Singur land deal: Mamata Banerjee assures farmers

A day after the “landmark” Singur verdict, Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee on Thursday assured the farmers that they will get back their land within the timeframe set by the Supreme Court. After chairing a strategic meeting at the state secretariat Nabanna, Ms Banerjee said, “We will follow the Supreme Court’s order line by line. The state government will also take the responsibility to make the land cultivable.”

The chief minister made it clear in the meeting that the state government will start the process of physical handover of the land to the farmers within eight weeks.

“The survey of the land through satellite mapping will start from Friday,” Ms Banerjee said.

Instructions have been issued to all concerned departments to complete the whole process within two weeks,” Ms Banerjee said. The district magistrate of Hooghly, along with the police superintendent, visited the site on Thursday.

During the survey process, at least one minister of the state Cabinet will be present at the site. Ms Banerjee also set a four-month deadline for completion of the field survey once the land survey gets over.

“The urgency with which the chief minister has initiated the process of handing over the land to the farmers... It seems that the government will be able to hand over the land before the 12-week timeframe set by the apex court,” a senior official said.

The chief minister said that those who were compelled to give their land to the previous Left Front government but did not receive any compensation will receive both the money and the land, while those who have accepted money and handed over their land will get their land back.

“All bargadars (share-croppers) will also be back in their respective positions. This was not in the court order but we will do it,” the chief minister said, adding that a notification in this regard will be issued on Thursday itself.

A senior official present at the meeting said that the government will have to change the nature of around 200 acres of land out of the 997 acre to make it cultivable. “There are two substations — one on 45 acre and another on two acre. There is also a waterbody in 100-acre land which will be filled up. The labourers involved in 100 days’ work scheme under NREGA will be roped in for the work on Singur land,” the official added.

The official also expressed optimism that experts of the state agriculture department will surely come out with a strategic plan to convert land unfit for cutivation into cultivable land.