M A I N   N E W S

Punjab out to ‘gift’ land to Reliance
Crucial meeting today
Sarbjit Dhaliwal
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, May 7
The Punjab Government is all set to offer the premium land worth several hundred crores to Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) for a song. A high- level meeting in this regard has been convened by the Chief Secretary, Mr K.R. Lakhanpal, tomorrow in his office.

Among others, who have been asked to attend the meeting include the Principal Secretary, Industries, the Managing Director of the Punjab Agro Industries and the Secretary of the Punjab Mandi Board.

What is being offered on a platter to the RIL is a piece of a 20-acre land at Mohali. The land belongs to the Punjab Mandi Board and was purchased by it about 18 years ago. The land is just close to the railway station, a prime location.

Of course, the Punjab Mandi Board is opposing the sale of the land to the RIL at a price it was acquired 18 years ago. “At present the worth of the land, if it is sold by earmarking plots, is worth Rs 200 crore. However, if the land is developed as a commercial site and sold for showrooms, it can fetch a price up to Rs 1,000 crore", say real estate analysts.

However, when this land was acquired by the Mandi Board, its price was only Rs 2 crore. The government has proposed to give a nominal interest to the Mandi Board on Rs 2 crore from the date it was acquired by it. However, resisting what the government has proposed, the Mandi Board says that there is no provision in the Mandi Board's rules to sell the land to a private party at the price on which it was acquired. It can be sold through open auction only.

Informed sources said earlier a meeting in this regard was held on April 26. At that meeting, the Mandi Board had conveyed its view point to the Chief Secretary and others concerned. At that meeting, informed sources said, the Board was directed to come out with detailed note on this issue at the next meeting scheduled to be held tomorrow.

In fact, earlier, the state government had planned to offer the same piece of land to three other private companies: Premium Farm Fresh Products Limited, ITC Limited and Punjab Agri Food Parks Limited. However, now the government has changed its mind and the land is being offered to the RIL.

The Mandi Board had got the land to develop an ultra-modern vegetable market there on the pattern of Paris vegetable market. In fact, it had submitted a detailed market plan for approval to the Punjab Town Planning Department.

However, now it is with the Punjab Urban Planning and Development authorities. Sources said that the Mandi Board had planned to spend Rs 100 crore on the market project. Other objections raised by the Mandi Board against offering the land to the RIL, which is too keen to enter in countrywide retail sale of Punjab vegetables and fruits, include that the Board is morally and legally bound to use the land for the purpose it was purchased by it from farmers. Moreover, the Board is an independent corporate body and the State Government could not impose its decisions on it. Giving the land to the RIL will be violation of the certain sections of Punjab Agriculture Produces Marketing Act, 1967.

In fact, a lot more is on agenda at tomorrow's meeting and most of the items are related to the offers to be made to the RIL. The State Government is also prepared to offer 169.49 acres at Rs 2.53lakh per acre. The land belongs to the Punjab State Industrial Export Corporation. Obviously, this land is also being offered at a very low price. No where in the state the land is available at such a low price.

Then there is a proposal to offer 347.22 acres to the RIL at Muktsar, Malout, Tanda, Mansa and Abohar for Rs 41.28 crore. The Government will also play its role to offer panchayat land at Kulla, Amargarh, Bir Kalan, Dhurkot, Chakgujra, Mahawa, Nasrali, Bakshiwal, Bhikariwal, Balbera, Jagat Pura, Phaganmajra village. The RIL will sign a long -term lease with the panchayats to take the land on rent for Rs 16,000 per annum.

The government is offering complete waiver on stamp duty and registration charges on all land purchases to the RIL. There is a proposal to provide unified license to the RIL to carry out all activities (buying, selling, storage, processing and trading) for all agriculture commodities in any existing as well as future notified market areas in Punjab. The Government would also allow the setting of private mandis by issuing necessary notification. Besides it, the fiscal incentives to be offered to the RIL include complete exemption on purchase tax, mandi tax, Rural Development Fund and cess etc. Exemption of purchase tax on milk procurement and 50 per cent exemption on electricity duty. The concessions to the RIL have been proposed for 30 years.

The government to provide basic facilities at the marketing centres to be developed by the RIL. Such facilities include canal and municipal water, electricity, metal roads, public transport, bus stops etc. In fact, State Government is doing all for the RIL. In such a situation it will highly profitable for the RIL to launch its operations from the state.