Manikanchan, an SEZ at Salt Lake

Calcutta, Nov. 9: The CPM may settle for a national policy on special economic zones that is at variance with Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee’s Bengal line, leaving it to the state government to deal with its “unique situation”.

The party politburo’s November 14-15 meeting in Delhi will try to iron out the differences before the Left bloc suggests amendments to the central SEZ act in the winter session of Parliament.

The Bengal government’s stand on various aspects of SEZs differs from that of CPM labour arm Citu, allies like the CPI and the RSP, and even the note the four Left parties sent to the United Progressive Alliance last month.

The Left’s final stand could be in line with that note. “Our proposed amendments… would be based on the national scenario. The Bengal party will discuss their unique situation, if any,’’ politburo member Sitaram Yechury said.

The Left note had asked the Centre to stop “misuse” of SEZ land and “regulate real estate development” on them. The Citu went a step further, writing to Sonia Gandhi to seek amendments “prohibiting the developers to go into real estate business in the non-processing area” of SEZs.

“Not a single inch of SEZ land should be used for real estate promotion,’’ Citu general secretary Chittabrata Mazumdar told The Telegraph.

But the Bengal chief minister has declared real estate development would be allowed on one-fourth of SEZ land in Bengal. “Otherwise developers and investors would not be attracted,” Bhattacharjee said.

“We will allow promoting or commercial exploitation of the land if 50 per cent of the land is used for manufacturing and processing and (another 25 per cent) for related infrastructure,” he added.

The Left note asked the Centre to “discourage” and “limit” acquisition of farmland for SEZs and fix ceilings on land allotment. It said the central and state public sectors should develop SEZs, alone or jointly with the private sector.

But Bengal industries minister Nirupam Sen and other state party leaders say farmland cannot be avoided entirely, for Bengal has very little fallow land. Nor are they enthusiastic about state sector participation in SEZs.

The Left note demanded that oustees be paid more than the market price of their land, “taking into account the expectation of future land development” — which Bhattacharjee has rejected in Bengal.

The note asked for “livelihood security” of the oustees; and although it did not demand jobs, it asked that they be offered “minor equity stakes in the companies floated for… building SEZs”.

Sen has ruled out jobs to Singur landlosers at the Tata factory, or guarantees of alternative livelihood. He has merely held out the hope that the new industries would create jobs in the local economy.