on an arable piece of land? And believe me, when I say it's not about a few acres we are talking about, but thousands of acres of such land.
Quite naturally, the people in Singur protested but the Government went ahead with its proposed plant and violence broke out in that region between the locales, the Opposition Party and the Government cadres and Police and who not (don't ask me). With the result that some were killed while many were injured and several people fled home. However, the land acquisition programme went ahead and today the Tatas are busy erecting the boundary wall in their SEZ area, employing around 10,000 casual labourers. Mind you, the land is nearly made available free of cost to Tata Motors, as well as other additional incentives have been provided like cheap electricity, water supply, cess and stuff (why cant Tata pay the real price?), all because they would be investing in the State and ushering in Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) too in the long run.
The Government had then set its eyes firmly on another village – Nandigram in the Medinipore District where the Salim Group of Indonesia is planning to set up their own manufacturing hub, as well as a chemicals hub. As usual, the people are resisting this idea of forced acquisition of land and had kept control of the village, along with several surrounding villages, so as not to let the Government officials enter the village and re-assess their sites/ plots of land, by putting up blocks on roads and lanes.
After nearly 3 months or so, the Government yesterday sent forces (along with you all know who) to take control of the villages and what ensued after that is the worst of its kind that has ever happened in Bengal. There was open firing by the police on the village people who had gathered on the major entry points to prevent the police and the CPIM party workers from entering the villages and now officially as many as 20 are dead, many are missing, most of whom will never be found ever again. The major attention had been gathered by the womenfolk in these villages and it is feared that many have been killed and then thrown in the ditches and covered with mud and sand, or plain pushed into the nearby water bodies. Even children have not been spared. The worst scenario is that many of these bodies have been thrown in the Haldi River, flowing between Haldia and Nandigram, one of the many tributaries of the River Ganges, and it is only about 100 kms from the confluence with the Bay of Bengal. So anything or anyone falling in that River will surely never be found, ever again.
There were 3 main villages surrounding Nandigram which were till date offering resistance to the ruling party in forcibly acquiring land from the farmers. Yesterday, two of these villages have been "captured" and the worst fear of the people came true when today morning, they witnessed every house in these villages bearing the red flag, adorned with a sickle and sheaves of paddy, on their roof. The 'capture' by the ruling party is done with the roads stained red with blood.
The third remaining village – Gad Chakraberia – which till date was defiant, is now shivering with impending doom with people awaiting the police and party cadres to swoop on the village and start firing, thus 'completing the capture process'.
The entire State is shivering with rage and indignation with widespread protests from all quarters. The lawyers from the High Court in Kolkata have reacted strongly with all its members protesting in front of the Legislative Assembly and the Governor's Residence, calling for enforcement of the 'breakdown of the constitutional machinery of the State' provision. The Governor, Shri Gopal Krishna Gandhi, is himself horrified with the happenings and has stated in clear terms that no provocation is big enough for the police to mow down so many innocent people, including women and children, so ruthlessly.
The Opposition Parties have closed ranks and a full-day bandh will be witnessed in the State tomorrow. The High Court has ordered a CBI enquiry the Academy Artist Group, the intelligentsia, have reacted by stepping down from various Government posts.
The strangest thing is that from the noon onwards, every now and then, all TV channels have been taken off the air, as they were showing the atrocities committed on the common people. Democracy indeed!
It's true that any State can progress only when industrialization follows agricultural revolution in the State, with the aim of becoming self-sufficient. But the basic question that now arises is at what price? Why should agriculture pay for the pangs of industrialization? Why is there no suitable land acquisition policy in the State? And why is there no ground map for the entire procedure?
Well these are questions that the Government may itself be short of answering.
But these atrocities need to stop NOW!
