Singur
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The Singur dream
The Times of India, Mar 14, 2016
Jhilmil Mukherjee Pandey & Falguni Banerjee
Singur: The rise & fading of a dream
Bharat Hotel is another of the nondescript shabby roadside eateries where truck drivers eat roti-and-tarka meals, washing it down with liquor. It wasn't always like this. In 2006, when the Singur dream unfolded, this was one of the many thriving ventures near the project site. Now, a movement, a change-of government and a scrapped project later, Bharat Hotel wears the decrepit look visible all around. Owner Rajesh Singh had an advantage: His 10-cottah plot was opposite the main gate of the Tata Motors site. Engineers and site officers came for their meals. With 16 employees, Singh catered to at least 300 clients daily, making Rs 25,000 a day. "I started building rooms on the first floor. Outstation officers without families were ready tenants," he said. Singh is one of the many locals who had jumped into the restaurant-and-lodge business immediately after the Singur project was announced.
Now, the rusted locked gates, the wilderness behind it and the factory sheds stand witness to the excitement and the subsequent heartbreak. But none of this seems to be helping CPM — which had proposed to set up the Tata factory — to wrest the seat from TMC. Canvassing is yet to pick up here. Minister Rabindranath Bhattacharya, who has been winning here since 2000, takes on CPM's Rabin Deb. He seems sure of a win. The retired schoolteacher remains popular. But this time, the buzz is that the collective depression will shrink his margin but he'll still beat Deb. Those who lost land to Tata's stillborn project are united today. "We were against the project and had faith in Didi's movement. We thought we'd get back our land, or at least a higher price or it. I made a mistake declining the cheque," rues Subol Das, a farmer from Beraberi. His 8-cottah plot was "taken away". Some 3,700 people refused cheques. Today, they get 16kg rice and Rs 2,000 as special state dole. Bib- has Ghosh, a willing farmer from Gopalnagar, echoes Das: "Today, everyone realises that had we supported the project, we would've been better off. But the ruling party gags all dissent." Apartments mushroomed at Singur in 2007-08. They are ghost houses now. "Single rooms were rented out at Rs 10,000 a month and real estate prices had zoomed to Rs 4,000 a sq ft," said Arun Kumar Das, a cinema owner who gave up four acres.
Now, there are simply no takers. At least six nationalized banks had started branches at Singur to cash in on the proposed Rs 1,000-crore project, backed by at least 49 ancillaries. Earlier, only UBI and Allahabad Bank were there. Now, the additions, such as Central Bank, SBI, Allahabad Bank, Indian Overseas Bank, Axis Bank and Bank of Baroda, complain they survived only on deposits from state projects such as Kanyashree, NREGA and widow pensions.
Tata Motors: acquiring land for
SC strikes down the acquisition
The Times of India, Sep 01 2016
The Supreme Court struck down the acquisition of nearly 1,000 acres of land in West Bengal's Singur in 2006 for Tata Motors' Nano car project and called it bad in law, intent and execution, delivering a major blow to CPM which led the then Left Front government in the state.
The SC's view that the “hurried“ acquisition process was anti-farmer and in viola tion of law was promptly hailed by chief minister Mamata Banerjee as a “landmark victory“ for a campaign she had led and was seen as the springbo ard to her electoral win in 2011.
A bench of Justices V Gopala Gowda and Arun Mishra, in separate judgments, ordered return of the plots to farmers within 12 weeks.
Although the two judges differed in parts on the reason for striking down the acquisition, both held that the objections of farmers were glossed over, which vitiated the mandatory procedures relating to land acquisition.
The court also held that the LF government had “mechanically“ accepted a flawed report on the inquiry process preceding the acquisition. While Justice Gowda slammed the hurried manner in which the Left Front government decided to go about acquiring land for Tata Motors for public purpose, Justice Mishra did not fault the acquisition and said it was for public purpose as the project would have generated largescale employment.
“The acquisition of land of landownerscultivators in the instant case is declared illegal and void. Since nature of the acquired land has been changed in view of the acquisition, we direct the survey department of the West Bengal government to conduct a survey and identify mouzas of lands acquired with reference to layout plans, other connected records, village maps and survey settlement records of the lands in question,“ it said.
While directing return of the land, the bench was unanimous in its view that land owners would also keep the compensation paid to them in lieu of acquisition. The SC also permitted those who had not taken the compensation amount to claim it now.
“The compensation which has already been paid to the landownerscultivators shall not be recovered by the state government as they have been deprived of the occupation and enjoyment of their lands for last 10 years.“
Mamata Banerjee had launched a massive protest against the Singur land acquisition that had resulted in violence and turned the site into a battle ground between Trinamool Congress and the CPM led Left Front government.Protests and violence forced Tata Motors to shut shop at Singur on October 3, 2008 and relocate to Sanand, Gujarat.
Immediately after coming to power, the TMC government had passed the Singur Land Rehabilitation and Development Act, 2011 empowering the state to return the land to farmers. This was struck down by the Calcutta high court as “unconstitutional and void“. But the SC's verdict on Wednesday went much beyond the 2011 act passed by the West Bengal assembly and termed the 2006 land acquisition bad in law, intent and execution.
Justice Gowda said if Singur land acquisition was termed valid, then there would be attempts by governments to “justify any and every acquisition of land of the most vulnerable sections of the society in the name of `public purpose' to promote socio-economic development“.
“When the brunt of this `development' is borne by the weakest sections of the society, ... it is the onerous duty of the state government to ensure that the mandatory procedure laid down under the Land Acquisition Act and the rules framed there under are followed scrupulously otherwise the acquisition proceedings will be rendered void ab initio in law,“ he said.
Meanwhile, Tata Motors said in a statement that it would give its comment on the SC verdict after studying the judgment. “...Our case relating to Singur Act of 2011, is yet to be heard by the Supreme Court,“ the company said.
The Singur land acquisition case: A timeline
The Times of India, August 31, 2016
The Supreme Court delivered a blow to Tata, asking the corporate giant to return the land back to the farmers it had been acquired from in West Bengal’s Singur. Tata had been given about 1000 acres in 2006 to set up the plant that would manufacture the Tata Nano, the world’s cheapest car.
Here is a timeline of the issue:
1. 2006
West Bengal government led by CPI(M)’s Buddhadeb Bhattacharya acquires about 1000 acres of farm land for Tata’s proposed plant to manufacture the Nano. Government uses 1896 law that allows land acquisition for public purposes. The land acquired was chosen by Tata from six choices presented by the state government
2. May 18, 2006
Tata announces Singur as the location of its Nano plant
3. January 2007
Tata begins construction of the plant
4. December 2007
Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee calls indefinite hunger strike against the forced land acquisition and inadequate compensation
5. December 19, 2007
At auto expo in Delhi, Tata formally launches the Nano, which receives global attention for being the cheapest car
6. January 18, 2008
Calcutta High Court rules that land acquisition in Singur has been carried out legally
7. February 15, 2008
Tata announces plan to roll out the Nano from its Singur plant by October 2008
8. August 24, 2008
Mamata begins indefinite strike at Singur
9. September 2, 2008
Crippled by agitation, Tata announces suspension of work on Nano plant
10. September 3, 2008
Gopal Krishna Gandhi, then the West Bengal Governor, attempts to mediate between state government and the TMC
11. September 5, 2008
Government – TMC negotiations begin
12. September 7, 2008
Talks between Left Front government and TMC break down
13. October 3, 2008
Tata announces that it is pulling out of Singur
14. October 7, 2008
Tata announces new plant in Gujarat’s Sanand, and that the Nano will be manufactured there
15. May 20, 2011
In first cabinet decision after taking over West Bengal govrnment, Mamata announces that 400 acres of the land will be returned to unwilling farmers from whom it had been forcefully acquired
16. June 9 - 14, 2011
TMC government attempts to take control of entire Singur land from Tata citing non-performance through an ordinance, only to roll it back the next dat. It then got the Singur Land Rehabilitation and Development Bill, to return 400 acres to unwilling famers, passed in the West Bengal Assembly
17. June 22, 2011
Tata challenges the Singur Land Rehabilitation and Development Act in the Calcutta High Court
18. September 28, 2011
Single-bench of the Calcutta HC upholds the Singur Land Act
19. October 29, 2011
Tata challenges Calcutta HC order
20. June 22, 2012
Divison Bench of the Calcutta High Court strikes down Singur Land Act
21. August 6, 2012
TMC government moves Supreme Court against Calcutta HC’s striking down of Singur Land Act
22. July 10, 2013
Pointing out that Tata has already moved its plant to Gujarat, SC asks Tata to consider returning the contentious piece of land
23. Nov 12, 2013
Tata tells SC it wants to retain the Singur land
24. May 5, 2016
Left Front-led West Bengal government had rushed through the land acquisition process, observes Supreme Court
25. August 31, 2016
Supreme Court rules that land acquisition was bad in law on multiple counts, asks West Bengal government to return land to original owners within 10 weeks
