Don't worry, Calcutta, ceiling will save you

- Mamata says land limit will stay

OUR SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT

Calcutta, Dec. 14: Mamata Banerjee today said the urban land ceiling would not be scrapped, leaving Bengal as the sole state with the archaic law on the fear that "what if someone decides to buy Calcutta?"

"Where is land available in Calcutta? Land available has been sold out. There is also a sentiment involved. What if someone decides to buy Calcutta? People feel protected, there is a sense of security. I have a right to live in the city. Let the law remain, why change it unnecessarily," the chief minister told STAR Ananda in an exclusive interaction.

Under the land ceiling law, holdings in urban areas cannot cross 7.5 cottahs. Holdings in the rest of Bengal will have to be below 17.5 cottahs (irrigated) and 24.5 cottahs (non-irrigated).

Considered an impediment to drawing big investments in urban infrastructure projects, the national law was repealed by the Centre in 1999 and most states, barring Bengal, followed suit one after the other. The case-by-case exemptions now followed in Bengal are time-consuming. (See Half Measures, leading article on Page 10)

Mamata referred to the misuse of special economic zones to justify her stand. "Bengal is not a land-rich state. Many industrial houses buy huge tracts of land and then set up SEZs or use the plots for housing projects. The government has the right to know why the land is required? I am not going to allow SEZs in Bengal," she said.

However, an industrialist pointed out later that SEZs, which require large tracts of land, do not come up in urban areas. "If at all such zones are located in urban centres, they will be confined to the IT sector which does not require much land," he added.

The urban land ceiling law is something that has assumed "holy cow" status in Bengal over the years. Mamata's predecessor Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee had tried to do away with the law and had formed a committee in 2009.

Although the committee's report was in favour of repealing the law, the CPM, by then quivering in the aftermath of Nandigram and Singur, vetoed the proposal.

Tonight, Mamata iterated some of her populist positions but dropped a hint that she was not averse to considering some hard measures on utility fees.

"Coal prices have gone up by 40 per cent. Increasing tariff is not the way out. We are thinking about some other formula. I have to look for other options, use them and then decide. There are commercial establishments and domestic connections. Shopping malls can pay but ordinary people cannot. I can assure the people that they won't be affected," she said.

Couched in the statement is an acknowledgement that something — in this case, commercial establishments like malls — has got to give.

Government officials said late tonight that they were not aware of any specific plan to raise commercial rates but added the chief minister's comment could be seen as a pointer to the road that lay ahead.

Invoking the analogy of seasons, the chief minister suggested that the climate around Centre-state relations had improved.

Referring to ties with Pranab Mukherjee, Mamata said: "Our relations improve at times and take a dip at others. I have told him please fight with me… but I respect him a lot. Our relationship is like the summer and the monsoon. Now it is like the month of Ashaadh between summer and rain."

A cabinet shuffle is on the cards. "I will decide on it after the New Year. Some ministers have been working well. There are some who are having problems. Let me ponder some more time," she said.

Although Mamata did not share her predecessor's opinion on the urban land ceiling law, she did bat for another of Bhattacharjee's pet project.

Asked why the cash-strapped government spent Rs 2.75 crore on the film festival, Mamata said it was a tradition. "Film festivals have to be held. This is a cultural heritage, a tradition. Even in the poorest of poor families, they will eat plain rice but during the Pujas, the parents give Rs 5 to the children to buy something," Mamata said.

On a day Anna Hazare referred to Mamata as "behen" and requested her to join his campaign, the chief minister indirectly signalled her disapproval by exclaiming "ore babare".

Anna had said earlier in the day: "She has done a wonderful thing in case of FDI for the country. Her decision protected many small traders…. Our request to 'behen' Mamata is that 'you should also put a good word forward for Lokpal'…."

Mamata and Hazare are scheduled to share a platform in Delhi on Friday for an awards event.

Although the chief minister referred to Hazare as a "great man" and refused to comment, Trinamul minister Sultan Ahmed said tonight in Delhi that "Mamata herself is a crusader against corruption and does not require Anna Hazare's platform to fight it".