Trinamool Congress proposal unacceptable to government

Trinamool Congress proposal unacceptable to government

However, it will consider returning some land from within the car project area

KOLKATA: The West Bengal government has reportedly not accepted the proposal of the Trinamool Congress to provide 300 acres from the Tata Motors’ project area at Singur to farmers who have not received compensation.

It is, however, looking into the possibility of arranging for returning some land from within the project area as well as from outside.

“The government has not accepted our demand [return of 300 acres from within the site area],” Rabindranath Bhattacharya said. He is a representative of the Trinamool Congress in the committee set up to ascertain the scope and settle the modalities for returning land to farmers from both within and outside the site area.

Leader of the Opposition Partha Chatterjee, who has been representing the party in talks over the past few days with Governor Gopalkrishna Gandhi called on the latter at Raj Bhavan in the evening.

“We still believe that 300 acres can be identified for handing back to farmers from within the project site area”, Mr Bhattacharya told journalists after the committee met for the second time in three days. Further talks will take place on Friday.

The government spoke of the difficulties in returning the land from within the project area as that would infringe on the site earmarked for the project’s auto-cluster.

It has assured the Tata Motors’ authorities that the integrated nature of the auto-cluster, comprising the mother plant and a vendor park, will be kept intact while considering the issue of return of land to the farmers who have not received compensation.

CPI(M) Polit Bureau member Sitaram Yechury said here: “we are hopeful that the committee is working towards a solution” to the stalemate over return of a section of the land to farmers.

Denying any differences within the party on the Singur issue, he said a solution was urgently needed “for the future of Bengal and the prosperity of its people”.

by Marcus Dam

The Hindu

Date:12/09/2008