West Bengal to distribute 200,00-acres of land

The West Bengal government is aiming too distribute for free at least 200,000-acres of state-owned land among underprivileged people. This is an attempt to regain the political support it lost after the forcible acquisition of land for industrial projects.

The takeover of some 10,000 acres of farmland had resulted in the Left Front government led by the Communist Party of India (Marxist), or CPM, losing votes in the 2008 village council polls and the 2009 general election, reversing the result of the 2006 assembly polls. The state government is now trying to make amends by distributing land, both in cities and in rural areas, before the assembly elections scheduled for next year.

The proposed largesse will benefit at least one million families—it will implement various schemes under which land will be distributed.

People who have built homes on state-owned land and those tilling the soil for absentee landlords will be the main gainers.

While announcing the first scheme on February 18, the state Finance Minister Asim Dasgupta had said the state would lease out land for free for 99 years to the urban poor, or people who have been occupying state-owned land for more than 20 years and earn less than Rs6,000 a month.

Under the scheme, land under 25 municipal bodies is to be distributed, benefiting some 400,000 people.

Another scheme was declared later to benefit agricultural workers, artisans, fishermen and other financially challenged people.

Not only is the lease premium being waived for them, the state government is even going to offer a discount on the annual lease rent.

In addition, the state government is aiming to transfer perpetual tilling rights of some 170,000 acres of farmland to people who currently cultivate them.