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STATES:
UTTARANCHAL
Orchards
of Greed
For paltry
sums farmers allow sharks to gobble up their holdings, which are then
misused for commercial gain. This does not bode well for the new state.
By
Subhash Mishra in Nainital
Kishan
Singh, 35, cannot come to terms with reality. Nothing, least of all the
gleaming snow-clad Himalayan peaks in the early morning sun, can lift
his spirits. How could his father, Hawaldar Jagat Singh, have done this?
The apple orchard before him-all of 100 naalis (2,00,000 sq ft)-set against
this breathtaking backdrop belonged to the family till four years ago.
Lured by a "solid party" from Delhi, Hawaldar sold it for a
mere Rs 7 lakh. His father's sudden death a little later saw Kishan's
brothers squandering away the money, turning into alcoholics and eventually
committing suicide. No land, no money, not much of a family-Kishan is
a shattered man today.
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| New
construction are coming up on agricultural land at Mukteshwar |
Like him,
there are hundreds of others along the picturesque Gagar-Mukteshwar highway
in what is now called Uttaranchal who are literally on the streets. All
gullible farmers who have sold their holdings to influential builders,
businessmen, bureaucrats and politicians from Lucknow, Mumbai and Calcutta,
besides Delhi. Paying the locals on these fringes of the hill station
Nainital a pittance, the land sharks make a fortune by putting up resorts,
camp houses, ashrams and five-star cottages. Says Jagat Singh, a chowkidar
at the PWD Inspection Bungalow in Mukteshwar: "I had 30 naalis in
Cheepa village, but the goons have driven me out and are conspiring to
sell it off to property dealers and builders."
Most of the
new construction is taking place along this stretch because Nainital has
reached saturation point. Besides this area, the outer reaches of Almora
and the "yatra route"-the Hardwar-Rishikesh-Badrinath-Kedarnath
belt in the Garhwal region-are also favourite targets because of their
potential to attract tourists.
Land sales
have been common for years. But the impact of the lopsided deals is being
felt only now. The region's money-order economy is partly to blame. The
past decades have seen little commercial production from farmers cultivating
fruits and flowers. Hardly any attempts were made to boost the fruit-processing
industry in the region on the lines of neighbouring Himachal Pradesh or
to profit from medicinal plants. Harvested fruit often goes waste or is
sold at low prices in the plains. Medicinal plants are either smuggled
out or sold cheap.
"As
a result, the immediate gain of a few lakhs of rupees tempts the villagers
to sell their land," explains Dharmendra Singh, an employee of the
Regional Rural Bank near Mukteshwar. In the absence of any government
support to invest the money in their own businesses, the farmers tend
to squander it. Like compulsive consumers, they begin to spend on motorcycles,
television and other products until they are left with nothing.
Dharam Singh, a resident of Dhanachuli village, did precisely this with
the Rs 2 lakh he got after selling 10 naalis of land. He now earns a living
making pakodas at a highway tea stall. Chandan Singh of Sarkakhet, at
78, also runs a similar stall after parting with 20 naalis of agricultural
land two years ago.
The land
grabbers have spared few in the area. Frederick Smetacek Jr, better known
as the Butterfly Man for his extensive collection of the diurnal insect,
owns orchards and a piece of forest land in Bhimtal on which two bungalows
stand. Last week, a group of men overpowered the security staff at one
of the bungalows and forced its way in. Smetacek filed an fir with the
police in Nainital. "But nothing has happened, the police have not
been able to evict the invaders," he says, alleging that such incidents
were taking place in connivance with the district administration.
According
to Smetacek, his attempts to draw the attention of District Magistrate
Aradhana Shukla to another case relating to land acquired by one K.P.
Agarwal have also yielded little results. An influential builder from
Lucknow, Agarwal, he alleges, is violating the Forest Act by developing
a resort on forest land in Bhimtal. Subhash Kumar, commissioner of the
Kumaon division under which Bhimtal falls, however, says he is aware of
both the cases and has ordered an inquiry. There are hundreds of similar
cases in the area but the affected locals seldom approach the administration.
Compounding
the problem are benami holdings. Senior bureaucrats and other influential
folk have purchased land in the area and have got it registered in the
name of their relatives, spouses, even servants.
The issue
is of primary concern to the new state of Uttaranchal. The question is:
Will legislation help to save forest and agricultural land from being
misused? In Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir, land use cannot be
changed without the permission of the Government. R.S. Tolia, director
of the Administrative Training Institute (ATI) in Nainital, agrees. He
says suggestions from economic experts are being taken before any law
can be formulated. Rakesh Sharma, senior IAS officer and additional director
of ATI, however, feels that such blanket legislations would only discourage
investors in Uttaranchal.
With the debate continuing and much of the machinery of the new state
still idle, the land mafia is making the best of the situation and gobbling
up as many naalis as it can. At as little a price as possible.
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CII’s
conference on Friday on corporate governance is called Independent Directors:
Why, How and Who. Why Not, How Not and Who Not, would have been better,
says INDIA TODAY Associate Editor, V Shankar Aiyar
