Click to play videoKolkata: The West Bengal government had to cope with a great deal of resistance in Singur because farmers there weren’t sure if they could make ends meet after they sold their land.
And though a decent compensation was paid, at least two farmers have since killed themselves in despair.
Singur was indeed a bitter experience, and taking a leaf out of it as it were, Jindal Steel Works (JSW) Steel has firmed up a unique compensation package for farmers in Bengal.
It is a combination of employment guarantee, allotment of shares, lifetime insurance and upfront cash payment.
Says Chief Minister, West Bengal, Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, “I have told them it's a great idea. No one ever has offered anything like this before. And if they indeed fulfill what they have promised people there would benefit immensely."
JSW Steel has committed to employ at least one member of each of the 741 families that its 12-million-tonne steel plant will displace it.
It will pay half the price of the land in cash, and invest the balance 50 per cent in an insurance scheme.
However, the icing on the cake is the management's offer to allot shares of JSW Bengal to each farmer selling land.
Shares equivalent to the price of land will be allotted absolutely free and the new company will be listed on stock exchanges within a couple of years.
"They have not lost their land. They must be part and parcel of it. They should be the owners of this plant because the project is coming in their area. They should be owners of the plant and they must get benefit out of the development that happens there,” says vice-chairman and managing director, JSW, Sajjan Jindal.
It isn't a very big plot that JSW Steel is looking to acquire with 500 acres at the most. The rest is government-owned property.
The project is unlikely to face resistance from farmers, and the plant should be ready by April of 2011.But most importantly, if this compensation package works, it will set a new benchmark.
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