Singur Row: Bengal Govt to issue paper soon

With West Bengal Governor Gopal Krishna Gandhi giving a three-point formula for resolving the Singur impasse, Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee today said a detailed paper on acquisition of farm land for the Tata Motors' project would be published soon.

Bhattacharjee said Industry Minister Nirupam Sen had been asked to prepare the paper.

Gandhi, last night, suggested the formula favouring an immediate dialogue on the "balancing of land use for agriculture with land conversion for industry."

Click here to read: Governor summons CM, Singur face-off continues

He had, during a second meeting with Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee yesterday, suggested that the dialogue should "evolve long-term norms with a clear prioritisation that does not lead to avoidable displacement and human distress."

The Chief Minister, who met the Governor last evening on the Singur issue today denied Banerjee's contention that farm land had been acquired for Tata Motors at Singur. "No land had been forcibly acquired from anyone at Singur," he reiterated.

"She is not correct," Bhattacharjee said on Banerjee's claim that 387 acres were forcibly acquired from farmers.

The state government today extended prohibitory orders under section 144 CrPC at Singur for 10 days.

Home Secretary P R Roy said the CBI had begun a probe into the discovery of the charred body of a woman, Tapasi Mullick, at the Tata Motors' project site on December 18. Two CID teams were conducting a parallel investigation. Their report would help the CBI, he said.