The West Bengal government will start giving physical possession of land in Singur to farmers from Thursday.
The West Bengal government will start giving physical possession of land in Singur to farmers from Thursday.
“I will visit Singur on October 20 and will personally kick-start the return of land from Singur project to their owners,” chief minister Mamata Banerjee said.
On August 31, the Supreme Court declared acquisition of 997 acre in Singur by the former Left Front government for Tata Motors’ world’s cheapest car project illegal, and ordered the state government to return the land to their owners in 12 weeks.
“We are trying to complete the process within 10 weeks,” Ms Banerjee said. She said the land made fit for cultivation cannot be handed over in a single day as there are about 4,000 owners.
“Eighty per cent of the land has already been made fit for cultivation. We will return the land in parts. Not more than 40 acre can be handed over at one go,” she said.
The agriculture department will give seeds to farmers, along with a grant of Rs 10,000, so that they can start cultivating their land.
A fortnight ago, Ms Banerjee had set October 21 as the deadline to start giving back land in Singur to their owners. Education minister Partha Chatterjee was given the responsibility of supervising the work of making the land fit for cultivation.
Mr Chatterjee, who visited Singur a number of times, submitted a status report of the land to the chief minister at Nabanna on Monday.
A top government official said concrete structure—a road and sheds—of the defunct car plant still remains on 150 acre. “We still need to dismantle concrete structure on 36 acres which will take some time,” he added.
The state government has already given compensation cheques and land “parchas” to farmers. The official said the state expects to complete the process of giving physical possession by November 10.
At Monday’s meeting, Ms Banerjee said she will reward officials and workers of government departments and agencies who worked to make the Singur land fit for cultivation within a few weeks.
An agriculture department official said a part of the land dug up to make a drainage system, water bodies and lay roads for the Tata project has suffered top soil loss. “Agriculture is not possible on land that has suffered top soil loss. We are already looking for places in the adjoining districts and coastal areas from where we can bring top soil and lay it there. But this may take some time,” he added.
