IT TOWN PROJECT HITS LAND HURDLE

Ajanta Chakraborty, Kolkata
The Times of India

Land problem of a different kind has now hit a 1,730-acre IT township project.

The government had directly bought some of the required land for the township which is supposed to cover six moujas of South 24-Parganas and four of North 24-Parganas way back in 1954. But some of the landlosing farmers alleged that they have not yet been paid for it and are, therefore, determined to stall the project.

On Tuesday, around 200 farmers, armed with daggers and shovels, gheraoed land and irrigation department officials for more than three hours at Dakshin Khayerpur mouja in Bhangar II block, demanding compensation. The officials were demarcating land for a five-kilometre canal, that will be the only source of water for the IT township.

Sources in the land and land reforms department said land acquisition for the five-kilometre-long canal was done in 1954. "But the government did not think of taking physical possession of the land simply because the canal project had been shelved for more than four decades. Now that the IT township project has been taken up, digging the canal has become the need of the hour," said a land official.

Around 1,730 acres will be needed for the township of which most of the land was acquired in the 1950s. "But compensation wasn't paid to some farmers, who are now determined to stall the project," said the land official. Local Trinamool Congress MLA Arabul Islam said around 200 landlosing farmers have not been paid. "Around 2,500 farmers were paid compensation over the years. But about 200 are still awaiting their pay. They are naturally opposing the project," he said.

Getting the rest of the land should not be a problem as some private landowners have already been roped in for direct purchase. But the government must dig the canal and create other infrastructure for the IT township. On January 2, at the behest of chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, his secretary Subesh Das convened a meeting, where it was decided that survey for digging the canal would commence immediately.