Thaindian News

Kolkata, June 9 (IANS) The West Bengal government Thursday promulgated an ordinance to acquire 400 acres of land at Singur to return it to the farmers, from whom it was taken “against their will” by the previous Left Front regime for the Tata Motors Nano small car project.

“We have promulgated an ordinance. By the ordinance, we will return 400 acres of land at Singur to the unwilling farmers. Cabinet had already taken the decision. The governor has signed the ordinance. The remaining 600 acres of land will be available for industry,” Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee told reporters here.

“Tatas had told the previous government that they do not want to set up a factory here, and should be given compensation. If they want compensation, then it would be carried out by an arbitrator. We have no objection to give compensation,” she said.

“Tatas can set up industry on the remaining 600 acres of land at Singur. The option is open,” she said.

“I am very happy today. May be today is Singur day,” she added.

Banerjee’s Trinamool Congress, decimated in the 2006 Assembly polls, saw its political graph climb again after it spearheaded a peasants agitation against the state government’s acquisition of land for the Nano project demanding that 400 acres out of a total 997.11 acres be returned to farmers as it was taken against “their will”.

Faced with the sustained and intense protests, the Tata Motors shifted the plant to Sanand in Gujarat. The agitation helped in turning the fortunes for Trinamool, which in later years went from strength to strength to unseat the 34-year-old Left front government in the recent assembly elections and take over power in alliance with the Congress.

Commenting on the development, a Tata Motors spokesperson said: “We are not aware of such a development, and we do not want to make any comment unless we have studied the ordinance.”