$265m for highways - More cash aids land acquisition, opens up bank purse

Pranesh Sarkar, TT, Calcutta, June 23: The Centre has approved a proposal to pump in $265 million (around Rs 1,780 crore) to widen three highways that pass through Bengal, encouraged by the Mamata Banerjee government's success in acquiring land for developing national highways over the past one year.

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved the National Highways Authority of India's loan plea for the projects.

"The ministry of roads, transport and highways had put forward the proposal and the department of economic affairs of the Centre approved it a few days ago. A letter from the ministry, informing the state government about the plan, reached Nabanna a couple of days ago. The state public works department will execute the projects," a senior Bengal government official said.

Sources in the government said the department of economic affairs gave its nod to the plan after the ministry made a presentation before a screening committee. The ministry pointed out that the maximum amount of land for the development of national highways in the country had been acquired in Bengal over the past one year.

According to the presentation, 1,600 acres were acquired in the past one year in Bengal under the National Highways Act, 1956.

Although the acquisition was done under the highways act, the compensation was paid according to the provisions of the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013. This act, which came into effect in January 2014, offers a land loser two to four times the market price in a rural area and at least twice the market rate in an urban belt.

Before the roads ministry began offering the higher compensation, land losers used to be paid under the now-scrapped Land Acquisition Act, 1894. Under that act, a land loser got the current market price and 30 per cent solatium. The higher compensation made acquisition smoother, the sources said.

"The presentation said 1,600 acres were acquired under the National Highways Act, 1956, over the past one year to widen NH34, NH6 and NH31D. The quantum of acquisition was the highest in the country in 2015. It surprised officials in Delhi as the Bengal government has been pursuing a hands-off land policy after the Singur and Nandigram fiasco," a senior Nabanna official said.

Availability of land is a key issue for the ADB to fund projects. It is yet to be ascertained how much land will be required to widen NH35, NH117 and state highway 12 in north Bengal, PWD sources said. According to the sources, the Centre was "sure" that the state would be able to facilitate the acquisition.

The Bengal government has taken the first step towards implementing the new land acquisition act by beginning the process of framing the rules and manual, which lays down state-specific nitty-gritties of a central legislation.

"Before sanctioning loans for infrastructure projects, the ADB ascertains if land would be a problem. The success of the Bengal government in acquiring land has cleared all obstacles," an official said.