In India's West Bengal State, authorities have started talks with protesters opposing an automobile plant proposed by Tata Motors to manufacture the world's cheapest car. The automaker has suspended work on the plant, in the face of growing protests by farmers and politicians. The difficulties encountered by the project reflect a growing problem in India: how to move farmers off their land to make room for industrial expansion.
在印度的西孟加拉省，当地政府和抗议者开始对话。这些抗议者反对塔塔(TATA)汽车公司在这里设厂制造世界最便宜的汽车。在农民和政治人物的抗议下，塔塔暂停了这项计划。这场争议凸显出印度面临的日益紧迫的问题--如何把农民从他们的土地转移，为工业扩张提供空间。
When Tata Motors was looking for a site to establish an automobile plant to manufacture the Nano car, the West Bengal State government wooed the company and acquired one-thousand acres of land from farmers for the high-profile project.
印度塔塔汽车公司在为旗下的NANO汽车加工基地选址的时候，西孟加拉省的官员向塔塔公司大力游说，并为这项众所瞩目的计划从当地农民手里征集了一千顷土地。
The Nano is the world's cheapest car, scheduled to rollout in October.
NANO是世界上最便宜的汽车，原计划在今年10月投放市场。
But the Nano plant in Singur became embroiled in controversy after some farmers, led by an opposition political party, demanded their land back. The protests snowballed, last month, as demonstrators blocked roads and prevented workers from reaching the plant.
不过，塔塔在西孟加拉省辛谷地区的生产基地最近遇到麻烦。当地一些农民在反对党人士的领导下，要求归还他们的土地。抗议愈演愈烈。上个月，示威者堵住道路，不让工人进入基地。
Calling the situation "hostile and intimidating" Tata Motors has suspended work at the plant.
塔塔以目前局势“充满敌意和威胁”为理由，暂停了基地工程。
Authorities in West Bengal State, who want to rescue the project and the state's image as a business-friendly destination, have started talks with the protesters.
西孟加拉省官员希望挽救这项工程，同时也希望挽救该省创造友好经商环境的努力。官员们最近开始和抗议者对话。
The head of the party leading the protests at Singur, Mamata Banerjee, says the concerns of the affected farmers must get top priority. However, she is prepared for a compromise.
组织辛谷地区抗议的反对党领袖马马塔·巴纳吉说，农民关注的问题必须得到高度重视。巴纳吉女士同时表示，妥协是有可能的。
"We want a settlement. Let industry smile and [the] agriculture also," she said.
她说：“我们希望化解事端。让工业和农业都满意。”
Many have blamed local politics for the deadlock in Singur.
很多人说，地方政治的纷争导致了辛谷地区抗议。
But analysts say that, even if a solution to the impasse is found, the acrimony surrounding the Nano plant reflects a deeper problem, how to move farmers off their land to make room for industrial expansion.
不过也有分析人士指出，即使目前的争端找到解决办法，这次争议也反映出印度面临的一个更深层次的问题--如何把农民从他们的土地转移，为工业扩张提供空间。
Since India's economy entered a high growth path, many industries have drawn up ambitious expansion plans. State governments are wooing business houses to boost development in the state.
印度经济进入高速发展阶段。很多工业设计了雄心勃勃的扩张计划。各省政府为了促进地方经济而大力招商引资。
A senior official at the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry, Anjan Roy, says industry needs space to set up manufacturing plants.
印度工商协会联合会的高级官员安让·罗伊说，建设厂房需要大量用地。
"Industry cannot be set up in suspension, hanging somewhere. So industry will need land and the country needs industry, so you will have to organize land for industry," said Roy. "Now in India, 63 percent of land is arable. But the fact is that with a very high proportion of arable land, there is still a lot of arable land which is not cultivated, which is lying fallow."
他说：“你不能在半空中盖个工厂。工业需要用地，国家需要工业，所以工业用地必须解决。现在的印度，63%的土地是可耕地。不过事实上，尽管印度可耕地比例很高，但是还有很多土地处于闲置。”
But as farmers and tribal communities resist giving up their land, the promised industrial development has become a flashpoint. The Nano plant is not the only site facing protests. In the eastern Orissa State, thousands of villagers have demonstrated against plans by South Korea's POSCO firm to set up a steel plant on large swathes of forest land. The Supreme Court gave a go-ahead to the plant, but villagers say it will force them off their land.
不过，由于农民和地方族群社区拒绝出让土地，工业开发区的计划用地常常成为争议焦点。遭到抗议的并不只是塔塔公司的汽车生产基地。在东部的奥利萨省，上千名村民抗议韩国POSCO公司在那里的林地上修建钢铁厂。印度最高法院批准了这项建厂计划，但是当地村民并不买账。
In many other regions where industries want to set up factories, farmers have vowed not to give up heir land.
很多其他地区也有类似情况。
Sociologists say such conflicts are inevitable in a country where two-thirds of the people still depend on farming.
社会学家说，在农业人口超过三分之二的国家，这类冲突不可避免。
The head of the Center for Science and Development in New Delhi, Sunita Narain, says tensions are growing because farmers are often displaced without adequate compensation and without help finding a new way to make a living.
新德里科学发展中心主任苏尼塔·纳林说，冲突的起因之一是失地农民没有得到足够补偿，也没有获得足够帮助来寻找新的谋生手段。
"Indian laws are very antiquated, when it comes to land. They do not go far enough in compensating rural communities for the land that they will give up, or the minerals that will be taken from their area, or water that will be taken away," said Narain. "The larger message coming out of this is: the poor in India are asserting the fact that they live on these resources and that they need either benefits to be shared or a different way of development."
他说：“印度土地法相当陈旧。有关法律对农村社区出让土地、矿产、和水资源的补偿没有充分的规定。整个现象反映出的问题是，印度贫困人口强调，他们依靠这些资源生活。他们要么共享利益，要么需要另外一种发展模式。”
Officials and businessmen argue that the factories will industrialize the countryside and provide much-needed jobs in rural areas, where millions of people are unemployed or underemployed.
政界和商界领袖说，建厂可以实现乡村工业化，并带来就业机会。这里现在有上百万的人处于失业或者不完全就业状态。
Anjan Roy says businesses are willing to pay adequate compensation to landowners, but their investments must be protected.
安让·罗伊说，企业愿意为土地所有者支付足够补偿，但是他们的投资必须得到保护。
"Industry wants a transparent system of land dealing for whenever industry has to have land requirements," added Roy. "Second, when a land is settled it should be unencumbered and there should not be any interference from politicians."
他说：“企业希望在使用土地的过程中相关程序高度透明。其次，如果土地征用已经完成的话，企业对土地的使用不应当受到政府干涉。”
But development experts say the way ahead may not be easy and warn of more standoffs between business and farmers as the country's economic priorities shift from agriculture to industry.
不过，开发领域的专家们说，印度的工业化进程不会一帆风顺。他们警告说，在印度的经济重心从农业向工业转移过程中，企业和农民之间会有更多纠纷。 |