A Withering State

Perhaps now West Bengal stands out as the most unfortunate state in our country. Despite resources and opportunities Bengal is gradually lagging behind . This setback can be attributed to unique political scenario prevailing here. To start with the ruling party made serious efforts to advance the state through industrialization which is in fact the need of the hour for employment generation. There was nothing wrong in it. But what stood in the way was the govt’s unnecessary hurriedness to bring about the change and not to take the opposition in to confidence in this regard. It did it as it enjoyed the brute majority reducing the opposition to microscopic minority. It tried to go alone as if opposition was a non-entity.

After land reform in Bengal small land owners who once tilled in other’s lands developed emotional attachment to land. This attachment was much intense with those who’ve multicrop land in particular. For them to lose land is as good as losing near and dear ones.Incidentally, in Bengal most of the land is cultivable. Govt failed to understand procurement of land was a very sensitive issue. It requires time and patience to convince the farmers that they’d be ultimately benefited if they part with their land.Govt, however, could not afford to spend that amount of time lest the delay could help the other states to attract the entrepreneurs. So in many cases land was forcefully procured against the will of the farmers. Land thus procured included multi crop land also. The opposition, particularly Trinomool Congress made this acquisition of land against the farmers’ will a big issue and started anti-land acquisition movement in a big way. The land movement awarded TMC unexpected popular support. They got back sufficiently firm land under their feet to stand on and threw challenge to the govt against land acquisition. Enthused by their unbelievable success TMC devoted whole heartedly to organize farmers against acquisition of land, whatever be the purpose of acquisition . So all developmental activities that needed land did grind to a halt. What’s most unfortunate Tatas shifted its automobile factory from Singur to Gujarat in the face of political turmoil even after near completion of the project. What’s worse TMC embarked upon policy of non-cooperation with the govt and they were not on speaking terms with any member of the ruling party. Perhaps such a situation has never cropped up in any state of our country.

Now opposition has directed its attention to Rajarhat Newtown, recently named Jyoti Basu Nagar.TMC’s started movement in the same fashion as in Singur and Nandigram.Their bone of contention is that land has been forcefully grabbed from poor people at Rajarhat at unjustified price to make the township. Now at Rajarhat IT hub Wipro is going to establish its second unit after one at Salt Lake City and Infosysis has been allotted land to open their unit. These new establishments would generate a large number of employments. One might fear such political agitations would stand in the IT giants’ way of establishing their units as it happened with Tatas at Singur.What’s unfortunate the opposition could have sorted out their grievances simply by negotiation with the govt in stead of launching agitation. This land acquisition issue has in fact stalled all developmental work in the state. It’s not spared the TMC supremo too. At Sankrail, Howrah construction of a railway factory has halted in the face of anti land procurement movement by her own party. In the event TMC comes to power and the Left parties resist procurement of land at each and every step, where would this poor state go? It’s high time all parties could pause and ponder over this issue and behave sensibly at least in the interest of the state.