Calcutta, June 2:
The government doesn’t favour allotment of shares to landlosers by
investors as a means of rehabilitation because it feels naive villagers
could become financially worse with fluctuations in the capital market.
The
government has been conveying to every investor coming to the state to
set up industry that shares could be a “risky business’’ and
alternatives like pension schemes for those losing land should be
thought of.
Commerce and industries secretary
Sabyasachi Sen discussed the issue with officials of the West Bengal
Industrial Development Corporation (WBIDC) a few days ago.
He told them to persuade potential investors and those setting up
plants in the state to think of other rehabilitation measures instead
of the stock option.
The concept of offering equity to land losers was floated by the
Jindals when they decided to set up a steel plant in Salboni, West
Midnapore.
However, the corporate group did not ultimately make it part of the
agreement that saw the formation of JSW Bengal Steel, which will build
the plant.
Asked whether the government had reservations about people being
offered shares, the industries secretary said: “All of us know that an
industry house has announced that it would allot equity to people who
lose their land in Salboni. But the point is that poor villagers are
grossly unaware of how a share market functions and the risks
associated with the capital market. They may feel great while being
handed shares of a company but would not know what their fate would be
when it goes into the red or the sensex crashes.
“In such events, they may suffer huge financial losses. Moreover, who
is going to tell the landlosers the appropriate time to sell the shares
and earn profits?”
According to a WBIDC official, investors are being told to explore the
pension plan as a fixed amount of money allotted to a landloser can
fetch returns for a long period of time.
“Based on the productivity of the land acquired, its prospective price
in the next 15 years can be calculated to compensate landlosers. Part
of this compensation can be treated as a pension package,” the official
added.
“The money can then be given to the affected persons annually with an
interest tagged to the pension amount. We are telling industrialists to
consider this as part of their rehabilitation package.”
The industries secretary said investors were also being asked to
consider offering small pieces of land near their project sites to the
landlosers.
“It’s quite natural that the price of land in areas around a project
would shoot up after the industry gets going. If a company, after two
or three years of operation, offers small pieces of land to those who
had to part with their plots because of the project, they will benefit
a lot by selling them in times of need. We are asking investors to
consider this aspect, too,’’ Sen said.
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