The Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress government in West Bengal, will table “The Singur Land Rehabilitation and Development Bill, 2011”, which revokes Tata Motors' lease agreement for 997 acres citing issues of non-performance and failure to meet project goals.
“Since the grant of lease to Tata Motors Ltd (TML), four years have passed but no small car production industry has been commissioned for regular production of small car which has in fact been abandoned by the TML as announced by the TML and reiterated in their letters…” says the draft Bill document.
The Bill also proposes to return land to the unwilling farmers of Singur in “equivalent quantum of land” as the land by virtue of this Act will stand transferred to and vest in the state government, free of any lease or allotment.
A Tata Motors spokesperson said, "We are awaiting the bill and will comment once we have gone through it."
Interestingly, the small car Nano project that was slated to come up at Singur, 45 kms from Kolkata was withdrawn by Tata Motors on the back of persistent agitation by unwilling farmers demanding the return of 400 acres, backed by the Banerjee and her party, the Trinamool Congress.
The TMC has since come to power in Bengal, replacing the Left Front and has repeatedly reiterated their commitment to return land to these unwilling farmers.
In the subsection titled, ‘Statement of Objects and Reasons’, the Bill states, “TML have already transferred, removed the small car project and all machinery and equipment from the said land to another state…None of those industrial undertakings (vendors) have…set up any industry and the land has been lying unutilized for three years”.
The section also states that the people have not received any benefits from the commencement of the project, while the state government and the West Bengal industrial Development Cooperation (WBIDC) have incurred expenses of Rs 137 crore and Rs 76 crore for compensation and infrastructure costs respectively.
Besides, outlining the factors for termination of the lease, the Bill also outlines the plan of action for re-appropriation of land by the government, its return unwilling farmers and a compensation package for Tata Motors and its vendors.
Once the Bill is passed, the amount of premium that has so far been paid by vendors will be refunded after deduction of arrears of rent that has so far remained unpaid, after the vendors have made applications asking for the same.
The compensation for Tata Motors however, has been left undecided.
“The amount of compensation would be adjudged and determined by the District Judge, Hooghly on an application made by Tata Motors Limited in due compliance with the principles of natural justice and by reasoned order,” the draft Bill states.
Also, it states that the compensation so determined, will be accompanied by a six per cent interest, payable from the date of commencement of the application to the date when the state government ends the tender.
The Bill however remains silent on the issue compensation to the unwilling farmers, choosing only to state that they will get land, defining them as those who chose not to receive compensation.
The Communist Party of India (Marxist) today met to discuss the bill, following which former Speaker, Hashim Abdul Halim said that the party was not opposed to return of land, but the government was creating a divide between the willing and unwilling farmers through this bill.
Halim sentiments appeared to be strangely similar to Udayan Das, who represents the interest of the 11,000 willing farmers under the aegis of the Singur Shilpa Bikash O Unnayan Committee. "We will tell the government that there should not be a divide between the willing and unwilling farmers. A government has look after everyone," Das said.
