Jhajjar farmers want more from RIL
It was proposed as one of the biggest industrial projects in north India. But problems over buying land for its Special Economic Zone, spread across Haryana's Jhajjar and Gurgaon districts, has made Reliance Haryana SEZ Ltd go back to the drawing board.
The zone, which at first was proposed to be spread over 25,000 acres (10,000 hectares), got its first setback in April 2007, when the area of these tax-free industrial enclaves was capped at 12,300 acres (5,000 hectares) and state governments were barred from acquiring land for these zones.
Then, the Jhajjar farmers refused to sell, primarily because they wanted more money for their plots. While the company is offering Rs 22 lakh (Rs 2.2 million) per acre and another Rs 30,000 per acre as an annual payment for more than 30 years, the farmers want more than Rs 1 crore (Rs 10 million) an acre.
Their argument: The rate in adjacent Gurgaon is more than Rs 2 crore (Rs 20 million) an acre; and moreover, prices of land near SEZs in areas like Sultanpur have shot up to nearly Rs 1 crore an acre. Surely, the land owners of Jhajjar do not want to be left behind.
Image: Palmist Rakesh Sharma 'reading' Reliance Industries Chairman Mukesh Ambani's palm at the USIBC Gala Dinner in Washingtion DC. To the right is Mukesh's daughter, Isha. | Photograph: Paresh Gandhi
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