Having burnt its fingers at Nandigram and Singur, the West Bengal government is now approaching the politically-sensitive issue of land acquisition, afresh. For its upcoming aerotropolis — an urban cum industrial hub surrounding an airport — the state government intends to purchase land from owners through negotiations instead of resorting to forcible acquisitions.Once purchased from landowners, the 2,300 acres required for the aerotropolis would be leased out to the private promoter, Bengal Aerotropolis Projects Ltd (BAPL), on a long term lease. The company, in turn, would have full rights to develop and sublet the land to any company for any development purpose. The Rs 10,000 crore project is slated to come up between Durgapur and Asansol.“Instead of forcible acquisition, the government has decided to go in for a purchase through negotiation,” said Arvind Pande, chairman, BAPL. “We do not foresee any problems in this model as the land there is not very fertile and not a major source of sustenance to the land owner. Also, compared to our requirement of 2,300 acres, there are 4,000 acres available.”With only 200 families living on the identified area, BAPL claims rehabilitation would not be contentious. Initial negotiations between West Bengal Industrial Development Corp (WBIDC) and landowners indicate that the land price is likely to be Rs 6-7 lakh per acre. “We prefer to have the government as an intermediary in acquiring the land since they have the administrative machinery in place,” said Raj Shekhar Agrawal, director, BAPL. The terms and conditions also state that in the event the project fails to come up, the land would revert to WBIDC. The Durgapur aerotropolis is India’s first such project, and would also have the first completely private airport in the country. It would comprise of a 700-acre airport surrounded by industrial parks, commercial properties and 40,000 residential units. While Singapore-based Changi Airports International is one of the major players to have evinced interest in developing the airport, other international players are lining up. The airport, which will handle over 4 lakh passengers every year, should see completion in five years, post land acquisition.
