Buddha govt capitulates on Land Bill

Interestingly,the committee had a majority of Left Front MLAs. Md Massih,chief whip of the Left Front in the Assembly,confirmed that Mollah had sent a letter and the Bill would be withdrawn soon.

Mollah said: “The members of the select committee were not unanimous about the Bill. So there was no other way but to withdraw it.”

There are provisions in the current Act for possessing excess land for tea gardens and jute mills. The state government wanted to change it to offer right to possess excess land for setting up modern industries. The Bill promised outright sale of land belonging to closed factories,said sources in the land department. The Bill also sought to empower district collectors to sanction changes in land use pattern,added sources in the land department. The aim was definitely to shift the land use pattern away from agriculture and focus it on industry.

The opposition came from within the Left Front. The Bill was then sent to the select committee which,too,raised objections. CPM sources said the Section 14q of the Bill proposed to lift the land ceiling to attract investment in tourism,infrastructure,urban construction and infrastructural development. This invited resentment within the party,with a section of leaders fearing that with Assembly polls barely a year away the Bill was ill-timed.