India News: West Bengal: For the People.

Singur land return rolls - Blow to Tata move for talks with govt

The Telegraph BUREAU =================================================

Singur/Calcutta, June 26: The Mamata Banerjee government today started the process of returning land to farmers in Singur, snubbing the Tata attempt to open a dialogue to maintain status quo on the 997-acre plot. Rabindranath Bhattacharya, the school education minister and MLA from Singur, and Becharam Manna, the MLA from Haripal, oversaw distribution of over 3,000 application forms among farmers in Gopalnagar, Beraberi, Bajemelia, Joymollah, Khaserbheri and Singherbheri. These farmers had not accepted the compensation offered by the previous government which acquired their land for the Tata Motors’ still-born Nano factory. “The farmers will have to put in their personal particulars and the land details and submit it to the block development office in Singur within July 22,” said Bhattacharya. As the leaders of the Save Farmland Committee distributed the forms among the farmers, the chances of a dialogue-driven solution to the Singur impasse suffered a jolt. Tata counsel Samaraditya Pal had told Calcutta High Court that he wanted to propose a “workable solution” to the state’s advocate-general, Anindya Mitra, that would allow land distribution to be kept in abeyance. Mitra had later said he would consider the proposal if it was made over the weekend, and inform the court during the next hearing, scheduled tomorrow, before Justice Saumitra Pal. It could not be confirmed whether counsel Pal did submit a proposal to Mitra, but a source close to the Tata camp described the initiation of land distribution as a big blow to attempts to arrive at a “workable solution”. “The hurry makes it clear that they (the state government) have scant regard for the judicial process,” said the source. Sources added that Tata Motors would move a prayer, requesting the court to ask the government to stop the process of returning land. The Trinamul camp, however, was not worried about another possible attempt by Tata Motors to stop land distribution. “Had the court been interested in keeping the process in abeyance, it would have given an interim order to maintain status quo. Under the new act, the land is vested in the state government and nothing stops the government from initiating its distribution,” said a senior Trinamul leader. Bhattacharya and Manna distributed the forms from a temporary office set up in Kamarkundu till 3pm. The submission of filled-in forms — to be collected at 15 counters across Singur — started at 3pm and continued till 8.30pm. “Altogether 311 forms had been submitted till 7pm,” said Pulak Sarkar, the block development officer, adding that his office would again accept applications from 10am tomorrow. Manna said the forms would be scrutinised under three categories: A, B and C. “The A category is land without any encumbrance, B is where mutation is pending and C where there is litigation.” He said the interests of not just farmers but also recorded and unrecorded bargadarsand farm labourers would be protected. Sanjoy Maity, among the first to submit the form, said: “I will be happy if I get my original land. I have no problems if I get land back from some other area.” ================================================ telegraphindia.com/1110627/jsp/frontpage/story_14165284.jsp