As a part of the process of returning land taken from peasants of Singur for the Tata Motors Nano project, the West Bengal government on Friday started land survey within the project area to complete the process "within the Supreme Court stipulated time".
The survey is to be completed within ten weeks.
After the Supreme Court quashed the land acquisition, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday had chaired a high level emergency meeting at the state secretariat Nabanna to decide on follow-up actions for implementing the judicial order.
She had said all land-losers would get the same plot of land which they owned before the acquisition in 2006.
"After getting the instruction, district level officials have been at surveying work since morning. There are teams from state agriculture, land and land revenue departments. (Hooghly) District Magistrate came to oversee the work," a government official said.
Banerjee said physical possession of cultivable land would be given to the land owners within the stipulated time frame of 12 weeks.
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Cultivators were also moving around with surveyors within the project area. Mahadeb Das, who lost 1.3 acres of land due to acquisition, said: "Many of us have come today (Friday) with joy. We are happy that state has taken steps to give back our land and it brings tears on our eyes after seeing our land."
--IANS
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