People's Democracy

Haryana Govt Favours Land-Grabbers

 

THE Haryana state committee of the CPI(M) has raised serious objections to the Haryana cabinet’s decision to grant an option for alternative use of lands that were purchased for setting up Special Economic Zones (SEZs) by private players in recent years.

 

In a press release issued from Rohtak on May 3, CPI(M) state secretary Inderjit Singh stated that such a provision would have far reaching implications and therefore it should not have been made by the cabinet surreptitiously. He alleged that all official claims ostensibly relating to huge investments and creation of lakhs of jobs through the SEZs have proved totally misleading. Huge amounts of farmers’ fertile lands were allowed to be purchased under the pretext of setting up SEZs since 2005 while absolutely no industrialization has taken place and the real estate players have grabbed the prime lands, as was feared by the opposition parties and other organisations.

 

Singh further accused the Congress state government of working overtime for the benefit of speculators and land-grabbers. It first amended the land ceiling law last year and is now out to help the land sharks by making ways for them to garner unlimited profits on the lands purchased in the vicinity of Gurgaon and other places.

 

The CPI(M) state committee has demanded that a white paper must be issued giving details of the total amount of lands purchased by persons and companies in the name of setting up SEZs, how much of these lands have been actually put to industrial use, and what is the status of the remaining lands.