Landowners ready to give plots to the state government for industrial use will get a part of their plots back for free, apart from market price for the land.
The state government approved a proposal in this regard at the first Udyog Cabinet held on Friday.
'The industries department has submitted a proposal under which Bihar Industrial Area Development Authority (BIADA) will purchase land from people at current market rate and develop it. Owners would also get 10 per cent of developed land. The developed land would have basic facilities like electricity, water etc,' industries department principal secretary Naveen Verma said at a press briefing.
Landowners welcomed the move but cautioned that earlier moves on this front lacked effective implementation. 'I had applied for the 'Aao Bihar' initiative and was willing to give my 30 cottahs in Batthaul village, Begusarai. But the state government never contacted me. If the government is talking about giving me 10 per cent of my plot for free after developing it, it is a good move. However, the government should also concentrate on existing policies to procure land,' Basant Singh, a landowner, told The Telegraph.
Under the Aao Bihar scheme, the government was supposed to provide landowners and prospective investors a platform to directly negotiate land price. The policy, announced in 2011, failed to deliver desired results.
The government's latest land move follows its plan to set up an integrated manufacturing hub along the Amritsar-Delhi-Calcutta industrial corridor, part of which would pass through Kaimur, Rohtas, Aurangabad and Gaya districts. Even a proposal to acquire 25,000 acres along this corridor was approved at the maiden Udyog Cabinet meeting.
'District magistrates (of these districts) have been directed to act fast and report to the state government regarding land within 20 days. Forty per cent of this land would only be for industrial use and the rest for residential purposes, open spaces etc. The state needs to take advantage from this project,' Verma said.
Another big decision was delisting of those investment proposals where investors have shown no interest after getting state investment promotion board (SIPB) approval.
This was a continuation of the process started last year that saw delisting of 52 projects worth investments of Rs 30,000 crore. 'As many as 33 power projects, all coal-based thermal power plants, worth Rs 225,300 crore were delisted at today's meeting,' Verma said, adding: 'Also, there are 50 proposals worth Rs 17,373 crore for setting up of solar power plants in the SIPB list. These projects too have not come on ground and the energy department has been asked to check and evaluate them. If they are not serious, they too will face delisting.'
After delisting of power projects, the actual SIPB-approved investment proposals have now been pruned to around Rs 60,000 crore.
