Bengal plan to acquire land earns ECs censure
The Election Commission has spiked the West Bengal governments proposal to start acquisition of farmland in four districts—Burdwan, West Midnapore, Purulia and Howrah—ahead of the general election.
The state government is looking to acquire close to 17,000 acres in these four districts for industrial projects that it plans to set up, and had sought the commissions permission to issue the preliminary notification for starting the process of acquisition. Such notifications are issued under Section 4(1) of the Land Acquisition Act, 1894.
Companies that have proposed to invest in West Bengal were getting impatient, Subrata Gupta, managing director of West Bengal Industrial Development Corp., or WBIDC, had told the commission, explaining the state governments urgency to start acquisition of land ahead of elections.
More : livemint.com