Investors showing interest in Jharkhand following the much hyped Global Investors’ Summit (GIS) are finding the price of land available from the State Government’s land banks, a major deterrent to move ahead.
They pointed out that price of the land bank plots, fixed by the Government is exorbitant and it is cheaper to buy land directly from raiyats but the problem is that such trouble-free lands are in short supply.
To cite an example, investors are facing a tough call since every acre of land at the Textile Park proposed at Hotwar is being offered for about Rs3 crore.
Similar is the case with the recently opened food and vegetable processing plant at Nagri where the National Dairy Development Board, a public sector enterprise, has to pay nearly Rs1.25 crore for an acre of land to the Government.
“It is getting tougher. They (Government) are just talking about single window system which is still virtually a half-baked phenomenon in Jharkhand. We have been told that price of 29 acres of land at the Textile Park coming up Hotwar is Rs94 crore. This price is more or less 10 times costlier that the land at Tupudana Industrial Area,” said an entrepreneur requesting not to be quoted.
A private university looking for land to setup the institution in Hazaribagh district was forced to concentrate for private land only. “We have been shown land at couple of locations. But looking at it in comparison of location and price, the Government land is not affordable for us. Now, we have gone for private land and identified a few near Barhi,” said a senior official of the varsity.
He added lease rent which would see an increase of 16 per cent annually for 30 years would prove equal to the actual price of the land and thus it was better to buy it from raiyats. The guidelines suggest that land shall be allotted to the entrepreneur for setting up their industrial units on lease for 30 years and has to be renewed after that on payment of processing fee.
The Government in order to deal with land scarcity in the State and due to issues involved in acquisition from raiyats, have come up with land banks in every district comprising Gair Majarua-Khas, Aam and Jungle-Jhari categories. Nevertheless, the location of the land banks and their comparative price, many feel, are mismatching.
“I want to set up a hospital here but the price of the land is proving costlier than the equipment. Even prices of not so developed land are exorbitant,” said an investor who had attended the GIS.
Even the State’s Energy Department is facing the tangle since response from the investors showing interest in setting up solar power plants in the State are concerned. “Every unit of the solar energy generated from solar parks here would be available for over Rs5 which is costlier than the rates quoted by the industry in Madhya Pradesh and other States. When the issue came for discussion during the meeting with the Energy Department officials, we apprised them that the Madhya Pradesh Government is offering land free of cost but here we would be facing tough time in purchasing land even from the Government,” said an official of a solar power firm while citing one of the reasons behind not signing the power purchase agreement with the Jharkhand Bijli Vitaran Nigam limited, the purchaser of the renewable energy produced.
When approached, Industry Director K Ravi Kumar claimed that entrepreneurs are applying for lands under the Industry Policy. “Application for the Textile Park is open now. As far as price of land is concerned, it depends upon location and circle rate. I cannot comment on prices of land,” he said.