Ahead of the Panchayat polls in West Bengal in May next year, the West Bengal Government on Friday made a fresh attempt to pacify villagers of the Loba village in Birbhum district while assuring them that the Trinamool Congress-led State Government had no role to play in any kind of land acquisition there.
Located nearly 200 km northwest of the city, the village had witnessed a clash between some villagers and the police earlier this week over land acquisition for a mining project. Thirty-three people – 27 policemen and six villagers – were injured in the clash after police went to the village to recover an earth-moving machine confiscated by villagers seeking proper compensation for their land.
A section of villagers under the Krishi Jami Raksha Committee (Save Farmland Committee) aegis – an anti-land acquisition forum – met the State Commerce and Industries minister Partha Chatterjee to resolve the matter on Friday.
“The villagers have no grudges against the TMC Government. Their complaints were against the erstwhile Left Front which had been involved in acquiring land in the area on behalf of the company,” Chatterjee told reporters thereby refuting reports that the State Government had full knowledge of about police action and land acquisition.
According to Chatterjee, the Government was against forcible acquisition of land and the matter will also be taken up with the company officials.
“The villagers have faith in the administration. The matter will be taken up with the private company too. I am sure the issue will be resolved amicably,” he said.
However, there seemed to be an apparent confusion over the claims of the Government and Save Farmland Committee leadership over what transpired at the meeting.
Samir Putatunda, a spokesperson of the Save Farmland Committee and a leader of PDS (a political outfit), said that the forum would continue to carry on their agitation against land acquisition in the area.
He further demanded that compensation be paid to the villagers injured in the clash and rehabilitation be provided of villagers whose land had been acquired.
The private company could only acquire 700 acres of the 3,000 required to carry out mining operations in the region.
abhishek.l@thehindu.co.in