In the ordinance amending certain provisions of the Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013, there is no mention of a scientific national land use policy, as in advanced nations, that would enable a country to optimally use land to meet various needs. In the 12th Plan, however, the need for a national land use policy and state-specific requirements have been stressed, though nothing really has been done in this direction.

In the early 1970s when BB Vohra was additional secretary in the Union ministry of agriculture, he conceptualised a cause he pursued with passion and intellectual vigour and succeeded in laying down the outlines of a national land use policy. In fact, state land use boards were set up and I had the opportunity to serve as secretary of the Assam Land Use Board during 1974-76. However, the initiative was lost after Vohra left the ministry and the matter was never pursued. Unfortunate indeed, because without this the nation runs the risk of making wrong decisions resulting in irretrievable losses to environment and consequences future generations will have to face.

Land use is a comprehensive discipline as it determines the scientific structure of the soil, topography, especially water holding capacity, need for conservation of forests, water bodies and river systems, drainage and sedimentation — elements that are crucial for preservation of the eco-system. A scientific land use policy is crucial for a fragile eco-system as pertains to the North-east, characterised by mountainous terrain and high seismic vulnerability, recurring floods and soil erosion. It will have to take these and anthropogenic factors and needs into account and prepare a map indicating the type that should be appropriate for a specific use and critically identify land that must be left untouched for ecological and environmental security. It will have to indicate the priorities and alternative uses for infrastructure building and other needs.

Since the North-east is far removed from the wheat/ rice-surplus states, there arises the need to preserve scarce agricultural land in the hill states. Considering the high transport cost of moving foodgrains by surface transport from the mainland and the cost of storage and loss, etc, a case for attaining self-sufficiency in rice assumes importance.

In the 11th Plan, Assam and Tripura saw a remarkable increase in rice output that enabled the former to participate in procurement under the Centre due to its success in producing five million tones of rice annually. Meghalaya has begun commercial floriculture and horticulture for export and its success in growing strawberries has been recognised. Imphal Valley — a rice bowl — is also known for its wheat potential. Indeed, plantation crops like tea and rubber or commercial production of medicinal plants could transform the rural economies of the region in the way Tripura has restructured its hill economy by substituting shifting cultivation with rubber. Investors from Thailand have already shown an interest in investing in fruit processing in Tripura for its pineapples.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has asked the Northeast states to develop the region as a “natural economy” in the context of India&’s now “Act East Policy” to expand economic relations with the Association of South East Asian Nations by specialising in producing and processing organic food, fruits and vegetables. This requires the adoption of stringent methods of organic agriculture and use of inputs, including organic preservatives, so that the produce meets the stringent phyto sanitary conditions laid down by the USA, the European Union and Japan.

The huge losses the Alfonso mango growers of the Konkan region of Maharashtra suffered in 2013-14, due to rejection of these by EU countries for failing to meet these standards, must be taken as a wake-up call by all keen to export farm produce. Though the EU later agreed to accept mangoes, the message was clear that this was due to degradation of environment in the area where orchards are located, caused by industrial and thermal power units.

The issue here is not environment versus development, as mistakenly argued by neo-liberals, but a land use matter — that is, whether these polluting units could have been located elsewhere, thereby avoiding damage to the environment and threats to growers’ livelihoods.

There is a trade-off clearly and a scientific land use policy could address these issues in the larger public interest by laying down “zones” for different uses and “no go zones” for mining and large construction projects. The region has 28 per cent of India’s forest cover, over 30 per cent of fresh water and is endowed with a truly rich biodiversity — it is home to 836 of the 1,200 bird species known in the Indian subcontinent — and conservation of its eco-system requires an integrated regional land use policy. The task falls within the North Eastern Council&’s mandate and merits urgent consideration of the National Institution for Transforming India Aayog (formerly the Planning Commission), that at its very first meeting accorded high priority for North-east development.

The author is a retired IAS officer of the Assam- Meghalaya cadre