Dubey said they were also considering buying the land directly from the farmers. If it happens then it would be the first time that a government department would have directly purchased land from the farmers.

“We have officials working on it and we will narrow down potential places within three-four months. Once we purchase the required land, it should take another six months to put the pipelines in place that will be connected to the dredgers,” said Dubey. For the KoPT this is also the first time that they will be acquiring land for any purpose, therefore they have kept open the option of directly purchasing the land.

“Once the land is acquired we want the Centre and the state government to formulate some kind of a plan, which would make the purchase easier. Unlike private companies, government dealings have to be transparent and one cannot afford any kind of blunder,” he said.

While acknowledging the problems the state government had while acquiring land for industrialisation Dubey, however, said most people who lived near the port areas were aware of why they needed the land hence were willing to be cooperate.

“We will not build any factories. Basically we need land for dumping the silt, something that would further fertilise the land. The land can also be further used for cultivation,” Dubey said.

He said that most of the land near the port that was lying uncultivated was being used for pisciculture by the locales.

“But there needs to be a guideline formulated by the government that we can follow for direct purchase as we do not want people to create problems later, with some being paid more compensation amounts and some less. This will also be the first time that a government agency will buy land directly from the farmer,” he added.